Border crossing

[Sarac 1]

I recently tried to cross in Victoria, b.c. I applied for my cr1 in July. I was taken aside and told that I was no longer a visitor due to my status as intending to immigrate. I had to be fingerprinted and given a "parole". I was told to not come back till I had green card in one breath then told " next time you come through this normally costs 65.00 and come early as this takes an hour to do! So which is it I wanted to ask , but smartly zipped my lip. My boss is giving you a break I was told I was given one week. I was told to bring the parole card back to them. At the other end of the clipper a new border guard became confused when he saw the parole card and asked me how long had I been away from the us(as if I lived there!) he then looked embarrassed when I said I live in Canada and waved me through. On the way back the canadian guard had some eye rolls for her us counterparts. So....has this happened to others and if so what happened next time you went through. I checked the border patrol site and nothing about this. Btw she wanted nothing to do w looking at my "ties" to Canada.

[Karebear 13]

Sorry to hear that. I cross every weekend (live close to Michigan) and every officer I get is very nice. Did you have a lot of stuff with you?

[mrsu 2]

I cross (in Alberta/Montana) about once every other month and have had zero issues going down, in fact at the one border the US guys are super nice to me and the kids, always have suckers for my toddlers as they figure I pack the cooler way too healthy When they ask why I am going down I tell them to visit my husband and they ask where and I tell them and how long and i tell them. They have always asked if we are trying to immigrate at which point i say yes and let them know where we are in the process. That said though I have had major issues coming back into Canada twice. I got held and searched for hours because of my wedding ring. I did not realize that I needed to claim it. It had been over a year since we were married and when coming home a few months ago they pulled me in, put me in a room and came in and asked me where I had got my ring and when I had declared it. Stupid me, I honestly did not realize I needed to claim it when I came home from Vegas after getting married, honestly never crossed my mind and I told them that. Well they went through my car, my phone, my laptop, etc and then called my husband down in the states to ask him what he paid for my ring and tell him that they were holding me. I got told i could either pay the fines (for not reporting it initially) and pay the duty and gst on the value or they would seize my ring and charge me with lying to a border agent. Five hours later I was finally released after conjuring up the cash to pay them. Was a very unpleasant experience to say the least. Learned my lesson. They stated that if I picked up a penny on the sidewalk while visiting the states and failed to report it when returning to Canada I was breaking the law. So now I claim everything, right down to the stuffed animal my son won at a state fair.

[Rob L 3,811]

I cross (in Alberta/Montana) about once every other month and have had zero issues going down, in fact at the one border the US guys are super nice to me and the kids, always have suckers for my toddlers as they figure I pack the cooler way too healthy When they ask why I am going down I tell them to visit my husband and they ask where and I tell them and how long and i tell them. They have always asked if we are trying to immigrate at which point i say yes and let them know where we are in the process. That said though I have had major issues coming back into Canada twice. I got held and searched for hours because of my wedding ring. I did not realize that I needed to claim it. It had been over a year since we were married and when coming home a few months ago they pulled me in, put me in a room and came in and asked me where I had got my ring and when I had declared it. Stupid me, I honestly did not realize I needed to claim it when I came home from Vegas after getting married, honestly never crossed my mind and I told them that. Well they went through my car, my phone, my laptop, etc and then called my husband down in the states to ask him what he paid for my ring and tell him that they were holding me. I got told i could either pay the fines (for not reporting it initially) and pay the duty and gst on the value or they would seize my ring and charge me with lying to a border agent. Five hours later I was finally released after conjuring up the cash to pay them. Was a very unpleasant experience to say the least. Learned my lesson. They stated that if I picked up a penny on the sidewalk while visiting the states and failed to report it when returning to Canada I was breaking the law. So now I claim everything, right down to the stuffed animal my son won at a state fair.

Their statements seem over the top , did they inform you of the $800 exemption if you were staying over 48 hours? ( 200 for overnight) . Under those rules you have nothing to declare --unless the penny was made outside of North America

[Rob L 3,811]

I recently tried to cross in Victoria, b.c. I applied for my cr1 in July. I was taken aside and told that I was no longer a visitor due to my status as intending to immigrate. I had to be fingerprinted and given a "parole". I was told to not come back till I had green card in one breath then told " next time you come through this normally costs 65.00 and come early as this takes an hour to do! So which is it I wanted to ask , but smartly zipped my lip. My boss is giving you a break I was told I was given one week. I was told to bring the parole card back to them. At the other end of the clipper a new border guard became confused when he saw the parole card and asked me how long had I been away from the us(as if I lived there!) he then looked embarrassed when I said I live in Canada and waved me through. On the way back the canadian guard had some eye rolls for her us counterparts. So....has this happened to others and if so what happened next time you went through. I checked the border patrol site and nothing about this. Btw she wanted nothing to do w looking at my "ties" to Canada.

My Wife crosses weekly at Blaine with no issues. Did they give you an I-94 visa with a week date stamp? I wonder how the conversation went that led her to the determination that you were intending to immigrate. Maybe you got someone who had a bad day.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Many do cross with no issues....but a few do have issues and some get denied entry.....All depends on the knowledge of the POE officer......Seems to me a year or so back here on VJ had a similar problem going from Victoria to Seattle on the Clipper......she/he was able to still gain access. The Poe officer does not have to look at ur evidence, always good to have it.

I lived in Victoria for nearly 10 yrs..not while going through the immigration process mind you. Next time I would go via a land crossing.

[mrsu 2]

Their statements seem over the top , did they inform you of the $800 exemption if you were staying over 48 hours? ( 200 for overnight) . Under those rules you have nothing to declare --unless the penny was made outside of North America

I agree, it seemed way over the top and they were not interested in the groceries I had picked up or the bit of shopping i had done (and declared of course), pretty much just interested in proving a point with my wedding ring and trying to scare the ####### out of someone it seemed. I know all the exemption rules but wasn't going to quote anything to them at that point, I just wanted to be on my way with no more trouble. Since that crossing I have chosen a different (smaller) border crossing and have had no problems. My husband has been across with our horses a few times and twice they never even asked to look at the paperwork or look in the trailer which seemed super odd but I really think it just depends on who you get and what sort of day they are having.

[thatangela 134]

I cross (in Alberta/Montana) about once every other month and have had zero issues going down, in fact at the one border the US guys are super nice to me and the kids, always have suckers for my toddlers as they figure I pack the cooler way too healthy When they ask why I am going down I tell them to visit my husband and they ask where and I tell them and how long and i tell them. They have always asked if we are trying to immigrate at which point i say yes and let them know where we are in the process. That said though I have had major issues coming back into Canada twice. I got held and searched for hours because of my wedding ring. I did not realize that I needed to claim it. It had been over a year since we were married and when coming home a few months ago they pulled me in, put me in a room and came in and asked me where I had got my ring and when I had declared it. Stupid me, I honestly did not realize I needed to claim it when I came home from Vegas after getting married, honestly never crossed my mind and I told them that. Well they went through my car, my phone, my laptop, etc and then called my husband down in the states to ask him what he paid for my ring and tell him that they were holding me. I got told i could either pay the fines (for not reporting it initially) and pay the duty and gst on the value or they would seize my ring and charge me with lying to a border agent. Five hours later I was finally released after conjuring up the cash to pay them. Was a very unpleasant experience to say the least. Learned my lesson. They stated that if I picked up a penny on the sidewalk while visiting the states and failed to report it when returning to Canada I was breaking the law. So now I claim everything, right down to the stuffed animal my son won at a state fair.

Coutts? Because that's among my worst experiences with border crossing, long before we started this process even.

[mrsu 2]

Coutts? Because that's among my worst experiences with border crossing, long before we started this process even.

LOL sadly yup that is the one. We had an immigration lawyer suggest always using the biggest port of entry nearest to cross, however I now always use Havre and Carway and Del Bonita, the US guys at Havre are soooo nice!!! They treat us so well every time we go across and coming back the cdn guys at that crossing seem a bit easier to deal with too. Just maybe a bit more human and understanding.

When they held me at Coutts my parents had my 2 little toddlers and we had talked when I landed in Great Falls and just before the border so they were expecting me at a certain time and when I started to be hours late they were beside themselves with worry. The border agents had seized my phone right away and would not even let me call them to let them know that I was ok but would be much later than expected. It was a rough experience for everyone involved, one I have no wish to repeat, ever!

[thatangela 134]

LOL sadly yup that is the one. We had an immigration lawyer suggest always using the biggest port of entry nearest to cross, however I now always use Havre and Carway and Del Bonita, the US guys at Havre are soooo nice!!! They treat us so well every time we go across and coming back the cdn guys at that crossing seem a bit easier to deal with too. Just maybe a bit more human and understanding.

When they held me at Coutts my parents had my 2 little toddlers and we had talked when I landed in Great Falls and just before the border so they were expecting me at a certain time and when I started to be hours late they were beside themselves with worry. The border agents had seized my phone right away and would not even let me call them to let them know that I was ok but would be much later than expected. It was a rough experience for everyone involved, one I have no wish to repeat, ever!

That's good to know. Once I get settled, I plan on doing some Montana exploring and shooting up to Calgary for visits.

[Sarac 1]

I recently tried to cross in Victoria, b.c. I applied for my cr1 in July. I was taken aside and told that I was no longer a visitor due to my status as intending to immigrate. I had to be fingerprinted and given a "parole". I was told to not come back till I had green card in one breath then told " next time you come through this normally costs 65.00 and come early as this takes an hour to do! So which is it I wanted to ask , but smartly zipped my lip. My boss is giving you a break I was told I was given one week. I was told to bring the parole card back to them. At the other end of the clipper a new border guard became confused when he saw the parole card and asked me how long had I been away from the us(as if I lived there!) he then looked embarrassed when I said I live in Canada and waved me through. On the way back the canadian guard had some eye rolls for her us counterparts. So....has this happened to others and if so what happened next time you went through. I checked the border patrol site and nothing about this. Btw she wanted nothing to do w looking at my "ties" to Canada.

I recently tried to cross in Victoria, b.c. I applied for my cr1 in July. I was taken aside and told that I was no longer a visitor due to my status as intending to immigrate. I had to be fingerprinted and given a "parole". I was told to not come back till I had green card in one breath then told " next time you come through this normally costs 65.00 and come early as this takes an hour to do! So which is it I wanted to ask , but smartly zipped my lip. My boss is giving you a break I was told I was given one week. I was told to bring the parole card back to them. At the other end of the clipper a new border guard became confused when he saw the parole card and asked me how long had I been away from the us(as if I lived there!) he then looked embarrassed when I said I live in Canada and waved me through. On the way back the canadian guard had some eye rolls for her us counterparts. So....has this happened to others and if so what happened next time you went through. I checked the border patrol site and nothing about this. Btw she wanted nothing to do w looking at my "ties" to Canada.

[Sarac 1]

Sorry to hear that. I cross every weekend (live close to Michigan) and every officer I get is very nice. Did you have a lot of stuff with you?

I did not have a lot of stuff. She asked me if I had applied for a visa. When I responded yes, she wanted to see any paper work regarding it. I showed her the noa1. She then said I was not a visitor and had no rights as a visitor because my intentions are to immigrate. She spoke with her boss and he issued the I-94. And stamped the passport paroled. My question if any one know i, if you do get rejected does it show up on the screen and does that prompt them to reject you again?? Is it better to offer your proof or wait to see if they ask? I would have thought that going the legal visa route would have seemed to be in my favour but no it was the opposite.

[Karebear 13]

I did not have a lot of stuff. She asked me if I had applied for a visa. When I responded yes, she wanted to see any paper work regarding it. I showed her the noa1. She then said I was not a visitor and had no rights as a visitor because my intentions are to immigrate. She spoke with her boss and he issued the I-94. And stamped the passport paroled. My question if any one know i, if you do get rejected does it show up on the screen and does that prompt them to reject you again?? Is it better to offer your proof or wait to see if they ask? I would have thought that going the legal visa route would have seemed to be in my favour but no it was the opposite.

Oh my. I don't know what else to tell you. Every officer is completely different. They do know if you have been denied and always tell the truth when crossing. I would bring all the proof showing that you have strong ties to Canada. Maybe that lady was having a bad day.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Karebear

[NikLR 13,227]

I had zero problems immigrating at Coutts/Sweetgrass. It was boring and easy. If anything, I do think they're a lttle under trained (the CBP) but I listened to my hubs advice, played dumb and didn't correct them on any errors. They didn't open our uhaul or even ask to see my inventory list.

Maybe the CBSA has more issues there than the CBP since people are more likely to go down to the USA for cheap shopping and bring things back than vice versa?

[Rob L 3,811]

I would try again soon, you can honestly say you have not been denied access. Do you have a car? You might try the ferry to Anacortes or Tawassen (to Blaine). Also get an enhanced DL and Nexus, we never use a passport to cross.