Aussie woman shares 'horrifying' story of being detained by US border force
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A young Aussie who has been cat-sitting in the United States for the past five years was deported on her most recent trip abroad, and she has written a blog post about her harrowing experience with border security.
Madolline Gourley, from Brisbane, stopped in Los Angeles on June 30 on her way to Canada for a holiday, where she planned to house and cat sit in exchange for a place to stay.
But while she was in the airport, she was stopped by US border agents and taken to a detention room where she was patted down, fingerprinted, photographed, and questioned, including about whether she was pregnant or not.
Without giving her a reason, she was denied entrance to the United States and held in a cell without access to her phone until she could be rebooked on a flight back to Brisbane.
Madolline travelled to Canada to look after strangers' pets in exchange for free accommodation, but things didn't go as planned. Credit: 7News.
'I was annoyed,' Madolline tells an online news source. 'I wanted to save an extra few hundred dollars, so I ended up booking a flight that went via the USA instead of going directly to Vancouver.'
'All I had to do was pass through immigration at LAX before getting on another flight.'
From the beginning of July, Madolline had planned consecutive housesits in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. She also planned on going back to the US and continuing taking care of pets in Orleans and Baltimore before taking a flight back home to Australia.
However, an immigration officer started questioning her about the three-month trip, and things quickly went downhill from there.
'He started asking things like why I spent so long in the US, where did I go on that trip, and why was I back again so soon,' she says.
Madolline claimed that her 'high hourly rate' as a contract worker, combined with the free housing she secured through TrustedHousesitters, allowed her to afford foreign travel.
The website provides an opportunity for animal lovers to care for animals in exchange for a place to stay in different locations across the world.
'I told him I was able to get around to so many places because I looked after people's cats - unpaid, of course, and through a legitimate housesitting website - in cities and towns I wanted to visit,' she says.
A copy of Ms Gourley's Qantas ticket and baggage receipt. Credit: Madolline Gourley.
According to Madolline, her explanation only made the immigration officer more confused because, after that, they started asking her more and more questions that weren't even necessary.
During the interrogation, she was requested to present bank statements, information regarding her monthly salary, as well as the identities of both of her parents.
'What annoys me the most about all of this is I had all the relevant documentation needed to travel, like a valid passport, a completed passenger attestation, an approved ESTA and my international COVID vaccination certificate,' she says.
'I also had a very detailed itinerary, with the addresses of where I was staying and for how long. No one asked to see any of this. Not once.'
Later in her detention, she was instructed to take off her sneakers, carry cash at all times, and wait for a female immigration officer to arrive so she could be patted down discreetly.
Things started to get disturbing and uncomfortable for Madolline at this point. She felt as though the questions were becoming increasingly inappropriate and invasive of her privacy.
'She asked me twice if I was pregnant and if I'd had an abortion,' Madolline claims. 'She yelled at me several times throughout the pat down process because I misunderstood her instructions or asked her to repeat what she was saying.'
Madolline was put on a plane back to Australia without being told why she was held up. Credit: 7News.
After several gruelling hours, Madolline was told she would not be allowed into the US and would be sent back to Brisbane on the next flight.
This was because she had broken the rules of the visa waiver program, which applies to people from Australia and many other countries who come to the US for short visits for business or tourism, but not for regular work.
According to a US Customs and Border Protection official, participants in the visa waiver program are not allowed to 'engage in any form of employment or receive compensation for services rendered'.
Madolline said the law, which appears to forbid house sitting for free accommodation, absolutely caught her off guard.
Since arriving home, Madolline has contacted the Australian Consulate in LA, US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for assistance with the matter.
In an email to Madolline, a DFAT employee advised her to seek legal advice from an immigration attorney as they are unable to 'interfere with decisions made by US immigration authorities'.
So far, the 32-year-old cat sitter has had no luck with finding out whether she is permitted to return to the US.
What a horrible experience… Imagine that all you wanted to do was go on a holiday abroad, and then all of a sudden, your privacy is being invaded.
What are your thoughts, members? Do you think the border agents at the immigration centre owe Ms Gourley an apology? Or was it irresponsible of her not to be aware of the guidelines for the visa waiver program in the first place? Let us know in the comments!
Madolline Gourley, from Brisbane, stopped in Los Angeles on June 30 on her way to Canada for a holiday, where she planned to house and cat sit in exchange for a place to stay.
But while she was in the airport, she was stopped by US border agents and taken to a detention room where she was patted down, fingerprinted, photographed, and questioned, including about whether she was pregnant or not.
Without giving her a reason, she was denied entrance to the United States and held in a cell without access to her phone until she could be rebooked on a flight back to Brisbane.
Madolline travelled to Canada to look after strangers' pets in exchange for free accommodation, but things didn't go as planned. Credit: 7News.
'I was annoyed,' Madolline tells an online news source. 'I wanted to save an extra few hundred dollars, so I ended up booking a flight that went via the USA instead of going directly to Vancouver.'
'All I had to do was pass through immigration at LAX before getting on another flight.'
From the beginning of July, Madolline had planned consecutive housesits in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. She also planned on going back to the US and continuing taking care of pets in Orleans and Baltimore before taking a flight back home to Australia.
However, an immigration officer started questioning her about the three-month trip, and things quickly went downhill from there.
'He started asking things like why I spent so long in the US, where did I go on that trip, and why was I back again so soon,' she says.
Madolline claimed that her 'high hourly rate' as a contract worker, combined with the free housing she secured through TrustedHousesitters, allowed her to afford foreign travel.
The website provides an opportunity for animal lovers to care for animals in exchange for a place to stay in different locations across the world.
'I told him I was able to get around to so many places because I looked after people's cats - unpaid, of course, and through a legitimate housesitting website - in cities and towns I wanted to visit,' she says.
A copy of Ms Gourley's Qantas ticket and baggage receipt. Credit: Madolline Gourley.
According to Madolline, her explanation only made the immigration officer more confused because, after that, they started asking her more and more questions that weren't even necessary.
During the interrogation, she was requested to present bank statements, information regarding her monthly salary, as well as the identities of both of her parents.
'What annoys me the most about all of this is I had all the relevant documentation needed to travel, like a valid passport, a completed passenger attestation, an approved ESTA and my international COVID vaccination certificate,' she says.
'I also had a very detailed itinerary, with the addresses of where I was staying and for how long. No one asked to see any of this. Not once.'
Later in her detention, she was instructed to take off her sneakers, carry cash at all times, and wait for a female immigration officer to arrive so she could be patted down discreetly.
Things started to get disturbing and uncomfortable for Madolline at this point. She felt as though the questions were becoming increasingly inappropriate and invasive of her privacy.
'She asked me twice if I was pregnant and if I'd had an abortion,' Madolline claims. 'She yelled at me several times throughout the pat down process because I misunderstood her instructions or asked her to repeat what she was saying.'
Madolline was put on a plane back to Australia without being told why she was held up. Credit: 7News.
After several gruelling hours, Madolline was told she would not be allowed into the US and would be sent back to Brisbane on the next flight.
This was because she had broken the rules of the visa waiver program, which applies to people from Australia and many other countries who come to the US for short visits for business or tourism, but not for regular work.
According to a US Customs and Border Protection official, participants in the visa waiver program are not allowed to 'engage in any form of employment or receive compensation for services rendered'.
Madolline said the law, which appears to forbid house sitting for free accommodation, absolutely caught her off guard.
Since arriving home, Madolline has contacted the Australian Consulate in LA, US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for assistance with the matter.
In an email to Madolline, a DFAT employee advised her to seek legal advice from an immigration attorney as they are unable to 'interfere with decisions made by US immigration authorities'.
So far, the 32-year-old cat sitter has had no luck with finding out whether she is permitted to return to the US.
What a horrible experience… Imagine that all you wanted to do was go on a holiday abroad, and then all of a sudden, your privacy is being invaded.
What are your thoughts, members? Do you think the border agents at the immigration centre owe Ms Gourley an apology? Or was it irresponsible of her not to be aware of the guidelines for the visa waiver program in the first place? Let us know in the comments!
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