Border crossings - Back into the US from Canada

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

Not the least bit frustrating Connie.  Unlike for you one would imagine.  If I had STN stickers on the rental they would still be there.  

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

Tags can be traced in seconds.  Rentals are problematic.

Still a bit odd as they should have recorded your ID and tag number upon entry to Canada, and as long as the info matched on the return crossing, it should have been Kosher.

How are rentals problematic?  When in LE I could run a rental tag just as fast.  Matching up the rental contract with the driver was just as easy.  

[tbzep]

returning to the US has always made me appreciate other country's border guards . . . . . always.

I had it the opposite.  I was all but anally raped going into Canada.  I had to go in and answer a million questions while they ripped everything open, scratched up my hard bags, etc. and they left all the stuff strewn on the ground.  It took me and a Laotian family in a van over an hour, with nobody else getting searched the whole time.  The Laotion family had it worse.  It looked like they had everything they owned packed in the van. I bet it took them another hour to stuff it all back inside. Coming back to the US, they asked me if I had a nice trip and sent me on my way.  It took all of 20 seconds.  

[Uni]

I just crossed into BC and back within the last couple of weeks and had no problems either way. There were two bikes riding two up. We had passports and going in was about a 30 second questioning and on our way. Coming back was about the same. The guard knew we were traveling together so he had us both pull up side by side and asked the questions once for all of us. He did have us remove our helmets (all four were flip ups) but the Canadian guard didn't. That was the only difference.

[KLRchickie]

The guard knew we were traveling together so he had us both pull up side by side and asked the questions once for all of us.

This is *so* hit or miss....  We've crossed the border on two bikes many times.  Most times, they have us both come up and deal with us together.  Intermittently, and definitely the last 4 or 5 times we've crossed (both to the US and back to Canada) they've had us pull up singly.  What a pain in the rear!

He did have us remove our helmets (all four were flip ups) but the Canadian guard didn't.

In our experience, this is hit or miss too.  Only a couple of times have we NOT had to remove our (full face) helmets.  On our last trip down (July 3rd) the pair of scooters (also from Alberta) directly ahead of us got across the border with their full face helmets on, we each had to remove ours.  Weird.

[Kneescrubber]

Is a passport required to cross the US/Canadian border? If not, do any of you feel it makes it easier if you do bring your passport?

[JeffM]

No, a passport card can also be used. My wife has one of them as her standard ID (but carries a normal passport book for international travel). The passport card isn't very common, so I'd guess that the book makes things easier at the border.
I go to Canada to work once a year, and it takes forever to get up there across the border since I have to get a work permit issued and paid for (usually over an hour). Coming back is less than a minute.

[bubba zanetti]

I cross the border frequently on an MC and cage.  Here are a few hints that should help you get through quicker and instill confidence in the border security that you are low risk.

When you ride up stop a little ahead so they can read your license number.

Back into place and turn off your engine.

If you have a flip up helmet, have it already flipped if you have a full face, begin taking it off.

Have your paperwork/passport ready and expect be asked: - I have mine open as I hand it to them.

      Where are you from - Where are you gong - What is your business - do you have in excess of $10.000 cash - what do you do for a
      living - tobacco, alcohol, firearms ??  You may get an oddball question like "is everything in your vehicle yours?" Supposed to make
      you twitch.

IF you are bringing anything in or back - have the receipts ready to hand over and know the total value of your purchases.


I find if I do these things - in other words make their job easier - I am waved through about 75% of the time in less than a minute. If I have purchases when returning - generally under $150 I do not have to go in and pay.

Don't make small talk - Don't schmooze unless they schmooze first. Realize that, at least in Canada, they will do a numeric and random search that has nothing to do with you personally.  If you act odd or frustrated expect it to go longer - if you look stressed, expect a pull over search.  I have had all these including my hands wiped for drugs/explosives or whatever the wipes are for. That was when a Canadian border guy just had a feeling. I could tell by the way he looked at me. I was dirty in his mind.

Long gone are the days that you would get a "Welcome to the USA Mr. .... "  or Canada for that matter. The most I ever get is have a nice day.

They are doing a job they have be instructed to do and I never get the impression they are powertripping me. I used to in the old days but realize a lot of that was my attitude. Well, except for one guy here locally who has a huge and obvious issue with cross borderr shopping. Clearly he sees himself as the last bastion of protecting the Canadian economy. It is a piss off but not worth my time, energy or frustration. Have a nice day border guy and take your acid reflux like a good boy !  

[zer0netgain]

How are rentals problematic?  When in LE I could run a rental tag just as fast.  Matching up the rental contract with the driver was just as easy.  

I'm just making some presumptions.

In Mexico, they scan your plates.  Hell, if you go back into Mexico they can tell how often you've crossed the border in X months.  That info comes up right away.  I presume Canada has similar setups.

A rental is owned by the car company, not the individual.  Maybe the border guards can access the car company's database, but I'd doubt that.  I know not all national car rental companies even have their outlets networked together (they have to call by phone to verify contract info).  If you want to avoid something being traceable, a rental is the way to go.  Fake ID and proxy payment method and there's no easy link between the driver and the vehicle.  A stolen vehicle might come up as such.  A stolen tag is just as problematic.  In contrast, your own vehicle pops up very nicely.

Still, if you drove INTO Canada with the same car you come back to the USA in, their database should show it's the same vehicle with the same driver.

Of course, being former LEO might have gotten you tagged.  Maybe you've not noticed, but the government's becoming awfully leery of former cops and military personnel.  If anyone knows how to get around the law...it's someone who worked inside the system.

[PatM]

In Mexico, they scan your plates.  Hell, if you go back into Mexico they can tell how often you've crossed the border in X months.  That info comes up right away. I presume Canada has similar setups.

As far as I know, only at major border crossing. Small ones type it in manually.
Unless US border scan car plates leaving the US and have access to rental agencies database, I don't see how they would have that info unless Canada shares visitor info with the US border guards.

As far as crossing the border in a rental car, I've done it before. The only requirement was to have proper insurance. What I can't do is rent a car in the US and drive it back to Canada. That is a no no.

[viffergyrl]

I cross the border frequently on an MC and cage.  Here are a few hints that should help you get through quicker and instill confidence in the border security that you are low risk.

When you ride up stop a little ahead so they can read your license number.

Back into place and turn off your engine.

If you have a flip up helmet, have it already flipped if you have a full face, begin taking it off.

Have your paperwork/passport ready and expect be asked: - I have mine open as I hand it to them.

      Where are you from - Where are you gong - What is your business - do you have in excess of $10.000 cash - what do you do for a
      living - tobacco, alcohol, firearms ??  You may get an oddball question like "is everything in your vehicle yours?" Supposed to make
      you twitch.

IF you are bringing anything in or back - have the receipts ready to hand over and know the total value of your purchases.


I find if I do these things - in other words make their job easier - I am waved through about 75% of the time in less than a minute. If I have purchases when returning - generally under $150 I do not have to go in and pay.

Don't make small talk - Don't schmooze unless they schmooze first. Realize that, at least in Canada, they will do a numeric and random search that has nothing to do with you personally.  If you act odd or frustrated expect it to go longer - if you look stressed, expect a pull over search.  I have had all these including my hands wiped for drugs/explosives or whatever the wipes are for. That was when a Canadian border guy just had a feeling. I could tell by the way he looked at me. I was dirty in his mind.

Long gone are the days that you would get a "Welcome to the USA Mr. .... "  or Canada for that matter. The most I ever get is have a nice day.

They are doing a job they have be instructed to do and I never get the impression they are powertripping me. I used to in the old days but realize a lot of that was my attitude. Well, except for one guy here locally who has a huge and obvious issue with cross borderr shopping. Clearly he sees himself as the last bastion of protecting the Canadian economy. It is a piss off but not worth my time, energy or frustration. Have a nice day border guy and take your acid reflux like a good boy !  

^^This. I will add that you should tell them the answer they expect to hear if you are low risk.

I did post-doctoral research at Wayne State University in Detroit and collaborated with a lab at the University of Windsor. I carried purified, lyophilized protein (white powder in an ice bucket) over the border many a time. Put it in the trunk and secured it.

Canadian Border Guard: What's the purpose of your visit?
Me: Just meeting friends for lunch.
CBG: Have a nice time.

American Border Guard: What was the purpose of your visit?
Me: Just visited some friends.
ABG: Welcome back, have a nice day.

My boss put the damn ice bucket in the front seat of his car with a seat belt around it. And told them exactly what he was doing. (Going to the University of Windsor, providing the protein for NMR studies, blah, blah.... ). They detained him an hour.  

Back in the day, my uncle and his brothers used to go over in summer and arrange to buy their winter fur coats. Then as it got colder and the new coats were ready, they would cross the border with their old coats, exchange for the new coats, and re-cross. No duty.  

[The Shepherd]

Though it's only a hunch, I am certain that the US and Canada do share info who does, where and when you cross the border. They are busy typing away when you give them your story.

"Where are you going"?

"Maggie Valley NC"

type...type...type

"How long....."

ETC

Also, the licence plate cameras are well back at Detroit / Windsor, Fort Erie / Buffalo and the Thousand Islands Bridge. They'll know who you are before you hand over your passport.

[Blunder]

I can discuss the San Ysidro border crossing, as it's the one I'm most familiar with.   Going South from the USA to Mexico, there are license plate scanners.

I don't really know how well they work, and what they do with the info - but the possibility is there.

The Immigration checkpoints along I-8 & 10 and at the 25 mile mark for the free trade limit (I think that's what they call it) coming out of Laredo and Brownsville have the photo-scanners, too. A few simple questions and you're on your way.

[Flyer]

I cross at least once a week, and Bubba's post is accurate.

Today's exchange:
Am. Customs Dude: "What's the purpose of your visit?"
Me and Mrs.: "We're going fabric shopping".
ACD: "Do you have more than $10,000 dollars on your person?"
Me (solo): If I had 10 grand, do you think I'd be "fabric shopping" with my wife?".
ACD (to the Mrs.): "Buy him a case of beer, Ma'am...".

Hard working men and women, those ACDs.
 

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

Is a passport required to cross the US/Canadian border? If not, do any of you feel it makes it easier if you do bring your passport?

We both have passports but they didn't seem to help much coming back into the US.

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

I'm just making some presumptions.

In Mexico, they scan your plates.  Hell, if you go back into Mexico they can tell how often you've crossed the border in X months.  That info comes up right away.  I presume Canada has similar setups.

A rental is owned by the car company, not the individual.  Maybe the border guards can access the car company's database, but I'd doubt that.  I know not all national car rental companies even have their outlets networked together (they have to call by phone to verify contract info).  If you want to avoid something being traceable, a rental is the way to go.  Fake ID and proxy payment method and there's no easy link between the driver and the vehicle.  A stolen vehicle might come up as such.  A stolen tag is just as problematic.  In contrast, your own vehicle pops up very nicely.

Still, if you drove INTO Canada with the same car you come back to the USA in, their database should show it's the same vehicle with the same driver.

Of course, being former LEO might have gotten you tagged.  Maybe you've not noticed, but the government's becoming awfully leery of former cops and military personnel.  If anyone knows how to get around the law...it's someone who worked inside the system.

Where in the fu&k do you get your info Zero?  I called one of my good K9 friends who works for CBP in Texas.  When I read your last line he started laughing.  And to back this up.  A couple years ago the wife and I entered into Canada from Baudette, MN in a rental.  Some small town near the border.  We came back within a few hours and my airhead wife had left the rental contract in her brothers house in MN.  Needless to say we were in the process of being ordered to pull over for a thorough ass exam.  When I told the guy I was LE he asked for my badge.  When he saw it he examined it for a few (retirement badge) and laughed and wished us a nice day.  Didn't seemed to concerned I was former LE.  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I know I've posted this before, but I'll always recall this border crossing with a smile on my face  


Patrol: “Where are you going?”
Me: “To Nelson to visit a friend”
Patrol: “What’s your friend’s name?”
Me: (hesitating, because I only really know him by his screen name, and saying “Baz” just didn’t seem appropriate) “Barry”
Patrol: “Where are you staying in Nelson?”
Me: “I’m not sure. A hotel. I have the name written down somewhere.”
Patrol: “How long are you going to stay?”
Me: “Just for the night.”

A very subtle eyebrow rose and he handed me back my passport.

[PatM]

When returning from a multi day visit to the states, always declare that you have bought some souvenir T-shirts.
Tell them you have some, even if you didn't buy anything.  If you don't, they get suspicious.

[Redbandit14]

My experience is I Usually (one exception) get just about waved through by U.S., customs on the way in to the U.S. and get a third degree by Canadian coming back.
That is pretty customary from what i gather from friends.

[JonS]

When I still lived in Seattle, I took a ride up to Vancouver once, just for a destination. The Canadian border official couldn't understand the concept of just a ride, without a purpose. So I ended up in the building while they thoroughly checked me out on their computers. Finally they let me in the country, but I learned a lesson.