Entering Canada from U.S

[[Ri...]]

Hello to my American friends!

I'm just wondering what is your experience entering Canada I mean on the border do they ask you really stupid question like "what for you are coming to Canada", how long you're gonna stay. Are these

guys on the canadian border conducting a kind of interrogations or being rude to you. Just curious...

 

[[Fl...]]

Same as any other border crossing I have been through.

[Guest [ch...]]

Canadian customs have never been rude to me. "What is the purpose of your visit?" "Visiting my parents" "Ah, then welcome home" is a typical exchange. Canadians are nice people. :-)

 

On the other hand, the other direction - US customs - are often rude. I have been interrogated, searched, delayed, and asked all kinds of weird questions. Example (I am not making this up): One US customs guy went through every single item in my wallet and asked me about it. He pulled out a membership card that said "USCF member" and asked me if that is a terrorist organization I belong to. I had to explain no, USCF is the the United States Chess Federation. What a moron that guy was. And god forbid if you have any pills not in their original prescription bottles - they'll confiscate them. Paranoia sweeping the country these days... it didn't use to be like this.

 

Take care, safe travels,

 

Chessplayer

[[...]]

Hello to my American friends!

I'm just wondering what is your experience entering Canada I mean on the border do they ask you really stupid question like "what for you are coming to Canada", how long you're gonna stay. Are these

guys on the canadian border conducting a kind of interrogations or being rude to you. Just curious...

 

"What are you coming to Canada for?", is a stupid question?

 

That's pretty basic and standard???? 

 

You would rather them ask you your opinion on the theoretical physics of wave-particle duality, a theory combining aspects of different, opposing models via the Bohr complementarity principle?

 

 

As a Canadian citizen, I am of the opinion that US and CAN border guards can either be great, or complete ass-hats.  The US border guards seem to have a slightly higher concentration of ass-hats than the Canadian ones, but not by much.

 

Be polite when crossing.  Be prepared to cough up a lot of information about your trip itinerary. 

 

Going through everything in your wallet is a little extreme but keep in mind they are well within their right to do so, as are our boarder guards for non-Canadian citizens coming here.  They will have quotas to fill when asking weird questions.  Their dialogues are usually recorded. 

 

Just know your rights.  You can refuse to answer certain questions, or consent to certain things, but then your not likely to be admitted either.

[Guest [ch...]]

At least US and Canada customs won't try to shake you down for bribes, as can be the case entering some third-world countries.

[[Be...]]

Going to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with family we were asked basic questions: purpose of visit, etc. The agent was easygoing.

 

The return trip back to U.S. the agent was much more serious. The questioning was more rigorous and passports were reviewed more intensely. This was post-911. I suspect it's even more so now.

 

Becky

[[...]]

I went last week at the Lewiston crossing to buy powerball tickets and the us guard was the nicest guy I've ever had.  The Canadian guy also actually.

[[To...]]

Hey

 

I was just wondering if anyone crossing the border via car . ..  if you had any prescription benzos on you and did the border ask for a Doctor's note ?      I am on Clonazepam and I am in Canada and in 2005  I went to the Buffalo in my car ( Niagara Falls border ) with my Clonazepam in my purse ,and they did not ask me anything other than why was I going to the states .

 

  Now,  it is under controlled substances  .. and someone did send me a link  that probably will need a Doctor's note ,  which my Doctor will not do .    Long story , but she refuses to write me notes or sign her new electronic prescriptions with an ink signature and that caused me a lot of problems even trying to get the electronic signature prescription filled .  Every pharmacist refused to fill it unless she signed it and after trying to explain all of this to her .. she snapped at me  .. signed it    and told me never again would she sign in ink ..

 

So  ,  now that is controlled substance and I really want to go to the States for a short trip  ,,  anyone carrying benzos and asked for a doctor's note ? 

[Guest [ch...]]

It is highly unlikely that customs will search your bags unless you look suspicious. I've crossed the Canadian-US border many times, and never been searched. Also I've travelled back and forth between the US and Caribbean/Mexico/South America (for vacations), and even from those countries which are big origins of drug-smuggling I've rarely been searched because I don't look like a drug smuggler (and I'm not!). Just once coming back to the US from Jamaica I did get searched. I think the guy was suspicious because it was a weekend visit and I just had a backpack; not the typical tourist profile. That time I had some prescription pills that I had taken out of their original pill bottles and put in one of those weekly pill packs. The guy told me to carry them in their original pill bottle next time. But he didn't confiscate them. Prescription meds (even benzos) are fine if carried in their original pill bottles that show you have a valid prescription. Even if you don't, it's usually OK because they're not out to get people carrying small amounts of meds for personal use. They're out to get drug smugglers carrying large amounts for resale. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Chessplayer

[[be...]]

I've driven back and forth many times in a car. Had no problems and both sides were nice. When I went to Toronto, they asked me and hubby why we were coming. We said it was our goal to visit every ML baseball stadium out there. And he just said, I hope our side wins. But that was before 911. Now I see the military in Penn Central........

[[Su...]]

Entering US from Canada.  Family of four.19 yr old one 10.  We felt we had all in order identification wise.  The customs officer was very rude.  Called his buddy next to him as the oldest daughter was lacking some information.  Well here we are in a rented Winnebago on our way to Disney world,  in front of the 10yr old proceeded to call us stupid laughing with his peer at us....anyway finally looked at the youngest daughter's info and realized my daughter was born in the USA and has dual citizenship.  When I got to get a chance to get a word in I asked to turn around and go back we are not taking this.  Then it was carry on.  What a let down.

Oh I know they can't be all like that and have travelled over the border many times.  That experience frightened my daughter and did leave her fearful of crossing any border.  What an experience.

[[be...]]

Nuts to that!