Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement. Click here. The Agreement states that if you landed in the U.S. and made a refugee claim, you must continue with the claim you made in the U.S. Under the agreement persons seeking refugee status must make their claim in the first country they arrive in, either the United States or Canada.

Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement

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The Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement, officially the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for cooperation in the examination of refugee status claims from nationals of third countries,^[1] is a treaty between the governments of Canada and the United States to better manage the flow of refugee claimants at the shared land border.

Safe Third Country Agreement

Long name: Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for cooperation in the examination of refugee status claims from nationals of third countries
Type	Bilateral treaty
Signed	December 5, 2002
Location	Washington, D.C.
Effective	December 29, 2004
Parties	Canada  United States
Citations	CTS 2004/2

Under the agreement persons seeking refugee status must make their claim in the first country they arrive in, either the United States or Canada, unless they qualify for an exception. For example, refugee claimants who are citizens of a country other than the United States that arrive from the United States at the Canada–United States land border can only pursue their refugee claims in Canada if they meet an exception under the Safe Third Country Agreement.

The agreement was signed on December 5, 2002 in Washington, D.C. by Bertin Côté (Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Canada) and Arthur E. Dewey (Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, United States Department of State). It entered into force on December 29, 2004.^[1]