Husband's landing at Sarnia POE

[Cantwait2gethome 0]

Hello everyone ! Hope everyone has a great new year!!

Here is our poe experience :

We loaded up our 17ft U-Haul with all of our wordly possessions. We made it to the Sarnia/Port Huron border crossing around 2pm on December 17. I drove the truck and my husband drove our car. When I got to the officer, I politely told her that I was moving back to the United States after living in Canada for 2 years. I handed over my passport and list of goods in the truck. She scanned over the list and asked if I had any pets I was bringing in. I informed her I had 2 cats and 1 dog (explained that I the dog is over 10years old and I had him way before I moved to Canada, and that he came with me when I landed as permanent resident in Canada). She asked if I had any pet food or treats of any kind. I said that I didnt have any, that I planned on feeding them when we took our dinner stop. She then asked if I had any live plants. I told her I had 3 and that I had my plant certificates. She then said that I would need to go in to agriculture due to the plants because sometimes they want to check the plants themselves. I told her I understood. She then asked if I had any questions, and then I explained that my husband was in the car behind and that he had activitated his visa but was landing today. She said no problem, I'll take care of him while you quickly run into agriculture. I was not to worried with her comment as she was extremely nice to me (she actually laughed and smiled a few times).

So in I go to Agriculture....The officer waited for me to gather my belongings and certificates out of my truck. He walked me up to the door where an officer from Agriculture was waiting for me. She greeted me warmly and then instructed me where to go. At the counter I handed over my detailed list of goods in the truck, plant certificates and pet registrations.(She asked for all 3 of them). She then asked me if my cats were loose in the truck. I chuckled and said "No they arent, if they were I would be bonkers by now". The officer laughed and said, "yeah it would be a bit hard to drive like that". She asked me if I had a problem with her checking out the items in my truck. I said no and explained where my keys were to get into the back of the truck and also informed her that my husband was landing also with me and that he may be parked next to me. She was out there maybe a total of 5 min. When she came back in she asked me what type of car I drived, and I proceeded to tell her. She giggled and said that she felt like someone was watching her.(I was like oh no ) She then said she doesnt see many well prepared documents and landings, and then she thanked me!! She then said "welcome back home to the United States of America" and sent me on my way.

Now for my husbands part.....when he drove up he handed over his passport. The officer again asked if he had any food in the vehicle. He told her what household food he had, and the liquor. He explained that we did not carry any pet food with us. She then instructed my husband to pull off to the side (opposite of where people get pulled over for inspection). He then asked the officer if she needed any of the vehicle paperwork. She asked him if he was importing it today and he said no. She then told him he will take those in when he is ready to import the vehicle. And then she sent him on his way.

My husband did say that the when the officer was checking the truck, all she did was open the back, peer around it, and then closed it. We both feel she was probably checking to make sure we were not bringing in pet food. In all common sense, most people would put the food in a very accessible area if they were not aware of the ban on pet food. We truely feel this is all she was checking for.

So all in all, every officer that we encountered in our landing was very friendly and polite. My husband even commented on how nice and friendly the officer was to him. I felt a huge rock lifted off my shoulders once we both were on the road again...................

[Krikit 1,164]

Awwwwww. Isn't that nice? What a lovely crossing. Welcome home, Cantwait!!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

glad it went well. When i crossed through maine,they never even looked inside!! Customs dude was to buys playing soliare on the computer,lol. Congrats

[trailmix 77]

Hey can'twait, sounds like a pleasant experience, I like to hear that! Glad it went well.

It annoys me that about the pet food, should pet food be the biggest concern of border agents. And exactly what is in that darn food anyway, are they scared that you will feed your fancy feast to a cow and spread mad cow with the OMG Canadian beef (or assorted ingredients imported from China as the case may be).

Where is the U.S. cat and dog food made? Well aside from the stuff that comes from the huge plant in Canada that had the big pet food recall like last year.

[Peggy 1]

Congrats

[BH45 0]

How neat !!! I was just discussing where I was planning on crossing with someone today and they suggested Sarnia too. Now with this review, I think that just might be the right place to enter the US tooo.

Great review. Glad it was an enjoyable experience. I certainly hope when my time comes, I have one just like yours.

[Zee Bee 61]

Congratulations!!!

[Carlawarla 1]

Sounds like you had a smooth entry. Congratulations!

Carla

[KarenCee 3]

Congratulations on such a smooth entry! Welcome home to you both.