Worst US/Canadian border crossing

The "worst" was simply the motorhome search as we crossed into Canada. The guards searched every nook and cranny, bags, etc - all very politely and carefully. We sat on the curb with our 2 dogs. Whole process took maybe 20 minutes; and then we were sent on our way. But every crossing after that (going to Alaska and back; and then the next year, visiting Nova Scotia) was simply easy and quick - show our passports and recite our license plate. I'm assuming we were in some database that declared us to be "good people" or some such thing :-) But we also follow the advice of others regarding sunglasses off, window open, polite, forthcoming with answers but not chatty.

About the 6th time crossing in my MH, went in at the end of I-81...second MH of two. First one had to pull to the curb for inspection. Agent ask me the normal questions and I said I had my "normal bar" which usually buys you some slack on amount. Had to estimate...18 beers, a liter total of alcohol, and 3 bottles of wine. Sat outside as 2 agents searched each MH's insides only. After 20 minutes a pimple face kid asked me to open the safe...fortunately I remembered where the key was... nothing in it. Was accused of lying as I had 22 beers, 1.5 L of alcohol, and 2 bottles of wine. Told them I did not inventory my booze and my numbers were a pretty good guess. Had to pay duty on 2 bottles of wine. Total time was over an hour.

The other MH had much the same situation and had to pay some duty on a little excess.

If you use the "turducken" approach by hiding your drugs inside the barrels of your handguns which you then secrete inside a raw turkey you will have no problems, so I have been told.

I think the best crossing we've had was going into the US at Sarnia-Port Huron. The officer asked us the usual "Where are you going? Where did you come from? Did you make any stops?" questions, which I answered including a lunch stop in London where we walked the dog. He then addressed our dog that was looking out the window, "And did you leave anything behind in Canada?" he asked her. I answered for her with, "Just a wet spot, officer. If she had left anything else, I would have bagged the evidence and brought it with us." Well, that broke him up, and he was still laughing as he waved us on through. ;)

p220sigman wrote:
In my experience, simply answer the questions asked as directly, respectfully, and succinctly as possible. Don't offer any commentary or smart comments and you will be fine.

Excellent advice! Listen carefully and answer the questions only as asked. Never volunteer info. otherwise you could find yourself being pulled aside for inspection. Another piece of advice is never take fresh fruit or vegetables into the US, even if from the US. Some meat is verboten too. Pork is a big no-no, even if frozen or in a can. It's your duty to declare things that may be restricted and YOU need to know in advance what they are by going to the Custom's websites. For ex., firewood (BC/WA at least) into the US can be sawn lumber but not split wood. If you do happen to get pulled over and didn't declare something, you could be in trouble and they could even decide to tear your vehicle or RV apart. They will even take away Nexus cards for good for small infractions.

Some rules don't make sense. If you have Nexus, you can't take your spouse's clothes if he/she isn't with you. My defense would be that I'm simply a cross-dresser. :) If DW comes to the CG later in the day, she takes her clothes with her. You're not allowed to go to the US to help a friend or relative work on something for free that they own there because you'll be deemed to be taking work away from an American citizen.

I mistakenly once volunteered that we had a small baggie of dog food. Very bad idea. We got put under the bright lights for a couple of hours like we were criminals. Our dog was barking the whole time out in their kennel. We were so flustered, we forgot to ask for our Nexus cards back. Got to the CG and couldn't find them. Phoned the customs office and they couldn't find them. Had to drive all the way back and they found them at the back of one of the officer's drawers. An innocent error? Dunno, but they weren't nice about it.

We've had Nexus cards for 5+ years and are supposed to have a high level of security pre-clearance compared to non-Nexus people. Even then, we get still pulled over a couple of times a year when with the TT, usually early in the season when they're not busy. They went through everything once and found a tiny bit of bark on a stick of kindling (which we had bought in the US). Got a stern warning. They seem to have a rotating flavor-of-the-month run on something like dog food, firewood, vaccination papers for pets, receipts for goods not declared, meat, fresh fruits & veggies, alcohol, etc. Have never been pulled over going back into Canada except for having to pay taxes on a purchase (over a certain amount).

If you want a sense of what the US & Canadian border agents are like and what they deal with, the Can. & US Border Security TV shows are interesting.

Matt_Colie wrote:
My wife has family in Canada. Between that and going back and forth to northern New York we have crossed the border lots of times.
Far and away the worst crossings have been returning to the states through the Ambassador Bridge. The tunnel has never been that bad, but if we don't want to go through downtown Detroit, the bridge is a better route and the duty free store is better.

Matt

Ironically the fastest border crossing I've ever had was the Ambassador bridge. I never even got my truck into park and shut off before he waived me through after showing my passport.

I usually cross at International Falls and they have always been professional. They randomly do more extensive vehicle searches that's there job. I'm greatful they take it seriously.

Like others have said have your window down, sunglasses off, look them in the eye and answer truthfully. Answer the questions directly and don't add unnecessary information.

Well, one slow day when I had a number of passengers, US Customs decided they hadn't done enough searches that day.

After about 1/2 hour I remarked to the passenger next me: "This reminds me of Mary Ruth's powdered milk story".

In less than 2 minutes we were all in my buggy and on the road.

:B

My wife and I have been across the US-Canadian border a sum total of once, just east of Glacier National Park/Waterton Lakes, so I guess you could say it was our worst and our best...
We were with my brother and his wife in his 2 door Geo Tracker. Heading into Canada, we were prepared as we stopped, and the guard didn't even notice we were in the back seat until we handed our passports forward. He was a bit surprised. He ran us through the basic questions including our destination, which was Waterton Lakes area for the day. He waved us on, enjoy your trip!
On the way back, again we were prepared, and it took about the same heading back into the US. I had to answer a few questions for my brother, as he couldn't recall where we had been... I do that sometimes too... The guard was polite & welcomed us back to the US.

I've been across the border 4 times personally, the first was with the US Navy - we simply sailed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and enjoyed a week in Vancouver. Of course, that was back in the late '70s, so it was easy.
The second time was a quick trip to Niagra falls with my manager while on a business trip in '85. No passport needed, just a drivers license. It was easy back then...

My last trip was to Toronto, then on to Munich. Coming back, I flew from Munich to Vancouver. I didn't realize US customs was at the airport in Canada.... D'oh!
Lessons learned: Have a PAPER copy of your boarding pass, or at least have a screenshot of it on your phone. If you are a US citizen, chances are, you do not have cell service in Canada. This happened to someone I didn't know, but watched the whole thing. That agent, an old woman, was brutal. She needed to retire...
Second: I didn't realize this was the border crossing, so had an unopened bottle of pop in my pack. I was planning to empty it before crossing as I like to keep bottles from other countries we've visited. I also had about a 1/3 bottle of water. The customs agent was almost as brutal regarding me being remiss about trying to bring fluids across... I was apologetic, but hell, I was groggy... I'd just spent 11 hours on an airplane, and didn't expect this to be the border crossing! Of course, I didn't say that, or much else other than "ok".

Our crossing into Mexico at Los Algodones was as simple as walking down the sidewalk. We saw no one! On the way back, my brother wanted to get across, and stated the US agents were a tough bunch. He and his bride, as well as the rest of our group headed through about 20 minutes ahead of us. There were very few tourists that day, and after my wife and I found our one and only Mexico geocache, we walked across the street & into the building, to find 6 stations, 6 agents plus backups. All just standing there... we looked back and forth, then I asked: "Ok, who wants us?" The whole place broke up in laughter. The agent asked a few questions, ran our passport cards, poked in a purse I'd bought my wife, then stated: Enjoy! Welcome back!
Fun times.

Usually just a few questions. Checked the refer a few times. US took our US tomatoes once. Never asked to see dog/cat papers.

Then the comical border crossing off of the Ferry at Victoria. Waved me and the MH through. DW was grilled for 30 minutes in the car. Why don't you have luggage? Why no reservations? To each one she replied - See that motorhome - I'm with him, my clothes are with him, etc. On and on went the same questions and the same answers. Don't know what was going on but a good story after the fact.

Once waiting for the ferry at Port Angeles, WA I asked what I could do with the firewood. "Well the Canadians won't like it but you can put it in that truck over there. When it's full it's auctioned off to the employees and the money is donated to help local kids." I was happy to help and avoid any problems in Canada.