Vancouver psychotherapist Andrew Feldmar was stopped at the Peace Arch. Photo by C. Grabowski
Andrew Feldmar
[Jun 11, 2008 03:32 PM]
Andrew Feldmar a 67-year old well-known Vancouver psychotherapist, was on his way to pick up a friend at the Seattle airport in August 2006 when he was stopped at the Peace Arch border station in Blaine, Washington.
A U.S. Customs and Border protection guard typed his name into an Internet search engine, which turned up a 2001 article written by Mr. Feldmar about experimenting with LSD in the 1960s. Held for four hours and fingerprinted, he was turned back and barred from entering the U.S. He was also given a package containing forms to apply for a waiver.
Mr. Feldmar's two children live in the U.S. and he has many friends and colleagues south of the border. Until that fateful August day, he had travelled more than 100 times to the U.S. always without incident.
He contacted the American consul general in Vancouver who told him that he could eventually be allowed to enter the U.S. only if he obtains a formal waiver to show that he has been "rehabilitated".
Not only is this process lengthy and costly - at least $3,500 - but there are no guarantee that he would obtain the waiver, which is only valid for one year. Moreover he would have to admit to being a drug user and acknowledge his "rehabilitation", although he's doesn't have a criminal record.
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