I think the bigger risks are these hosts. They sound flighty. If you purchase non refundable tickets, have a good plan B in place. Good luck.
Two girls from Germany was denied entry in Hawaii at arrival despite of valid ESTA.
They were on a world travel. The article says that they were interrogated, had to undress fully and were given expired food even the guards warned them about before being sent to Japan. The girls said the reason they were given for denied entry was that their Hawaii stay wasn’t fully planned (!). I think this could be a concern for many sitters, as it seems many would make plans en-route.
As the article is new it is behind a pay-wall, but I’m sure it might be referred to in open sources shortly.
So «book the first night» might not be the way to go.
The key is them being young and staying so long. That’s always been a huge red flag and screams “we’re planning to work illegally.” Especially in Hawaii. How many 18 and 19 year olds can afford to be in Hawaii for five weeks? They would have been flagged a year ago, too.
This doesn’t help the younger sitters on TH, but the reality is that older sitters who are assumed to have the financial means to pay their way are not going to raise any flags.
However, their flexible travel style — including a lack of pre-booked lodging for their planned five-week Hawaii stay — raised red flags for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Despite having ESTA travel authorization, the two were accused of potential illegal work intentions, a common concern for border officials screening young travelers without fixed plans."
Wow. On the one hand I feel this belongs and will probably be moved to the “Challenges Thread” because it’s not about tariffs but is about the current uncertainty at the US border. Border crossings everywhere are never 100% and even before this the US could refuse entry based on stuff like not having a trip fully planned, but I can’t imagine it happened routinely or that people would even be asked to supply a full itinerary. Basically, this doesn’t just include housesitters but an entire class of gap year backpackers, and other budget explorers. It’s an enormous shift, that’s sure to have a big impact on tourism in the US.
Love Argentina. Been a few times. Great place to go. Top to bottom. Last time went from the falls, hopped down to Ushuaia for a trip to Antarctica. Was astonished how much difficult it was to cross the border from Brazil to Argentina. It was easy peasy in the early 1990s.
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I am shocked. Now I am a dual citizen, US and Canada, so I don’t have issues at the border, but I am shocked how they were treated. I didn’t realize it was that bad.
Hi everyone. I wanted to thank you all for your thoughtful and insightful posts. When I started this thread I hadn’t expected an ongoing and long-lasting discussion, but it’s been interesting, much appreciated and appropriate for the times. I hope it is helpful for both sitters and hosts. I will certainly continue to follow the topic. Best to everyone.
Just as an FYI, I’ve confirmed a sitter from a long-time, but perhaps-disappointed US ally for a three-week stay later this spring. I’m looking forward to my trip and a great sit for them. In part, my travels will be to a nearby neighboring country. I’ll post about my (and their) experiences when I return.
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My understanding is that the risk for someone not authorized to work in the US is that they could be detained, deported, and barred from re-entry into the US for a minimum of five years.
The risk for the host if they knowingly have a sitter who is an “unauthorized alien” (the legal term) is a fine of $3000 and/or six months of imprisonment.
Living in another country does NOT mean that the person is not authorized to work in the United States. For example, I know of a wonderful cat sitter in Sweden who has spent most of her life in Sweden but holds dual citizenship. My question to ANY sitter would be, simply, “Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?”
Getting on a call with a sitter to “work out your story” to ensure that what he/she tells the border guard aligns with what you say if they call you, to mislead immigration and “get around” the regulations, is a great way to end up with that $3000 fine if not worse. It demonstrates that you know you are breaking the law.
To the best of my knowledge most foreign visitors to the US go through ports of entry that use facial recognition technology. It wouldn’t be hard at all for someone to match sitter photos from their profiles on this platform to border entries and refer those who have profiles to the dreaded “secondary screening”. Never, ever lie in secondary screening - the lie will get you in worse trouble than whatever it is you are lying about.
I am not saying this to frighten people. It is just the law, and currently the law is being vigorously enforced. I, personally, am not willing to risk fines, imprisonment, and having my potential sitter deported when viable options for finding a legal sitter exist.
As a final note, if you do link your listing to your profile on this forum, that makes it easy for immigration to scrutinize both sitters and HOs to find narrow down who might be engaging sitters from other countries and drill down to find out if they are legally authorized to work in the country where they are sitting. I personally apply for sits only in countries where I am legally authorized to work, which fortunately for me are numerous. I do wish everyone could sit everywhere - that would make for a much more harmonious world. But until that happens, I am going to do my part to ensure no one ends up in a holding cell.