Bordertowners UNITE!

[Jeremy + Kristy 0]

Just wondering who some of the other Bordertowners here are. We have some different issues I believe than others. For instance, what did you submit for proof of evidence of meeting your fiancé(e)? How easy, or hard, has/had it been crossing so frequently? How many rolls of toll tokens do you go through in a week (thinking mainly of river crossings)? Just getting the ball rolling.

So, myself, Doug n Amanda, neiks, and vnoe are some that I know of. Any others?

[bowflex 0]

I live in the suburbs of Detroit and my wife lives in Windsor. Luckily we had dated while she was in the States for almost a year, so I got a ton of family letters and pictures that would've worked just fine if they ever asked to actually see them during the "interview."

I go and spend every weekend with her, and have for the passed 2 1/2 years, so one can only guess how much friggin money the Ambassador Bridge and Tunnel people have made from me.

[zyggy 9]

I live in the suburbs of Detroit and my wife lives in Windsor. Luckily we had dated while she was in the States for almost a year, so I got a ton of family letters and pictures that would've worked just fine if they ever asked to actually see them during the "interview."

I go and spend every weekend with her, and have for the passed 2 1/2 years, so one can only guess how much friggin money the Ambassador Bridge and Tunnel people have made from me.

My wife and I were also Detroit/Windsor...

We both had NEXUS cards, so that made crossing the border very easy because no one ever asked any questions. If you're going to cross over frequently and your land border supports it, I strongly suggest that you get one. But in crossing over, I had a little inside advantage, I used to work at the land border as an officer, so most of the officers knew me and my wife and knew what we were doing and planning, so it made life pretty easy.

If you want proof of your visiting for you petition, you could use ATM and gas receipts.. those work really good..

Edited June 1, 2007 by zyggy

[Jeremy + Kristy 0]

We both had NEXUS cards, so that made crossing the border very easy because no one ever asked any questions. If you're going to cross over frequently and your land border supports it, I strongly suggest that you get one.

Yeah, maybe we should, anyway. Just, for us, anyway, the majority of the time it seems, the US side NEXUS lane isn't even open. But, $100 for the both of us for 5 years, let us get by easier on holidays and such when there is backups, probably is worth it.

[zyggy 9]

We both had NEXUS cards, so that made crossing the border very easy because no one ever asked any questions. If you're going to cross over frequently and your land border supports it, I strongly suggest that you get one.

Yeah, maybe we should, anyway. Just, for us, anyway, the majority of the time it seems, the US side NEXUS lane isn't even open. But, $100 for the both of us for 5 years, let us get by easier on holidays and such when there is backups, probably is worth it.

Trust me.. it's worth every penny...

[Doug n Amanda 0]

Definately go for the Nexus card; Doug has both the Nexus and his FAST card as well as his passport....

[Marilyn. 340]

i lived only 30 minutes from the border but hubby lived about 1500 miles from the border ... so a quick trip across the border didn't work for us

[clloyd 0]

Just wait till you need to get a Selective Services letter.

[neiks 19]

We cross at land borders - at very small ports that aren't even open 24 hours. Hours of operation are 8:00-21:00. It's actually the port that I started my Customs career at and I literally met my husband at the border when I was working and he has hauling a load of his Canola to a grain elevator in Canada. I had to give him sh#t because he he didn't have the paper work filled out right. His dad (my now father-in-law) crossed frequently into Canada to golf, curl and have coffee. I use to give him grief (only in jest) when he would be sitting waiting at the port when I arrived in the morning to open the port.

I don't work at this port anymore and transferred to a busier port. It gets pretty darn boring when the travellers are pretty much your father-in-law, inlaws, neighbours and your husband. as we only live 3 miles from it. I may transfer back if the port is still open when I'm close to retirement age to "wind down".

Although I understand that US regulations are made for everyone and the process is the same for everyone - it's still seems crazy to have to go through all this ####### just to be able to live 3 miles across the border. Especially when it came to the medical and all the questions and screening that goes on - if I had any of those diseases I probably would have got it from an American

[neiks 19]

Another interesting thing about the differences in our border towns. I have some friends/colleages that I have met through my career that work at Sarnia, Windsor, Fort Erie, PIA that came out to visit me in the Prairies. When they saw my port and then saw the miles and miles of border that is basically only marked with a few cement pillars every 1/4 miles they were wowed. They asked me - well what stops us from walking thru the field across the border if we wanted to? I replied, If you want to - nothing. When I went to Sarnia and Windsor to visit them and saw the river I had to ask, "what is stopping me from swimming across the river or taking a boat across?" They just laughed and replied "Well, if you want to, nothing is."

It is really two different worlds from the southern Ontario district to the Prairie district. I remember the long wait on the bridges and tunnel at Windsor/Detroit. Here it's considered a long wait if you would have to wait in line longer than 10 minutes. Also I thought it was crazy at the tunnel where you enter in one city from a street, clear customs, exit in the other city and are on a city street again.

[Reba 2]

we watched a thing on TV the other day about a Quebec border town that the local library straddles the border, and you can just walk across the border any ol' time, no questions asked. Apparently there are some of the more conservative Americans concerned about security who want to build a fence er something, or board up the town and enforce security checks on everything coming and going. The citizens however, some of whom are relatives who live on either side of the border, say "pffffffffffffttttt"

Hubby says we should move there, so he can just sneak into Canada

[neiks 19]

Americans concerned about security who want to build a fence er something

That one always makes me laugh. Have at it and built a fence - the only thing that is going to stop from crossing the border are the deer and cows and they will still find a way through. If a person wants to get through, they will get through. Look how well the fence works on the Mexican border. And it's not like the Canadian border is like the Mexican border and hordes of people are rushing it and getting chased down by BP.

The would be better to spare their money on the fence and put it towards more intel.

[RocksAnne 0]

I grew up being a Detroit/Windsor border towner. (I'm now next to the BC/Washington border). Half my immediate family were born in Detroit and the other half in Windsor. We used to create a lot of "amusement" among the border officers when we drove thru the tunnel every weekend to visit relatives and flashed our mess of green cards and birth certs.

Hey all you other "Detroit Suburb-ers" - I grew up near Birmingham, where are you?

RocksAnne

[Doug n Amanda 0]

Hey all you other "Detroit Suburb-ers" - I grew up near Birmingham, where are you?

RocksAnne

I grew up in Flint, but moved to Westland in 1998...I'm sure it was so I could meet Doug!

[jg_am 0]

My wife lived in Coutts for a few years and I crossed there after flying into Great Falls. Her parents said people(drug dealers) would sneak across the border at night and they'd see people going across their property at night. There was an access road near by that went to a smaller shipping road.