I'm curious to hear feedback from other foreigners (fellow Americans/otherwise) to the Great North who make frequent trips here for "fun."
Canadians who've had issues crossing the border either way are also welcome to share.
There is a similar thread here but imo a new one is warranted (that one just asks if it's likely whereas I think many of us know it WILL happen) as I am curious to hear others' experience and advice.
My experience:
I've been coming to Mtl once or twice/year for work conferences but since discovering the scene, come an additional 3-4 times a year...So basically I'm here for 3-4 days 5 times/year.
On the most recent trip after getting my passport/face scanned and getting my form printed, I told the customs officer I'd been here several times before and got directed into an adjacent line for further questioning.
No biggie as there were many people in that line also...frankly I was surprised it took 10+ trips for this to happen. In that line they asked me some standard questions and I showed them my hotel bookings and work email inbox when the asked. It's likely they're making sure I have ties to the U.S. and am not trying to immigrate to Canada. They asked me what I was going to do and I just told them the usual (explore the city, bars and clubs, comedy show). So far so good.
They let me through and as I was walking past the baggage claim, two more customs officers (1 male, 1 female...who I'll mention was very attractive lol) stopped me and asked to see my passport. They proceeded to ask me the same questions as the previous officer and then looked at the stamps on my passport. The male officer asked me why I went to Japan and Thailand recently. I went to both of those countries for general tourism and sport with a group of people so I answered honestly. Then the female officer was like "oh Thailand, that place is fun huh?" and gave me a really hard look. Thailand is probably the most well-known country in the world for sex tourism (gun to my head I truly did go there for sightseeing and sports not prostitutes...although I'll admit I enjoyed some "extracurriculars" there on my last day but whatever...that's irrelevant here) and knowing that's basically my raison d'etre to be in Montreal, I couldn't help but get pretty nervous at this point.
The male officer asked about the sport, asked what my gym was called and had me show him a couple of pictures. And then was like "oh cool" and dismissed me.
Questions/Discussion
What stuck out about this experience was
(1) After the initial round of extra questionings, that I got stopped again downstairs by the baggage claim...Would the officers there have radioed their colleagues about someone with my description to question a second time?
(2) The female officer's comment about Thailand and what I took to be a reference to sex tourism. It's unsurprising that a freuqent visitor would be asked to share his work history and hotel reservations so they know I'm not trying to overstay or immigrate to Canada, but her Thailand comment really threw me off.
All the officers were very polite and courteous throughout this process. I tried not to be too chatty and just answer their questions directly but in the second round I was nervously stuttering.
What have other frequent visitors to Canada experienced? Any pointers or advice that's helped out?
Also, should I be wary about coming again?
EDIT: in the other thread(linked above), many of the responses were from people who drove across the border. My trips are always by flight...I'm so far away driving doesn't make sense.
Canadians who've had issues crossing the border either way are also welcome to share.
There is a similar thread here but imo a new one is warranted (that one just asks if it's likely whereas I think many of us know it WILL happen) as I am curious to hear others' experience and advice.
My experience:
I've been coming to Mtl once or twice/year for work conferences but since discovering the scene, come an additional 3-4 times a year...So basically I'm here for 3-4 days 5 times/year.
On the most recent trip after getting my passport/face scanned and getting my form printed, I told the customs officer I'd been here several times before and got directed into an adjacent line for further questioning.
No biggie as there were many people in that line also...frankly I was surprised it took 10+ trips for this to happen. In that line they asked me some standard questions and I showed them my hotel bookings and work email inbox when the asked. It's likely they're making sure I have ties to the U.S. and am not trying to immigrate to Canada. They asked me what I was going to do and I just told them the usual (explore the city, bars and clubs, comedy show). So far so good.
They let me through and as I was walking past the baggage claim, two more customs officers (1 male, 1 female...who I'll mention was very attractive lol) stopped me and asked to see my passport. They proceeded to ask me the same questions as the previous officer and then looked at the stamps on my passport. The male officer asked me why I went to Japan and Thailand recently. I went to both of those countries for general tourism and sport with a group of people so I answered honestly. Then the female officer was like "oh Thailand, that place is fun huh?" and gave me a really hard look. Thailand is probably the most well-known country in the world for sex tourism (gun to my head I truly did go there for sightseeing and sports not prostitutes...although I'll admit I enjoyed some "extracurriculars" there on my last day but whatever...that's irrelevant here) and knowing that's basically my raison d'etre to be in Montreal, I couldn't help but get pretty nervous at this point.
The male officer asked about the sport, asked what my gym was called and had me show him a couple of pictures. And then was like "oh cool" and dismissed me.
Questions/Discussion
What stuck out about this experience was
(1) After the initial round of extra questionings, that I got stopped again downstairs by the baggage claim...Would the officers there have radioed their colleagues about someone with my description to question a second time?
(2) The female officer's comment about Thailand and what I took to be a reference to sex tourism. It's unsurprising that a freuqent visitor would be asked to share his work history and hotel reservations so they know I'm not trying to overstay or immigrate to Canada, but her Thailand comment really threw me off.
All the officers were very polite and courteous throughout this process. I tried not to be too chatty and just answer their questions directly but in the second round I was nervously stuttering.
What have other frequent visitors to Canada experienced? Any pointers or advice that's helped out?
Also, should I be wary about coming again?
EDIT: in the other thread(linked above), many of the responses were from people who drove across the border. My trips are always by flight...I'm so far away driving doesn't make sense.
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