September 17, 1965: Arrival in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Today – 36th day of Srila Prabhupada’s journey
Srila Prabhupada wrote in his Jaladuta Diary: We are now on the dockyard of Boston and at 10 a.m. the custom officers and others came on the ship. They have now issued the admittance permission after due checking etc. I saw the Boston Town with captain. It is very nice and I shall describe it in a separate note. 36th day from starting from Calcutta Port, today we are expected to reach Boston Port U.S.A. in the morning. ACB – 17/9/65
We stayed the whole day & night at Boston till 4.00 p.m. next day.
Srila Prabhupada recalled his interaction with the immigration officer in a room conversation on June 8, 1976, in Los Angeles:
Srila Prabhupada: I was extending my visa. In Boston, the immigration officer came into my boat. He inquired about this. So, he asked me, “Sir, Swamiji, how long you want to stay?” I thought that I have no shelter, I have no money, but I have got the return ticket. So, I did not know how long [laughs]. He asked me, “How long do you want to stay?” So, I thought, “In these circumstances, I can stay at most two months, because I have no means where to stay, how to eat, and where shall I go. So, I may struggle for two months.” So, I told him, “I may stay at most two months.” He sanctioned two months stay immediately. I could not think that I shall be able to… [laughs] That one month was with sponsorship. So, I thought, “Another one month I can stay, that’s all. This gentleman has sponsored for one month. So that is guaranteed. Then I can stay another one month. That’s all.” So, after that, I was staying here and there without any fixity. So, I was extending the visa. Each time, I was paying ten dollars. Another three months, another three months, like that. And when one year was finished, they refused: “No extension.”
Reference: Room Conversation – June 8, 1976, Los Angeles