Best way to avoid getting harassed by immigration?

[luvdozer]

yes, if you have skis or bikes on your car, they will pass you right through. good point.

EB is right about the hockey questioning. If you dont have tickets then be prepared for questions that are intended to trip you up. However, if you actually get tickets in advance that you can show them, then you dont have to worry about them asking you about rosters.

It all gets back to what was said before - KISS keep it simple stupid. Traveling to Montreal is something that millions of people do. The more work you put into a "cover story" the more chances there are for someone to poke a hole in that story. On the other hand, the more that your answers are real legitimate things that you actually intend to do, the less chance you will be questioned and if you are questioned, still permitted entry.

 

[hungry101]

Got lots of condoms and a few sex toys in your bag and it gets searched. Well, you know he is more than just a “friend” . That is part of the reason he emails about everything instead of calls and texts. You guys don’t want a lot of evidence about your friendship.

Don't ask!!! Don't tell!!! I would insist that I am gay and become all indignant and they would let you go right on through.

 

[EagerBeaver]

If there is something that arouses suspicion at the initial interrogation you will not get "turned away", you instead get sent to a secondary, more thorough and more lengthy inspection/interrogation, where you will have the opportunity to get your act together and answer questions truthfully, or have your DUI conviction in Indiana in 1996 get discovered, the latter meaning that you WILL get turned away regardless of what else might be found or learned. It will be in the secondary inspection in which any discovered sex toys would have to be explained by someone travelling alone. If you claim that they are for a friend travelling separately, that story so reeks of bullshit that you will be asked his name and phone number and he will get a call from Customs. If the phone number is not answered by someone with that name you have identified, good fucking luck. Getting caught lying to a Canadian Customs Agent is a chargeable offense and we should not be advocating criminal conduct in this thread.

They can turn you away if they do not like your answers-it's discretionary. You have no legal right to enter Canada. It is a privilege.

 

[jmioffe]

They can turn you away if they do not like your answers-it's discretionary. You have no legal right to enter Canada. It is a privilege.

Yeah, it's probably best to behave with this in mind, for any country.

About the sex toys, you could always fall on your um, sword, and say they're for yourself. Sometimes if you embarrass yourself enough, people don't want to hear further.

to wit: "I love the scene in a Little Miss Sunshine where the cop is searching their trunk and then can’t wait to let the family go once he sees the gay porn magazine."

 

[IamNY]

I posted in another thread that Netflix now has season 2 of Border Security: America’s Front Line. If you want to get an idea of what border agents go through, this is the show for you. Almost everything covered in this thread is addressed one way or another.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Patron,

Customs Agents are not required to nor do they accept statements that reek of bullshit. Bluetooth technology is almost universal at this point and for your information I was asked the telephone number of someone I said I would be visiting (which was a truthful statement fortunately for me). Stories that beg questions will be questioned.

Your posts suggest clever “stories” will do the trick. They may or may not do the trick. But if you are caught lying on something like this it would be an immensely stupid and unnecessary move. I have never had any problems telling the truth in 12 years of no secondary inspections. There is no need to be a storyteller.

 

[EagerBeaver]

And did they in fact call that number? I am guessing not, but it would be useful to know.

They did not - but the person at the other end was expecting me so I wasn’t too worried about it.

They could also make you call the number and ask to be handed the phone. What could happen in this situation is a limitless can of worms that just doesn’t need to be opened in the first place.

 

[sambuca]

- Well, I do enjoy hockey. I do like the Canadians. I do like casinos. I like pussy.
- If someone here can confirm Canadian border agents will call some non-existent friend, I personally have an easy solution for that. Of course, it goes to voicemail or you can just line-up a buddy to answer and vouch he's on his way to meet you.

Perhaps our friend Jalimon will be our back-up buddy for some drinks and poutine.

 

[IamNY]

The border show I mentioned earlier has agents calling people all the time.

 

[smuler]

The border show I mentioned earlier has agents calling people all the time.

They do call

Best Regards
Smuler

 

[EagerBeaver]

The border show I mentioned earlier has agents calling people all the time.

Would be consistent with my experience and common sense because if they don’t call and follow up on their proper questions, they would allow themselves to be easily defeated by semi-obvious bullshit stories. It’s not their job to be easily defeated. I view a Customs Agent’s job as not significantly different than an attorney’s at a deposition. You don’t simply accept something because someone says it is so. You probe and probe until you verify the truth. Granted these agents have to get a lot accomplished in a smaller window of time, but I see them as occupational distant cousins, and they get similar training on how these things have to be done. There is a somewhat condescending view of these people being promoted by some posts in this thread, but they have a job to do and one can only presume that they are trying to do it right.

 

[sambuca]

So I'm wondering is there any harm if the "call" goes straight to voicemail?

 

[luvdozer]

Having an imaginary friend is indeed a terrible idea. Any plan that involved lies or half truths is vulnerable to a border agent saying "that doesnt sound right, you cant cross"

All of these posts that try to come up with clever lies are a waste of time and an unnecessary risk. Lies can always be exposed. If you arent telling any lies then you cant be found to have lied to a border agent. I am coming to Montreal because I love the city, the restaurants, the bars and the Museums. Find something in the city the truly interests you and learn about it so you can legitimately say you are coming to visit that thing\location. For me it is art galleries and museums. If I say I am coming up specifically for the Leonard Cohen exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, no agent can poke a hole in that story. Yes I am traveling by myself. I am single and I always travel by myself. Who else am i supposed to travel with?

Fake friends and fake numbers and fake tickets are all recipes for denial and more trouble than they are worth.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Having an imaginary friend is indeed a terrible idea. Any plan that involved lies or half truths is vulnerable to a border agent saying "that doesnt sound right, you cant cross" .....All of these posts that try to come up with clever lies are a waste of time and an unnecessary risk. Lies can always be exposed. If you arent telling any lies then you cant be found to have lied to a border agent. myself. Who else am i supposed to travel with? Fake friends and fake numbers and fake tickets are all recipes for denial and more trouble than they are worth.

I totally agree luvdozer. All of those "clever" ideas can and will get busted.

 

[IamNY]

So I'm wondering is there any harm if the "call" goes straight to voicemail?

Depends on the situation. If they are calling somebody to help you or verify something than yes, it could be harmful. Lots of variables. It’s never happened to me, but on the show I mentioned earlier it can go either way.

 

[Bred Sob]

Any plan that involved lies or half truths is vulnerable to a border agent saying "that doesnt sound right, you cant cross"

This sounds great in theory, but as a practical matter -- a little less so. Many members of this forum (boy scouts-in-residence of course excepted) travel to Montréal for purposes they might not want to disclose to CBSA agents. That inevitably forces them (us) to resort to half-truths, if not outright lies. And the whole point of this thread (as I see it) is to figure out the best way to make these half-truths seem more plausible.

 

[RobertNYC]

Good info on this thread but still not understanding why someone would need to lie or even tell a half truth to cross a border into Canada? It’s not like trying to get into North Korea.

Every freaking trip I simply say the same thing: I’m just getting away, coming up to hit the casino for sure and probably a couple jazz clubs. Which ones you ask? Upstairs Jazz Club definitely. Been there. Do you have tickets? Tickets, ya just pay an entry fee at door. No tickets. Seeing any musician in particular? Nope. You like jazz? I like all kinds of live music. I’ll probably see bands at Hurley’s too. No idea who is playing this weekend. That’s been the worst of any line of questioning for me. No lying. Just stick to the facts. I’m traveling by myself to go to the casino and see some live music. What agent would ever have a problem with that?

One is heading down a dangerous path making up imaginary friends, etc. And if I were an agent and heard someone mention an interest in real estate, I’d submit him or her to a secondary inspection. That’s opening up a Pandora’s box. Oh what a tangled web we weave...

 

[EagerBeaver]

Good info on this thread but still not understanding why someone would need to lie or even tell a half truth to cross a border into Canada? It’s not like trying to get into North Korea.

I am also not understanding it but have a theory about it: guilt and shame. Guilt and shame about what one is doing is what compels you to feel like you need to lie. If you have no guilt and shame about what you are doing, the truth is as liberating as a burp or fart in the morning. What we see in this thread is that some people have shame and guilt dictating their own actions and others do not. It’s kind of interesting on a psycho-social level, but I firmly believe that is the explanation for the dichotomy in the posts.

 

[Bred Sob]

still not understanding why someone would need to lie or even tell a half truth to cross a border into Canada

Funny that it is really necessary to spell it out, but if you insist... Because this is not a jazz forum or even a gambling one. Activities mainly discussed here are not exactly legal (cf. Bill C-36), and people traveling to Canada to engage in them are not exactly eager to disclose their intent at the border crossing.

I guess, I will now have to file an application to change my forum handle to Captain Obvious

 

[EagerBeaver]

That is ridiculous.

I found your reply ridiculous, but can explain why we have different perspectives based on the rest of your post.

I have never looked at a trip to Montreal as a trip to “see escorts.” It’s a vacation, whether it’s 2, 3, 4 or 5 days. Never looked at it as anything else. Seeing an escort or escorts is merely a tangential and small activity that is part of a larger vacation.

Probably unlike many of you, I don’t stay in my hotel and masturbate thinking about my next date. Every Montreal trip, I try a new bar and restaurant. Read the restaurant thread. I walk around a lot. I explore. I try to visit some place new every trip. I strongly suspect my trips go down differently than most here, but we all have different ideas on vacations.

You take escort trips, I take vacations, and therein lies the difference. A vacation never needs to be lied about - ever!!!! In fact, the first thing I say almost always when I speak to a Customs Agent is how glad I am to get away for a weekend vacation. Because usually that’s exactly how I feel. That directs the flow of questions.

Your posts do manifest a fearful attitude and I just don’t have the same fear. Because a vacation is a very legal thing to do. Tourism is and should be warmly welcomed. And a tourist shouldn’t feel ashamed or guilty of spending free time abroad exploring.

As soon as you accept that fear, shame and guilt drive lying activity generally, you begin to understand that these are just obstacles to be conquered in your head. You haven’t done it. But you can. That’s the difference that is going on here in between the posts that counsel against lying and those that advocate lying. The guys who are telling the truth have conquered this shit in their heads.