Can border guards ask for mental health records?

I cross into Canada a lot. I've been doing it for over 10 years. Then suddenly a couple of months ago I get asked if I had ever been arrested. I said no. Then the next tine I crossed they pulled me into the office and asked again. I said no. Then the guy asked me '"what about that time in 1998? " I said I had just about forgotten about that and didn't count it because a judge dismissed it. He let me in without asking any more questions.

But the reason it got dismissed was because I was wrongly accused of being delusional so I was found incompetent to stand trial then found insane. They held me for 2 years in a psych hospital and attempted to force drug me with haldol. When they couldn't get an order to do that they let me go with no conditions. Now WTF am I going to say if they start asking detailed questions? Canadian people have been denied entry to the US for mental health reasons - US gets Canadian records. I don't know if Canada gets US records. I have read that sometimes you have to get a certificate of rehabilitation to enter Canada. But I'm not talking to another shrink after what those a-holes put me through. I am calling my lawyer tomorrow.

No they can't. Now, if you crossed the border with medications on your person they have the right to ask what they are for. They cannot however then ask you to explain further.

yes any border patrol / border guards can do background checks and ask any questions including whether or not someone has committed a crime and that crime got dismissed because of mental illness. they have to ask in order to determine whether the person crossing is doing so to avoid going to prison or a mental hospital. they have to ask in order to determine whether the person crossing is a danger to their self or others or the country that they are entering. I have crossed from NY to Canada many times as I have a relative there.

one thing you need to remember is that here in America the border requirements keep changing so coming back to the US from Canada is much harder and stricter. they don't prevent an American from coming back to America but if once on the American side if anything comes up wonky so to speak when American border people do their background and such, a person could be detained until certain documents have been procured.

my suggestion is that before you go crossing the border again, make sure you have all your documentations that ...Both...… countries may require not just what one side or the other requires.

If they see any documents they will think I'm a dangerous schizophrenic. I was never found to be not mentally ill. The lies they wrote in the chart make me look like a schizophrenic. . I had to work very hard to get that knocked down to a delusional disorder diagnosis. That's still psychosis. And if they think that then I'm not getting in. And I have hundreds of dollars worth of season tickets to the symphony.

Im sorry by documents I mean like this

Documents Needed to Enter US or Canada | ezbordercrossing

if you have all the required documents chances are the questions that they ask wont be so uncomfortable. they see that all your documents are in order and you are not acting suspiciously the odds are in your favor.

as for the criminal background check a suggestion contact the treatment providers that hospitalized you and such wrongfully and ask them for a copy of the release papers, go to the police and get a copy of the form that says you did not commit the crime due to mental illness. I know a few people who did this and no longer have a problem crossing borders because they have the correct documents.

you can also petition the court to have your record expunged. this is where you prove though you may have had those problems in the past but you have changed. the court will require statements from your friends / employers/ and anyone else that knew you when and know you now and can make a statement to the court to how you have changed. you may need to talk with treatment providers too. if the court is satisfied that this problem no longer needs to be a part of your records they send out orders to everyone who has kept a file on you, notifying them that your past is expunged and can no longer be used against you for anything including background checks, that the files have to be destroyed. once the court orders all the files destroyed about that situation it will no longer be accessible.

Reading about the Canadians who were refused entry due to mental health was very disturbing. I wonder if there is a way we can know what records border control has on us? It's possible they just have a note that you were arrested and you got pulled into the office because your answer didn't match their records. I suspect there is some kind of flag next to my name because I am stopped and searched frequently since traveling with someone who gave the wrong address - he had one thing on his license but had recently moved.

I have the proper documents.


If I get my records expunged they get expunged in the US - not Canada. I'm not Canadian and I don't know if I can get records expunged in Canada. And medical records can't be expunged. It's not possible to reason with the shrinks over this either. I tried for 2 years and finally told them that I won't have anything to do with them anymore.

I have no idea what they have on me. If they did a thorough check they could find out because I wanted the public to know what a scam psychiatry was and gave my story to a reporter. It was printed 4 times in local papers and twice in the Boston Globe.

I don't believe you can be denied a border entry or access to travel on account of your mental health. I is my understanding that you can be denied entry on the basis of whether your medication you have on your person is permitted in the country(ies) one wishes to enter. Obviously any troubles you have had with the law are going to arise with a basic background check. But these checks don't for example include such things as hospital stays, diagnoses, and so on. This is why it is vitally important to do your homework prior to your travel and ensure you have your signed prescription and/or official letter from your prescribing doctor on your person.

Research your medications prior to departure. Often the list of banned substances can be be found on government web pages outlining transport and travel for the nation you are travelling to. For example if you are travelling to Canada, the list is available on the Transport Canada web site.

It is entirely your responsibility to conduct this home work and take measures accordingly. For example, I traveled Central Europe last year and one of my medications was banned in Hungary.I did such research well in advance and as a result was able to have a medication change before I left. I traveled everywhere with a list of my medications, a prescription of the same, and a travel document completed by my doctor. Other than delays for a check on a computer for whether my medications met the criteria, I had no problem.Make sure too that you travel with your medications on your person and not in checked luggage.