Best way to avoid getting harassed by immigration?

[IamNY]

I’m guilty of trying to use French on my way to Montreal at the airport. I was going pretty strong with my Rosetta Stone cd’s and for some stupid reason I thought that it would be a good idea to test these skills when being questioned by the border agent. Got through 2 questions when I gave up and asked if we could try it again in English. Agent thought it was hilarious and had a couple of questions for me in English and then I was on my way.

I didn’t have a fake cover story, didn’t panick, just kept calm and relaxed and got through it. I’m not Jack Bauer being able to be interrogated for days and laughing about it. Me, I’m just a regular guy, with a decent level of confidence and respect for authority so I got through it.

Those days are over, with the NEXUS card I usually don’t even see an agent at the airport.

 

[Bred Sob]

Everything can be played to an advantage if you think on your feet.

If one of the reasons for your trip is to practice the French you have been learning in “poor man’s Europe”, your attempt at French at the initial entry point was pretty good evidence of your entry intent, and you can say that you clearly aren’t very good at it yet.

Agree 100%, my thinking exactly, down to using the "poor man's Europe" description.

 

[Datdude]

What is wrong with keeping it simple.
Casino, great restaurants, a city that is like being in Europe, alive and full of life and the women don’t look like Miss Maine.
There are civilian women that frequent nightclubs and Montreal women are known not to be such a hard sell if they get to like someone, no need to mention escorts.........

If you honestly think there aren’t attractive women in Maine, you’re either blind or a fool.

 

[hungry101]

As you drive north through Maine toward Madawaska and Frenchville, I have noticed several time that the average girl I encountered became more and more beautiful. In Madawaska, half the people are speaking French in the restaurants and gas stations and when I walk up they ask "can I help you" with absolutely no accent. Yes, there are a lot of fish wives in Southern Maine. I attribute this to the English influence. Look at the ugly queen and her ugly family. But as you drive north you see the French influence and females have a smaller bone structure and look absolutely hotter.

 

[Datdude]

I am neither blind nor a fool, have seen many gorgeous women in the US, very few in Maine.
They tend to be on the plus side and more suited to milking cows.

Luckily I live in Montreal, where on an average bus ride there are at least ten women that are more than fuckable.

That comment certainly points to one or the other. So you feel it’s acceptable to compliment the women of Montreal by insulting the entire female population of a State? One you apparently don’t know much about at that.

 

[Datdude]

I’m not insulted. I find you to be a pig making such a detrimental generalized blanket statement about the entire female population of a State while attempting to pass the insult as a compliment to others based solely on your personal preference and obvious limited experience. Was merely giving you an opportunity to come across as a decent human being instead. How do you think you did?

 

[Datdude]

Thanks for telling me what I think. That’s not at all what I said. I said you passing judgement on 700,000+ women based on your limited experience in a border town or two with populations of 2000 or less and then using that to compliment Montreal women strikes me as you being a pig. It’s your generalization speaking ill of the entire female population of a State and subsequently refusing to acknowledge it that makes you a poor human being. It’s an asinine assertion to make and not factual. How Trumpian of you. The SPs you referred to probably wouldn’t view you insulting other women as a complement to them. Go ahead and try that let us know how it works out for you. Have a good one.

 

[Like_It_Hot]

:rain::blah::rain::blah::rain::blah:ainkiller:ainkiller: @Datdude I think you made your point. Is it really usefull to continue???

 

[Mod20]

please stay on topic: Best way to avoid getting harassed by immigration?

 

[Datdude]

How is saying that I don’t find women in Maine attractive speaking ill of the whole state.
Did I call them criminals or bad people.
Do I absolutely have to find them attractive no matter what, am I not allowed to make anything other than positive comments.

I admire American patriotism but sometimes you guys take it way too far.
Not everything is the best in the USA there is a whole world out there and yes the women in Maine on average pale in comparison to Montreal and just about any other country or US state that I have been to.

That is my opinion and I make no apologies for it.
Where did it come from apart from my observation , half my relatives are from the US and a bunch of friends, whenever the conversation turns to someone not exactly that attractive they are the ones that usually say she might be in the running for Miss Maine.

You think calling people blind, fools, pigs is being a decent human being, well then live with it.
My guess is you were just itching for an argument and you happened to pick that one comment about Miss Maine.

I will say that there was this one time when I walked into a restaurant in Maine and on one side there was a group of 30 plus gorgeous young ladies, I even thought, where were they hiding these beautiful women.

Then as I got closer I heard them speaking French.
When I went out into the parking lot I noticed the bus with a Quebec license plate.

Nice deflection. You’re missing the point entirely. Let me help you. I’ll make a similar statement using your logic.

‘I made several trips to St-Théophile as a kid. Given that experience I can state unequivocally that NYC has much prettier women than the Province of Quebec, they all look like they should be castrating pigs.’

See what an asinine assertion that is? This has nothing to do with the US or Canada. Nor does it have anything to do with patriotism. Why you would bring that into the conversation escapes me. It has everything to do with how YOU chose to phrase things and judge 700k+ women based on what? Maybe 100 you saw? You don’t need to insult a large swath of people to state an opinion about the quality of women in Montreal(one I do not disagree with), and insult them you did, especially with the ‘milking cows’ bit. Would you at least agree that something along the lines of “I think Montreal is home to the most beautiful women on the planet” and leaving it that instead of including a derogatory and shitty comment about a large group of people with no basis in fact or reality might be a better way to go? It’s not necessary nor cool to complement someone by insulting another. That’s the point. The one that others seem to get yet repeatedly seems to escape YOU. For the record, I’m not from Maine

Once again, thank you for informing of me what I think. I don’t know where I’d be without you.

 

[jalimon]

Men this thread makes me laugh

I remember in my early 20's I was out west working as a bartender in a fancy lodge. I was living in the staff house. One night I tell a senior bartender I was disappointed by the girls living in the staff house... None of them interested me... It will be a long winter I told him... He answered me not to worry in a few months I will find them fine and fuck them anyhow. Of course he was right haha

Cheers,

 

[luvdozer]

Kef800 - Do you have any observations about what it is like crossing into Canada as an American after you bought your condo in Montreal? I have been thinking about exactly that kind of set up and was thinking that when I am asked why I am going to Montreal my very concise answer would be "i own a condo in old montreal and that is where I usually vacation."

It seems like if you take 3 or 4 trips a year from Boston to Montreal and stay at an airbnb each time, it might raise some eyebrows. However, if I own a condo, it makes sense to take multiple trips a year. Did you get different reactions from Canadian border police after you bought condo compared to before?

 

[Kontraband1978]

I have never had difficulty entering Canada. They laugh at my very poor attempt at speaking French. I do however get harrassed entering back into the States, "randomly" selected.

 

[hungry101]

Just don't reveal your MERB handle. That wouldn't help.

 

[Bred Sob]

Kidding aside, I have been wondering for a while if those border guards (both Canadian and American) might be reading this thread and -- no doubt -- having a hearty laugh at our "insights"...

 

[IamNY]

Over the summer I traveled by car and motorcycle to a Montreal 5 times within a 2 month period. I used my NEXUS card each time and each time I was waived through with at the most 3 basic/general questions. Not only was it easy to breeze through customs, your able to pass all the regular peeps sitting in the long lines waiting to be bullied by border agents. For the NEXUS card you need to be approved by both Canada and the US and it’s a simple process. I scheduled my interview at the border on one of my trips so it wasn’t inconvenient at all.

Want to not be harassed at the border? Get a NEXUS card.

 

[nico71]

Even if you are never harassed at the border, NEXUS saves you so much time by letting you skip all those long lines.

It also acts as a "Global Entry" pass - when entering the US from any other countries.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

I would get a NEXUS card but it might open up a can of worms and may stop my entry into the US. I have a few criminal charges from 30 or so years ago. So far my entry into the US has been easy ( from age 30 to 50 I did not even try ) and prefer to wait in lines than screw up a good thing. My passport does get scanned but I can get in.... Weird.

 

[Dr. Richard Kimball]

How does NEXUS work if there are people in your car without the NEXUS card.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

^^^^^^^^^ The Nexus lineup is only for card holders, all must have one.