Favorite and least favorite US- Canada Border Crossings

[hbelkins]

My wife tells how when she was an infant, her family went to Canada. They did not have a birth certificate for her and they had difficulties getting back into the USA because of it. I'm guessing this happened at Detroit, since she grew up in Ohio and her mother's siblings had all relocated from Kentucky to the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor area.

[ghYHZ]

I've crossed a couple of times at North Troy VT/Highwater QC .......a sleepy little Border Post on Route 243 (same # in both QC & VT) and a short-cut back to AutoRoute 10 when returning from a day's skiing at Jay's Peak VT.

Best way to describe the Guard was "Boarder Dude"  as in Snow Boarder. He saw our skis and was very professional in the questions he had to ask. But after that......just wanted to talk skiing and that days conditions until the next car showed-up in line behind us.   

[agentsteel53]

I've crossed a couple of times at North Troy VT/Highwater QC .......a sleepy little Border Post on Route 243 (same # in both QC & VT) and a short-cut back to AutoRoute 10 when returning from a day's skiing at Jay's Peak VT.

Best way to describe the Guard was "Boarder Dude"  as in Snow Boarder. He saw our skis and was very professional in the questions he had to ask. But after that......just wanted to talk skiing and that days conditions until the next car showed-up in line behind us.

is this on the US or the Canadian side?  I once attempted to cross there, but the Canadian guy would not let my rental car in.  (odd, because I did have the permissions; it just wasn't explicitly stated on the contract)  he was very friendly, while his US counterpart was the usual taciturn. 

I'm not sure which helped my cause less: my failure to be let into Canada, or the fact that it didn't have too much bearing on my plans.

[ghYHZ]

is this  on the US or the Canadian side?.......

This was on the Canadian side

[DBrim]

In general, I actually have just as much, if not more trouble getting into Canada than getting into the US.  The Canadian guards are generally nicer about it, but I can only recall three times (out of 8 or so) that I have been able to get through the Canadian border WITHOUT exiting the vehicle.

Speaking of that, one to add to the list of favorites: The Canada-bound border patrol station in Hyder, Alaska.  We were only in the US for 5 minutes or so, so the lady probably saw us enter.  The questions were along these lines:

"How long were you in the US?" - about 5 minutes or so.
"How long are you going to be in Canada?" - about two days. 
"Did you get Hyderized?" - no. 
"Very good, welcome to Canada."

[Dr Frankenstein]

"Did you get Hyderized?" - no. 

[oscar]

Speaking of that, one to add to the list of favorites: The Canada-bound border patrol station in Hyder, Alaska.  We were only in the US for 5 minutes or so, so the lady probably saw us enter.  The questions were along these lines:

"How long were you in the US?" - about 5 minutes or so.
"How long are you going to be in Canada?" - about two days. 
"Did you get Hyderized?" - no. 
"Very good, welcome to Canada."

I did get "Hyderized" on my visit there in 1994.  The local paramedic advised my to walk around town a few hours, to get my blood alcohol back below the Canadian limit before recrossing the border.  While there was no checkpoint on either side of the border back then, I was warned that the RCMP watched the border for DWI violators, as well as Stewart BC residents trying to smuggle cheap booze and tobacco purchased at the "Val-Mart" in Hyder. 

Hyder's bar is close enough to the border that you could conceivably been Hyderized during a five-minute visit. 

[agentsteel53]

I did get "Hyderized" on my visit there in 1994.  The local paramedic advised my to walk around town a few hours, to get my blood alcohol back below the Canadian limit before recrossing the border.  While there was no checkpoint on either side of the border back then, I was warned that the RCMP watched the border for DWI violators, as well as Stewart BC residents trying to smuggle cheap booze and tobacco purchased at the "Val-Mart" in Hyder. 

Hyder's bar is close enough to the border that you could conceivably been Hyderized during a five-minute visit. 

that's precisely what I was worried about - my BAC shooting through the roof.  isn't Canada's threshold .03 or something similarly low?  Given my weight, one shot of Everclear would get me to about .05.

[kphoger]

Honestly, I've never understood the point of an exit interview.  What's the point of going through customs to leave a country?

You might appreciate the fact that the CBP checks American vehicles for guns and ammunition when they leave the US for México.  Where do you think the Mexican cartels get their guns?

[Brandon]

Honestly, I've never understood the point of an exit interview.  What's the point of going through customs to leave a country?

You might appreciate the fact that the CBP checks American vehicles for guns and ammunition when they leave the US for México.  Where do you think the Mexican cartels get their guns?

That, and the fact that having an unauthorized firearm in Mexico carries a substantial sentence in a Mexican jail, IIRC.  Hence the supersized signage mentioning "NO FIREARMS IN MEXICO" before the border.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I did get "Hyderized" on my visit there in 1994.  The local paramedic advised my to walk around town a few hours, to get my blood alcohol back below the Canadian limit before recrossing the border.  While there was no checkpoint on either side of the border back then, I was warned that the RCMP watched the border for DWI violators, as well as Stewart BC residents trying to smuggle cheap booze and tobacco purchased at the "Val-Mart" in Hyder. 

Hyder's bar is close enough to the border that you could conceivably been Hyderized during a five-minute visit. 

that's precisely what I was worried about - my BAC shooting through the roof.  isn't Canada's threshold .03 or something similarly low?  Given my weight, one shot of Everclear would get me to about .05.

Depends on the province. .05 for most, .08 in Québec. Federal criminal offense above .08 in all provinces.

[agentsteel53]

Depends on the province. .05 for most, .08 in Québec. Federal criminal offense above .08 in all provinces.

figured.

I'm not much of a drunk driver, but I get the idea that what I perceive as .03 is definitely not .08 but could be .05 if I'm not careful.  One strong beer (7%, 16oz) might do it for me. 

[kphoger]

Honestly, I've never understood the point of an exit interview.  What's the point of going through customs to leave a country?

You might appreciate the fact that the CBP checks American vehicles for guns and ammunition when they leave the US for México.  Where do you think the Mexican cartels get their guns?

That, and the fact that having an unauthorized firearm in Mexico carries a substantial sentence in a Mexican jail, IIRC.  Hence the supersized signage mentioning "NO FIREARMS IN MEXICO" before the border.

True, but I doubt the CBP is too worried about the possiblity of your ending up in a Mexican jail.  That's simply not their concern.

[Sykotyk]

I've had a few interesting cross-border stories going into or out of Canada. I've had a few uneventful ones, as well.

First time was the longest inspection, I was 17 and I crossed at about 2am on I-190. The first booth you pull up to the lady asked me "Citizenship", and I thought she was asking for proof, so I started handing her my license (this was in the late 90s). She then waived off the license, and asked "Where did you come from?" And I looked over my shoulder, pointed behind me and said, "That road, right there."

Needless to say, I got a card to take to the inspection bay for a further analysis. She was certain I was meeting someone up there from the internet (not the case), or that was forced to run drugs (not the case). About an hour later and my car completely torn apart (the floor had garbage on it and they were kind enough to spread it all over the seats).

Probably the other big reason was I was honest and said I had driven 5 hours and planned on being in Canada about 2 hours and then was going to drive home. Sucks to be honest. Now I always say "for the weekend", no matter how long I plan on staying.

Second interesting crossing was with a friend in my grandfather's car on the Ambassador Bridge into Canada. My grandfather lives in Detroit, but is still a legal resident of Pennsylvania. I borrowed his car when I was up there, and didn't think to look at the plates. So, I crossed the border and was pretty straight forward that we were just going to the casino for the night. When I told them my grandfather lived in Detroit, they questioned why the car had PA tags (and I'm an Ohio resident, my friend is from PA). So, Canada calls us for a vehicle inspection. I didn't know this, as well, but my grandfather's car had a security system on it (an aging Lincoln), that had a bypass with a switch under the hood. If you flip the switch, it disables the car (and takes forever for the computer to start working properly). Well, we're standing behind a jersey barrier while the inspector goes through the car and notices all these extra wires and this switch, and asks, "What's this switch for?" And we have no clue. Meanwhile, he's switching it on and off (obviously, he doesn't think it's a bomb, or he's the worst bomb expert ever). Finally, he says we're free to go. But, the car won't start. Nothing. Won't crank. No lights. Then we figure it's the switch. Flip it, and the car runs, ... kinda. It won't stay running at idle speed. Which meant holding the brake and accelerator at the same time at lights (and even that failed sometimes). We also decided to come back through the tunnel, and kept worrying about the car dying. And, we got called for an inspection on the way back. But, that wasn't the interesting part. We were escorted to the waiting room and then distraught 18-year-old comes in, panicked, saying "they put my friend in handcuffs". He asked if that was a bad thing? We agreed, it probably was. They impounded his car. While we waited, we figured he had warrants out and was caught on reentry.

Blue Water Bridge, Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, I-91, Calais, ME, and US395 (into Canada) and I-5 (into US) were never a problem for me any other time. Had a long talk with the US395 Canadian inspector as I was the only one there and it was getting late. I just told him I was out for a drive for the weekend. Was in Spokane for business and saw my rental car was allowed to enter Canada. Drove the Crows Nest by Osoyoos and eventually toward Vancouver and the BC-99 to I-5. Beautiful drive up that way. Especially westbound down the hill into Osoyoos.

[roadman65]

Sounds to me from many, that the border patrols have an interesting way of feeling people out!  Gabbing about personal interests when no one is around is rather effective and I am sure these agents get bored sitting around all day in the isolated entrees.  They are killing two birds with one stone basically.

Then the one where they ask strange questions are just like new job interviewers that asks questions not pertaining to the job at all!  Now days, some potential employers throw in a somewhat off the wall question just to see how you would respond, to test you!  In a job that requires quick thinking, they may ask a dumb question that requires you to take a little time to figure out what is going on.  How fast you figure it out shows if you are their specific hiring material.

[oscar]

Drove the Crows Nest by Osoyoos and eventually toward Vancouver and the BC-99 to I-5. Beautiful drive up that way. Especially westbound down the hill into Osoyoos.

Customs agents on both sides of the border seem to completely understand why you want(ed) to travel the awesome Crowsnest Highway (BC/AB 3).  I mentioned that doing the crossing, in both directions in different years.  Something you might want to work into whatever you say at the border in eastern Washington/British Columbia, if you're crossing in daylight.

[Sykotyk]

Drove the Crows Nest by Osoyoos and eventually toward Vancouver and the BC-99 to I-5. Beautiful drive up that way. Especially westbound down the hill into Osoyoos.

Customs agents on both sides of the border seem to completely understand why you want(ed) to travel the awesome Crowsnest Highway (BC/AB 3).  I mentioned that doing the crossing, in both directions in different years.  Something you might want to work into whatever you say at the border in eastern Washington/British Columbia, if you're crossing in daylight.

Would definitely want to go back and drive the rest. Maybe when I finally drive to Alaska, I'll take some detours around AB/BC.

[thenetwork]

Of all the times I have crossed back & forth into Canada (Niagara/Detroit/Port Huron Areas), I never had to pull off for inspection or additional questioning. 

My favorite border crossing was somewhere just north of Havre, MT, crossing into Alberta.  2 Houses in the middle of empty high desert plain (one on each side of the border).  The houses looked like the old filling stations of the 20's & 30's with the vehicles pulling underneath an extended porch roof -- the customs agents were about as friendly and informal AS a filling station attendant from that era to boot.  And you just had to make sure that if you were coming back later that day, you had to be sure you got back before the border "closed" at 8PM -- They would lock up the road gate until the next morning, and the next closest 24/7 border crossing was I-15 about 125 miles west.

[J N Winkler]

I dug this up for a parallel thread:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/gg00038.pdf

An interesting statistic--of 140 million passengers inspected by Customs in fiscal 1997 and 1998, only 102,000 (less than 0.1% of the total) were subjected to some form of "personal search," defined in the report as anything from a patdown to (in ascending order by intrusiveness and need for higher-level approval) to partial body search, X-ray, full cavity search, or a monitored bowel movement.  It was evidently not possible, however, to obtain information on the proportion of arrivals selected for secondary inspection.

[A.J. Bertin]

I've crossed the border several times over the past 10 years or so. Whenever I cross, it's usually between Michigan and Ontario and is almost always the Blue Water Bridge. However, I've also crossed at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Ambassador Bridge, the International Bridge (Sault Ste. Marie), and also the Peace and Rainbow Bridges between Ontario and New York.

I generally don't have too many issues, but the time I had the most difficulty was when I was driving back home from a road meet in Rochester, New York, in 2010. I had crossed the Peace Bridge from Buffalo into Ontario and was cutting across Ontario on my way home to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Getting into Canada was fine, but getting back into the U.S. in Port Huron was a pain. I was driving alone, had my passport, and answered the questions sufficiently, but I was asked to pull off to the side and get out of my car. There were five cars that were being inspected by some large vehicle, and out of the five, mine was selected to be searched. They looked inside the cabin and trunk of my car. I was worried because I had brought a few albums with photos of U.S. road signs (Michigan state highway shields), and I feared that they would ask me more about those. Fortunately they didn't. After waiting for about 15 minutes or so, all of us were cleared to go.

It is interesting trying to explain roadgeeking as a purpose for crossing the border. There was a group of us who attended the Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON road meet in August 2012, and I was the passenger in Brian Rawson-Ketchum's car. We explained to the Canadian customs agent that were joining up with a group of highway enthusiasts, and she asked us, "How do you know these people?" I said "through an online community", and she seemed okay with that answer.

My significant other and I crossed over into Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in December for a three-day visit. The Canadian official was quite friendly. It was right at the end of December, and she asked "So are you planning to stay for New Year's?" We said no because we were planning to cross back into the U.S. on New Year's Eve Day, and she said, "Aww... that sucks! Being in Canada for New Year's is fun!" or something along those lines. When she gave us our passports back, she just said, "Have fun!"

Those are probably the most interesting border-crossing stories I have. I used to get pretty nervous about crossing the border, but now I think I handle them just fine.

[agentsteel53]

she asked us, "How do you know these people?" I said "through an online community", and she seemed okay with that answer.

this seems to be getting more and more accepted, because nowadays everyone has Facebook, and "online community" isn't associated solely with dorks, nerds, dweebs, freaks, geeks, Al Qaeda operatives, etc.

[elsmere241]

she asked us, "How do you know these people?" I said "through an online community", and she seemed okay with that answer.

this seems to be getting more and more accepted, because nowadays everyone has Facebook, and "online community" isn't associated solely with dorks, nerds, dweebs, freaks, geeks, Al Qaeda operatives, etc.

Hey, I met my wife online back in 2004.

[agentsteel53]

Hey, I met my wife online back in 2004.

did you ever have any trouble explaining that to the border patrol?

[elsmere241]

Hey, I met my wife online back in 2004.

did you ever have any trouble explaining that to the border patrol?

Not yet.

[kphoger]

Hey, I met my wife online back in 2004.

did you ever have any trouble explaining that to the border patrol?

Not yet.

I met my wife online back in 2003.  It took a little explaining to my parents, but no border agent has ever asked how I met my wife.