^^^^^^^ Saying most do not travel is probably correct, even in Alberta most people I know do not go to the US. Not worth the time unless you live close to the border and drive across for fuel or staples.
Best way to avoid getting harassed by immigration?
- Thread starter figuroxxx
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Thank you for sharing, A12B, that sucks, for sure. Our tax dollars at work...
But then it is a little different when you are returning to your own country, isn't it? For the sake of argument, what could happen if instead of handing over your phone you (politely, like a true Canadian) suggested that he go fuck himself? Probably not the wisest choice of action, but they would have to let you in anyway, right? Obviously, when you are visiting a foreign country, you don't have this luxury as they simply will refuse you entry.
Come to think of it, it is really outrageous that we have to put up with this kind of bullshit. I thought more than once about writing to one of my senators, but then I despise them so strongly that I won't be able to finish the letter without a couple of choice insults. That won't advance my cause, I am afraid.
But then it is a little different when you are returning to your own country, isn't it? For the sake of argument, what could happen if instead of handing over your phone you (politely, like a true Canadian) suggested that he go fuck himself? Probably not the wisest choice of action, but they would have to let you in anyway, right? Obviously, when you are visiting a foreign country, you don't have this luxury as they simply will refuse you entry.
Come to think of it, it is really outrageous that we have to put up with this kind of bullshit. I thought more than once about writing to one of my senators, but then I despise them so strongly that I won't be able to finish the letter without a couple of choice insults. That won't advance my cause, I am afraid.
Bred Sob,
Yes, I agree. I'm going back home. The purpose of his search to my opinion was simply to flag me as a drug dealer or part of the mob or some kind of illegal activity. Then put me on their system that I'm a suspicious traveller and I could be subject to tracing after I leave the country again and build a file on my profile and share it internationally.
Look at the 'cocaine cowgirls' that got caught .... They got flagged in all step of their way to end up in jail in Australia. They traced them back from a meeting in Casablanca for plotting the route and negotiations ! And I was was coming from Casablanca. I'd bet you if I was coming from a date in France, England, Germany etc .. this would not have happened. AS soon as Casablanca came up .. boum !!! lol !
Yes, I agree. I'm going back home. The purpose of his search to my opinion was simply to flag me as a drug dealer or part of the mob or some kind of illegal activity. Then put me on their system that I'm a suspicious traveller and I could be subject to tracing after I leave the country again and build a file on my profile and share it internationally.
Look at the 'cocaine cowgirls' that got caught .... They got flagged in all step of their way to end up in jail in Australia. They traced them back from a meeting in Casablanca for plotting the route and negotiations ! And I was was coming from Casablanca. I'd bet you if I was coming from a date in France, England, Germany etc .. this would not have happened. AS soon as Casablanca came up .. boum !!! lol !
A friend of mine travelled to Canada a few years ago on his way to Toronto. Asked the standard questions and to his suprise the agent told him to park his car for further questioning. Once inside they had the dogs sniffing, the scanners scanning and they did the same for his car. He politely asked about what was going on and he was told their radiation alarm went off. He recently had a medical procedure and was giving off a very low alarm. Mystery solved.
My point is that if your constantly being detained and you don’t know the reason, why not just politely ask for the reason? Your already being detained, you know your golden, nothing wrong with trying to figure out why it continues to happen.
My point is that if your constantly being detained and you don’t know the reason, why not just politely ask for the reason? Your already being detained, you know your golden, nothing wrong with trying to figure out why it continues to happen.
I make a point of asking for a reason (politely!) every time I am being selected for the secondary inspection. I usually do that after they are done with me. I never once got a substantive answer beyond the standard "random check" or some crap like that.
That's the same answer I have always received, however it has been a long time since I was subjected to a "random check" ( around 10 years) and I have a theory that after X amount of trips into Canada without violating their laws, they stop them and focus on those with less trip experience into Canada. The only problems I have had with immigration and customs was coming back into the US on the other side of the border, highlighted by the infamous $300 black tea seizure. Got a snippy lecture on the CFR and how I should have read them or else "called ahead" to let them know that I intended to bring in $300 worth of Chinese flavored black teas in unmarked ziplock bags. I claimed the precedent defense (it had never been seized on prior trips) which did not work. I did not get fined however, just lost the tea.
No, Patron, I really believe we are talking about the same thing.
I am definitely irritated that inspections happen the way they happen now. I would have no problem showing my passport and answering a few formal questions (where are you going, length of stay, purpose of your visit, etc.) That is what you get when you travel to Europe and I don't see any reason why it should be any different when you make a trip to Canada.
Obviously, the treatment I received on my recent visits has nothing to do with National Security issues. I have no clue what it is all about. The only objective I can discern is to piss me off to the point of not coming to their country any longer. And it obviously goes beyond an occasional encounter with a total asshole performing the inspection. As I said earlier, some of the people I had to talk to seemed reasonably sane and pretty normal. It seems to me that they all, assholes and otherwise, are following some deliberate policy. Again, I am obviously not smart enough to figure out their purpose.
And, by the way, the issue of commercial sex has never once come up in any of my interviews at the border.
I am definitely irritated that inspections happen the way they happen now. I would have no problem showing my passport and answering a few formal questions (where are you going, length of stay, purpose of your visit, etc.) That is what you get when you travel to Europe and I don't see any reason why it should be any different when you make a trip to Canada.
Obviously, the treatment I received on my recent visits has nothing to do with National Security issues. I have no clue what it is all about. The only objective I can discern is to piss me off to the point of not coming to their country any longer. And it obviously goes beyond an occasional encounter with a total asshole performing the inspection. As I said earlier, some of the people I had to talk to seemed reasonably sane and pretty normal. It seems to me that they all, assholes and otherwise, are following some deliberate policy. Again, I am obviously not smart enough to figure out their purpose.
And, by the way, the issue of commercial sex has never once come up in any of my interviews at the border.
Well, does your theory provide any suggestions as to a possible value of that X? In my case, it is about a few dozen, but probably less than a hundred. And if anything, I would probably imagine that exactly the opposite is the case, as they are always very interested in the frequency of my visits.
I did have a couple of unpleasant encounters on my way back to the US, but not in recent years.
After 10 years or so of frequent trips with no Canadian laws being violated, no seizures etc. your name goes off the “random check” list. That’s my theory. At some point you simply get a pass on the secondary inspection which, in fact, is not truly arbitrary. Until a secondary inspection is ordered on me the theory remains valid.
I agree. I've been driving up by myself about 4 times per year for at least 15 years. There was a good stretch where I'd get sent inside for more questions and have my car searched roughly every third visit. That hasn't happened for several years now.
My theory is one based on common sense as well as knowing how LE operates. They allocate personnel and resources to doing searches on the riskiest targets and not on the least risky targets. An American who has had 40 trips to Montreal in 10 years and hasn’t broken any laws, racked up any DUIs, had items seized and received seizure notices, or even gotten a speeding or parking ticket is unlikely to be any cognizable risk or threat to Canadian society. This isn’t rocket science fellas.
If so, you should update your formula accordingly. "An American who has had 40 trips to Montreal in 10 years and hasn’t broken any laws, racked up any DUIs, had items seized and received seizure notices, or even gotten a speeding or parking ticket and is a merb member known as EagerBeaver is unlikely to be any cognizable risk or threat to Canadian society."
Bred I can tell you EB is correct. Got a skiing buddy who retired after 25 years as a custom border agent.
Basically... The number of times you go across the border will raise some flags. But then the number of times you go across without any inch of a problem will get the flag back down and get you trough with ease.
Cheers,
Basically... The number of times you go across the border will raise some flags. But then the number of times you go across without any inch of a problem will get the flag back down and get you trough with ease.
Cheers,
Bred does not believe in common sense, apparently. The whole world of LE mostly operates that same way.
Sam21,
I have really had those issues on the US side of the border. There are a few guys who take their job a little too seriously. I kind of lost my cool with one of them and he backed off. The Canadian customs agents tend to be a bit younger than their US counterparts in my experience. The initial inspection which is the only one I ever get produces the exact same questions. When I did get stopped for the secondary inspections in the distant past, the issue they were most interested in was DUI arrests/convictions, of which I have none. Around 12 years ago a rare Canadian wiseguy asked me around 4 times if I had a DUI conviction in the USA. I finally wiseguyed him back and said “same answer as the other 3 times you asked me.” He then took my passport and said he was going to run a Conviction search and “I hope you are telling me the truth.” I told him it would have impacts on my license to practice if I was lying. He then around 15 minutes later handed me my passport back with a sheepish “thank you, you are all set.”
I have really had those issues on the US side of the border. There are a few guys who take their job a little too seriously. I kind of lost my cool with one of them and he backed off. The Canadian customs agents tend to be a bit younger than their US counterparts in my experience. The initial inspection which is the only one I ever get produces the exact same questions. When I did get stopped for the secondary inspections in the distant past, the issue they were most interested in was DUI arrests/convictions, of which I have none. Around 12 years ago a rare Canadian wiseguy asked me around 4 times if I had a DUI conviction in the USA. I finally wiseguyed him back and said “same answer as the other 3 times you asked me.” He then took my passport and said he was going to run a Conviction search and “I hope you are telling me the truth.” I told him it would have impacts on my license to practice if I was lying. He then around 15 minutes later handed me my passport back with a sheepish “thank you, you are all set.”
It's almost impossible to say exactly why some people get hassled crossing into Canada. EB's theory seems reasonable, but it's just a theory. We don't have reliable data or information to back it up.
In my experience, the one thing that seems to matter is the mode of transportation. You are more likely to get hassled when driving across the border than when flying into Montreal.
I rarely drive into Canada but I have done so a few times in recent years. One time, a surly female border agent questioned me closely about whether I had a gun or guns in the car. She even asked me if I owned a gun at home-as if that mattered! But she let me through without a search.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that some border control officers seem to take delight in hassling people. They have almost unlimited power over people and it's not surprising that such power goes to their heads. This thread contains good advice on how to deal with that fact of life. Wise MERBites will follow the advice.
In my experience, the one thing that seems to matter is the mode of transportation. You are more likely to get hassled when driving across the border than when flying into Montreal.
I rarely drive into Canada but I have done so a few times in recent years. One time, a surly female border agent questioned me closely about whether I had a gun or guns in the car. She even asked me if I owned a gun at home-as if that mattered! But she let me through without a search.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that some border control officers seem to take delight in hassling people. They have almost unlimited power over people and it's not surprising that such power goes to their heads. This thread contains good advice on how to deal with that fact of life. Wise MERBites will follow the advice.
There is a remote border crossing between Edmundston, New Brunswick and Madawaska Maine that I used to make several crossings a year for business. Crossing into Maine I was searched several times. In fact, I would say that I was searched over 50% of the time. I made three or four trips a year to this location and I would make several crossing each trip. My car was searched while I went inside to sit in a lobby. I wasn't allowed to use the restroom until they were finished searching my car. I wasn't anywhere near my car at the time that they were searching so this made no sense to me. One time they found a dozen hats with my companies logo on it and the border agent thought she hit the jackpot. She told me about the textile tariff on goods imported into the USA from Canada. I told her that I had brought them from the USA anyway and they were cheap hats and she could keep them. She eventually let me go. Finally, when I was turning my territory over to another representative, I was stopped for the umpteenth time. Finally, I asked the officer "Why are you always stopping me?" She told me that it was a local crossing and they know most of the people that cross the border with frequency. I'm just an unfamiliar face so that is probably why they stop me.
Later, my customer (who is also my friend) laughed at my story and told me that an American crossing into the USA diving a car with a Quebec plate is probably an unusual occurrence at this border crossing. Living at the border all his life, my customer related his experience with a particular crossing guard that harassed him every time he crossed that border over a ~30 year period until the officer retired. It was like a school master quizzing an adolescent. There was no purpose other than the power that the agent wielded over my friend who needed the agents approval to cross the border.
I once was in CT for a conference and I decided to leave the conference early so I could drive up to Montreal for an overnight trip and see a GoodGirl. It is unusual that I am within reasonable driving distance so I decided to take advantage and burn some hotel points. Upon driving back to the USA, the border guard asked me what the reason was for my trip. I told him I decided to drive up for dinner and drinks. The agent became real excited and said "You expect me to believe that you drove all the way up to Montreal to have dinner and a few drinks?" I calmly gave him a one word answer "Yes." Then he repeated himself and I said "Well, that and hit a few clubs." He was happy with this answer and his attitude changed as soon as heard the word "clubs." Apparently, going to a few clubs is plausible for an overnight trip. He said "OK, pop the trunk" and within 30 seconds I was on my way.
I honestly do not know if it is easier to claim business or pleasure when crossing the border. Once, when driving through upstate New York I said my reason was business. The twit of a female agent wanted the address of the company and contact information of the people I was calling on in Montreal and a letter of invitation. I couldn't produce a letter of invitation but I had contact information and correspondence with the client by e-mail that I could show her on my BlackBerry. So far so good I thought and then the twit starts asking me "What are you going to say in your meeting? Like how do you sell your product? Like what are you gonna say?" This was really bizarre and I looked at her with a puzzled and said "I have a PowerPoint presentation." She went on with more silly questions about my presentation. It was a bizarre line of questioning. finally, she asked me to go inside where I spent 45 minutes waiting while a guard took my laptop and Black Berry into another room. They eventually let me go but I was held up an hour or so. I recanted my story to the manager at the Omni, Mount Royal. She said that I should tell them I'm going over for pleasure to have dinner etc.
I still think that if you are on a short trip, the best thing to say is that you are going over to hit a few clubs and to try your hand at the casino. They will infer that you mean gentlemen's clubs and let you go.
Later, my customer (who is also my friend) laughed at my story and told me that an American crossing into the USA diving a car with a Quebec plate is probably an unusual occurrence at this border crossing. Living at the border all his life, my customer related his experience with a particular crossing guard that harassed him every time he crossed that border over a ~30 year period until the officer retired. It was like a school master quizzing an adolescent. There was no purpose other than the power that the agent wielded over my friend who needed the agents approval to cross the border.
I once was in CT for a conference and I decided to leave the conference early so I could drive up to Montreal for an overnight trip and see a GoodGirl. It is unusual that I am within reasonable driving distance so I decided to take advantage and burn some hotel points. Upon driving back to the USA, the border guard asked me what the reason was for my trip. I told him I decided to drive up for dinner and drinks. The agent became real excited and said "You expect me to believe that you drove all the way up to Montreal to have dinner and a few drinks?" I calmly gave him a one word answer "Yes." Then he repeated himself and I said "Well, that and hit a few clubs." He was happy with this answer and his attitude changed as soon as heard the word "clubs." Apparently, going to a few clubs is plausible for an overnight trip. He said "OK, pop the trunk" and within 30 seconds I was on my way.
I honestly do not know if it is easier to claim business or pleasure when crossing the border. Once, when driving through upstate New York I said my reason was business. The twit of a female agent wanted the address of the company and contact information of the people I was calling on in Montreal and a letter of invitation. I couldn't produce a letter of invitation but I had contact information and correspondence with the client by e-mail that I could show her on my BlackBerry. So far so good I thought and then the twit starts asking me "What are you going to say in your meeting? Like how do you sell your product? Like what are you gonna say?" This was really bizarre and I looked at her with a puzzled and said "I have a PowerPoint presentation." She went on with more silly questions about my presentation. It was a bizarre line of questioning. finally, she asked me to go inside where I spent 45 minutes waiting while a guard took my laptop and Black Berry into another room. They eventually let me go but I was held up an hour or so. I recanted my story to the manager at the Omni, Mount Royal. She said that I should tell them I'm going over for pleasure to have dinner etc.
I still think that if you are on a short trip, the best thing to say is that you are going over to hit a few clubs and to try your hand at the casino. They will infer that you mean gentlemen's clubs and let you go.
I have been through the smaller border crossings like Rouse’s Point and you do get different questions in the initial inspection. I remember at Rouse’s Point, NY we were the only car at the station. A big electronic gate swung open to let my car enter the station driveway and when I approached the small guardhouse it seemed like we had “roused” the guard from a long nap at this sleepy little station in the middle of nowhere. His first two questions were why did we come to that station and how did we find it. Now this was back in 2014 or 2015 and I thought his latter question to be odd. So I answered (truthfully) that we anticipated traffic at Highgate Springs, VT, heard about this alternative route and found it through the GPS on my phone. Honestly I don’t know how anyone could find that crossing without GPS which is why I thought his “how did you find it” question strange. It’s not like a cellphone with GPS in 2014 was a new invention. Anyway if nothing else going in that way is a bit more scenic and rural and it’s very similar on both sides of the border, farms and lots of rural areas with small houses on large swaths of land.
