In an era of tightened borders and a new emphasis on enforcement in the Trump Administration, foreign visitors to the USA must be very careful not to run afoul of the visa they are traveling on. One 28-year-old British tourist has learned the hard way as she remains locked up in an American jail over a purported visa violation.
British Tourist Sits In Jail After Being Accused Of Working In USA
Let’s review the story and then discuss the implications for transatlantic travel:
- Becky Burke lives in Wales
- As part of her backpacking trip to North America, she obtained free accommodation at various homes in the USA and Canada in exchange for “helping host families around the house”
- While she had no trouble entering the USA, in February she tried to travel from Seattle, Washington over the Canadian border to Vancouver, British Columbia
- She was denied entry to Canada because officials felt she was going to “work” illegally in Canada
- Then she was detained while trying to re-enter the USA, with a US official also determining that her “host family cultural exchange” constituted work
- The US Department of Homeland Security placed Burke in an immigration detention center 10 days ago, where she remains today
- Burke has been allowed to use a shared iPad to call her parents and others, but cannot receive any calls
- While the family has reached out to the British consulate in San Francisco, it claims “official channels can’t get a clear answer about what is going on”
- The Trump administration has expanded its “voluntary departure” program and theoretically it should be easy for Burke to get on a plane and fly back to the UK
- But such voluntary departure must be approved by a judge and the Trump administration has fired several judges that handle these cases
- The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is working to free her from US detention and get her home
This news is making headlines across Europe, but only starting to filter through the US media. I find the ramifications stark: even if Burke was in the wrong (I’m not an immigration attorney and I cannot definitively say one way or another), this move could place a chill on all valid and legal travel to the United States.
I think it’s reasonable to question whether a chores-for-lodging arrangement violates the conditions of a tourist visa. But good-faith mistakes should not be met by imprisonment, especially of Western nationals who have no incentive to stay in the USA on a long-term basis.
My wife Heidi and I have talked about hiring a German au pair to help us with the kids and if we do move forward with that, we will make sure we are not running afoul of any US immigration laws…reasonable or not, ignorance of the law is not generally an excuse
CONCLUSION
A 28-year-old British national remains in a US detention center for purportedly violating her tourist visa by exchanging housing for chores.
For me the issue is not so much whether she violated the law or not, but once it was determined that she did violate the law, why would a British national have to sit for 10 days in an American detention facility instead of being put on a flight back to London. What purpose does it possibly serve and at what cost to taxpayers?
My concern is that more cases like this will have a chilling effect on international travel to the USA, dampening demand just when airlines are gearing up for a record spring and summer of transatlantic travel.
image: a DHS detention center in Arizona
“especially of Western nationals”
Did you just support double standard racial profiling?
I would put Japanese, Hong Kong, Sigapore, Taiwain, etc in the same boat…my profiling would be socio-economic-based, not simply region based.
My German wife went through hell getting her green card. How pointless. Why would any Germany want to move to America and stay illegally?
No different than any beaner or other person that comes here illegally. If you are saying Germany is a better place than Mexico or China you may have a point but it’s certainly not America. And it’s still home to the place that killed 6 million Jews in some individuals lifetime. That legacy will be a negative on the country for centuries to come.
Oh give me a break. America is great for plutocrats, but not for the middle class. No sane Western European would want to live in the USA over the Netherlands, France, Germany, or Denmark.
On a trip to France I had an individual tell me that his goal was to relocate to the US because of high taxes in France. He stated that there was no way for he and his wife, both medical professionals, could get ahead with that tax structure. I have no idea if this was valid but that’s what he told me.
Could be – but it’s easy enough for a doctor to get a visa here and coming over, a French doctor cannot just start a practice the USA…it requires a lot of re-certification. I have a German friend who is going through that arduous process now in LA. Again, though – two doctors: we are talking about wealthy people, not middle class.
How is Germany better than Mexico? That is after or before Hitler? Give me a break
An ordinary tourist coming to the U.S. for a week or two would have no trouble. Even she said she was exchanging accommodations for “helping host families around the house”. If she had a signed contract or email string exchanging these services, it is work being compensated.
A problem is that she is coming by land so they cannot force an airline to fly her back.
She should be fined, required to show proof of immediate return ticket, and deported. If she is low risk, such as having a regular job in the UK, like a current nursing job with the NHS or on leave from a store clerk job, she could be released to a hotel after paying the fine and buying the return ticket.
Could Matthew hire a U.S. au pair from Alabama or West Virginia that wants to see life in California for awhile?
Is it subtle and hidden discrimination that his family wants to hire a presumably white German and not someone from Nigeria, Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia or Ghana? Maybe unconscientious bias?
It’s a deliberate bias becuase I want my children to speak German better!
Jawohl!
Maybe they should send her to Panama instead? I don’t see how her nationality affects the situation. She entered the country with an incorrect visa – assuming she enter with a tourist visa scheme, she is not allowed to “work” as broadly defined. If she just couchsurfed she would have been fine. The crouch of the situation is that she was doing some duties while staying with an arrangement through a company called Workaway, which does not help her.
Also, the quotes on the title are unnecessary.
I find the situation a little more nuanced than you do…and I think people like that should be allowed to self-deport immediately.
Once someone is within the jurisdiction of ICE, “normal” laws do not apply. You can’t just say” I want to go home” and they take you to the airport. Same reason why USCIS agents can search your laptop when you enter the US, even if you are a US citizen.
I understand the way the system works (a deplorable system), but I do find it nonsensical as well.
Maybe it’s time for the US to crack down on companies like this to avoid any future disputes.
I don’t know if I agree that there is anything wrong with exchanging chores for lodging under US law, but certainly the company that arranged this should be on the hook for caring for Burke, any bills she incurs, and making sure this does not happen again.
This story has had a lot of coverage in Europe. Regardless of the nuances of the example it is not sitting well with those who may travel to the U.S.
As I predict….travel to the U.S. is going to be gutted in the coming months.
That is a GOOD thing, especially for servers who get stiffed by these deadbeats.
Let’s face it, those “chores” were probably sexual favors to the type creeps that open their house to something like this. Has shady behavior and potential problems written all over from the start.
Congratulations to Canada for seeing through this scam.
Dear Dave, Your mind is really dark and twisted…
Nothing new, it’s what you’d expect from a MAGA boy.
Trump sucks so bad the beaners don’t want to come here. Look at the immigration numbers, one can only hope he continues to do things to MAGA and they stay in their sh#thole lands, eat tacos & bananas while we pick our own fruit and clean our own toilets.
Who is going to clean our toilets and pick our fruit? You?
Well there are going to be government workers needing jobs when the gravy train runs out. Can’t keep giving them handouts forever and they are type that cried about being in an office.
I’m pretty sure Canadians could care less about having “Thanks” from a racist and misogynist Trumper who enjoys imposing suffering on their nation for no reason.
What suffering has anyone had to deal with? Maybe some people that should have never been hired in the first place losing their jobs. But they are getting paid to leave and will get UC.
Otherwise it is more fearmongering by liberals and junkies worried their free ride is coming to an end. And having “mental health” crises because they are weak, sad individuals that are F’d in the head and are lazy POS that expect the government to fix all the poor decisions in their life.
Reading comprehension is not your strong suit. I was stating that Canada could care less about thanks from you when you support a man who imposes tariffs for no reason other than to cause suffering.
“… sad individuals that are F’d in the head!” It’s you, David!
Your narcissism shines through in your comments.
I recommend therapy for your past traumas. Something very harsh about your past experiences with illegal immigrant and bananas…
Get well soon.
Sounds like Canada sounded the alarm before US authorities did. I have trouble feeling sorry for her- she got herself into this situation,
And Trump has nothing to do with it.
Canada’s border agents are even worse than the USA ones…that’s saying something!
But if Trump’s DOGE effort led to the termination of the judges that would rule on getting her out of the USA, then there is some level of culpability there.
Canadian border agents have a different agenda than American. When I cross the border, I try to address their concerns. Canada doesn’t seem to care about fruits but America does.
What is their agenda?
They hate Americans bringing gifts to Canada. They don’t want any guns brought there and will often ask “do you have any guns?” They don’t want cheaper, unmounted tires to be brought in.
I’ve traveled the world for 30 plus years, many visits to 3rd world hell holes. The hardest time I ever had at immigration was entering Toronto coming off a flight from DC. I finally told the guy to send me back. I don’t give an eff. It was an overnight visit, for a business meeting.
It’s also ironic that many of the 3rd world dumps I visit would never let me in without proper documentation and a visa. Yet the past 4 years the gates into the US were wide open. Come one..come all.
Trump firing judges who handle these cases – so thereby keeping her in jail for days – is very much his doing.
Far safer to avoid Trumpton altogether while Criminal Trump remains in power.
This almost happened to a friend whose mother was coming over from Europe to help her with the birth of her child. Border patrol at IAH accused her of coming over to “work,” since she was displacing someone else who might have been paid to do the same. After an hour or more of questioning, they eventually relented and let her in.
These tales are sobering.
In a good way, knowing they are doing their job.
In the above listed case, they had a valid concern about an American losing a job to a foreigner, therefore the laws exist for a reason.
She broke the rules relating to their ESTA. Sounds like a her problem as for work in Canada work is “ Work is any activity that:
you are paid to do, or
you are not paid to do but is a job that:
you would usually be paid for, or
would be a valuable work experience for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (for example, an unpaid intern).”
That’s from the government of Canada website.
Kind of surprised at all the hostility in these comments, particularly given the intersection of digital nomads and points hobbyists in this space. Lot of people just doing this as a form of travel hacking.
I tend to agree that there is some nuance here, although “helping around the house” probably sealed her fate. But you can imagine all sorts of hypotheticals: would it be ok to let someone stay in your house without you, no conditions? would it be ok if you exchanged houses with someone in another country? if either of those scenarios is ok, is it not reasonable for them to look after themselves? etc.
That being said, these arrangements always struck me as dangerous — not because of Trump, but simply because of how immigration can interpret rules. Wouldn’t try it in the US, wouldn’t try it in Canada, wouldn’t try it in the UK.
Very fair comment.
Good quote from the BBC:
Immigration experts tell the BBC that once Ms Burke informed Canadian officials of her plans and they denied her entry, a suspension of her visa waiver and detention on the US side was probably unavoidable.
Many countries strictly interpret what constitutes compensated work – even if no money changes hands.
—
End of quote
BBC was probably her goal in coming here.
Here is another recent detention, this one at the southern border, with somewhat different “facts”:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/ice-german-tourist-detained-immigration
Is it relevant here that these detentions are happening at land crossings? Is it because the individual is not already at an airport and therefore would have to be transported by ICE? (Hard to imagine they’d be released on their own recognizance). I’m not saying this means the treatment is proportionate or correct, just that the logistics at a land border are different. And for whatever reasons, the culture of enforcement always seems different too. True of both Canadian and US border officials.
If they arrest Americans, why not foreigners?
https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ice-agents-raid-nj-seafood-store-detain-us-military-veteran/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/three-members-of-american-family-thrown-into-milwaukee-detention-center-for-speaking-spanish/ar-AA1y8Mrl
Meanwhile, a Nazi South African does whatever he wants in the US government…
It’s the world upside down.
But you aren’t an American so why do you care?
I certainly don’t care about the “people” in Ukraine other than them stealing our tax dollars the senile old bastard gave them.
We don’t need foreign tourists here and even worse, Hispanics wanting to move here. We need to stop moving to Costa Rica and you stop moving here, deal?