Unfriendly customs officers :(
This weekend we went to Montreal. The Canadian customs officer was efficient but polite. Asked all the right questions with a friendly manner and when finished wished us well on our visit. Returnin...
Forum Discussion
We've traveled extensively around the world and have had varied experiences, but mostly good.
Coming back into the USA from Canada we had a US agent ask us the most revealing question that I've ever heard. "What are you bringing back that you shouldn't?" I laughed, but he knew what to look for. . . he then said: That means people also." He learned more from me than from a normal interrogation. He was very good, and we left amused by our encounter.
We flew to Sydney, AUS for the Sydney/Hobart yacht race with a US racing team, and a AUS agent asked us if we were there to take the trophy from them. I expected a "cavity search" at that point. Fortunately one of our crew was a US customs agent, and he provided a few badges and pins to smooth our way through. He listened to the agent interrogate me, and he said that she was really good, and that I had now idea what she was asking. He wished that he had agents as talented as her.
We traveled on a vineyard tour with friends from WA to SE British Columbia. Our friend that owns a wine shop had wine for 3 couples, with 2 couples in the car. They went to the wrong border crossing, other than the one we had agreed on with too much wine. My wife and I had already crossed into BC, and their agent said that if we could come back to their border crossing it would be OK. We drove there, parked, and waved to the agent from the parking lot and our friends came through with the wine. A nice experience.
I once took 7 Rotary exchange students from around the world through the border crossing in Blaine, WA. One of the students did not have his proper forms and was denied passage. It took several hours for someone to come with his forms before we could cross into Canada. It turns out that the Supervisor (not on duty) at the border crossing was a fellow Rotarian, who was incensed when he found out. The next time that I brought those students through the border several months later we were waved through with only a cursory look. Just keep moving, don't make trouble.
These all happened before 9-11. There are doing a tough job in difficult times.
Coming back into the USA from Canada we had a US agent ask us the most revealing question that I've ever heard. "What are you bringing back that you shouldn't?" I laughed, but he knew what to look for. . . he then said: That means people also." He learned more from me than from a normal interrogation. He was very good, and we left amused by our encounter.
We flew to Sydney, AUS for the Sydney/Hobart yacht race with a US racing team, and a AUS agent asked us if we were there to take the trophy from them. I expected a "cavity search" at that point. Fortunately one of our crew was a US customs agent, and he provided a few badges and pins to smooth our way through. He listened to the agent interrogate me, and he said that she was really good, and that I had now idea what she was asking. He wished that he had agents as talented as her.
We traveled on a vineyard tour with friends from WA to SE British Columbia. Our friend that owns a wine shop had wine for 3 couples, with 2 couples in the car. They went to the wrong border crossing, other than the one we had agreed on with too much wine. My wife and I had already crossed into BC, and their agent said that if we could come back to their border crossing it would be OK. We drove there, parked, and waved to the agent from the parking lot and our friends came through with the wine. A nice experience.
I once took 7 Rotary exchange students from around the world through the border crossing in Blaine, WA. One of the students did not have his proper forms and was denied passage. It took several hours for someone to come with his forms before we could cross into Canada. It turns out that the Supervisor (not on duty) at the border crossing was a fellow Rotarian, who was incensed when he found out. The next time that I brought those students through the border several months later we were waved through with only a cursory look. Just keep moving, don't make trouble.
These all happened before 9-11. There are doing a tough job in difficult times.
