Man Claims He Used iPad to Cross Into US
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Apple Inc.(DERBY LINE, Vt.) — A Canadian man traveling by car to Vermont claimed his iPad helped save the day after he realized he left his passport, which is required to cross into the United States, at his home in Quebec.
Martin Reisch, 33, said he arrived at Canada’s Stanstead crossing and proceeded to the U.S. border post at Derby Line, Vt. He showed the U.S. officer his Canadian driver’s license, Medicaid card and a digital scan of his passport he had on his iPad on Dec. 30.
“He didn’t say much,” Reisch told ABC News. “He took it with a serious face and went into the border patrol house. Five minutes later he came out and said ‘Merry Christmas. You can go through.'”
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Wednesday called Reisch’s story “false.”
“In this case, the individual had both a driver’s license and birth certificate, which the CBP officer used to determine identity and citizenship in order to admit the traveler into the country,” the agency said in a statement.
But Reisch isn’t backing down from his story.
“I can’t lie. I don’t even know where my birth certificate is,” he said. “Maybe they are making an official statement to help lessen the impact.”
The story went viral after Reisch’s friends retweeted his experience.
“I don’t want to start anything,” he said of all the attention he has received. “But this sounds like it’s taking a turn for the worse.”
He added that his experience does make him think about how technology can be used for identification purposes when traveling at some point in the future.
“I think mobile devices could develop applications with security protocols so it’s possible to bring your ID without having it stolen,” he said. “Obviously not just a jpeg scan of your passport.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio