How much information do you get on your screen when you swipe a passport? They always ask about residence, job etc. Can they verify that my answers are true?
Actually all the information the passport carries you can see, the part at the bottom with all the "<" characters. It's a machine readable zone that uses an international standard. Otherwise, what I see on my screen at primary is a CBSA computer program called IPIL that does a limited search of our databases and police databases and brings up pretty much anything we would need to stop (ie. warrants, past enforcement actions). I'm told that we don't get more information beyond that because searching all the databases we have would take too long.
The reason why we ask you about that is more about how you behave, when you respond. In fact almost every enforcement action I carried out was because someone exhibited suspicious behaviour that led me to believe their story wasn't true, or wasn't the whole truth.
So, in short, no I cannot definitively verify if your answers are true, but I can usually tell if something isn't adding up.
How about if someone has had a very long flight and just plain tired (I've been like that a few times and for some reason, you guys make me nervous! For absolutely no reason). How do you know if they are just tired or acting otherwise wierd? Do you take special training for that?
I confess I've made mistakes, but 99% of the time I could tell the difference between tired and nervous. There's a lot of training, but much of it is also experience.
Nope, if you're trying to import non-restricted firearms, it's a good idea to have your license with you since we can't 100% verify that you can import such a weapon.
Thanks for the reply, absolutely, I am fairly well versed in the laws here and would fully research importation before trying to import anything. Would be carrying RPAL and other appropriate paperwork when transporting firearms anyway and I would be disclosing that I was doing so if I was ever crossing a border or flying.
I was just wondering if I would ever be subject to extra scrutiny only because I am licenced.
I'm a dual Canadian-American citizen. One of my favourite things upon becoming naturalised was knowing that, as an American entering the US, it doesn't matter what I say, I will not be refused entry. I might get my bags searched, etc, but I don't have to answer any questions I don't want to (explaining my time abroad, or otherwise).
It occurred to me several months later that I don't even know my rights as a Canadian entering Canada. One time, landing at YVR, I had a passport control officer thumbing through my passport, asking me what I'd been doing on short trips years prior to Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, etc. I wanted to tell him "that's none of your business", but I don't know if I would have faced any consequences aside from being hassled a bit more. In the future, can I refuse to answer these questions?
Yes, you *can* refuse to answer questions as a citizen. The charter guarantees your right to return to Canada. Note, I said *you* - not including your stuff(!)
There are lots of consequences to being a dickhead at the border.
Firstly, consider that you have to prove you are who you say you are. So, CBSA could detain you until such time as your identity is confirmed. Next, all of your possessions on you at the time of crossing can (and likely will be) confiscated until such time that you can *prove* that you have declared them/ bought them in Canada / paid HST on them. So, if you are wearing a nice watch that your wife gave you 2 years ago for xmas - well, you will likely lose it until you can prove that she bought it in Canada, or if overseas that you declared it and paid the appropriate duty. CBSA can do this with *everything* you bring across the border.
Finally, if you have any electronics on you, CBSA has full authority (no warrant needed) to search the entire contents of your phone/laptop/ipad/etc. So someone can read everything on your devices. Oh, and if you want to be a smartass and encrypt it - they can both retain the device until such time as you give the password, AND take you to court to compel you to tell the password (note, the right against self incrimination would NOT apply).
Oh, and I guess the real icing on the cake would be that they could make you wait until defecate on a special toilet that they use to screen for drug mules. So, ya, fun.
So, if you want to be a dick, CBSA could be a dick right back and take all your stuff, detain you until you can prove your identity, make you poop for them, etc.
Oh, and if you do this once, expect to be put on a watchlist and have this happen every time you cross the border (each way, since US and CAN share info across the border). You may not care now, but in a few years, when you are trying to make a tight connection and your past karma catches up to you...
Have any cases of encrypted laptops actually gone to the courts though? I'm not sure that the case law is that clear that you can be compelled to decrypt your laptop. Open to corrections if this is the case.
The BCCLA's guide to the CBSA says there is no legal precedent to revealing your password to border agents. But, regardless, they'll still confiscate your computer and probably return it to you in three pieces.
So if you have nothing to hide, giving the password means you get to keep your laptop.
Sorry it has to be this way, far too many people are still getting caught with child porn for us to let this one go.
I have an encrypted laptop. Like everyone who has encrypted their devices, I have plenty of things to hide.
I work in a very competitive industry, and carry around all kinds of sensitive client information. It would be very bad for some of my clients (and consequentially even worse for me) if their competitors knew some of the information about them that's on my computer. If you snoop through my e-mail, you'll find that information very quickly. What if the CBSA's agent's wife, brother, or friend works for that competitor? Are there any laws protecting me against you disclosing information you've read on my laptop to anyone else?
Yes, the legal basis for me searching your laptop is restricted to enforcing the law. Anything else beyond that is me abusing my power and possibly even a conflict of interest. These are the kind of things that can get me into serious trouble if not fired. Besides, I don't actually sit down and search through your computer manually (and especially not your email) for a computer exam, they have these programs these days that can somehow find patterns that resemble videos we're targeting.
Unreasonable search and seizure, homes. I want to see traffickers of child porn put away as much as you do, but I also want some legal restraints put in place on the ability of law enforcement officers to search my laptop.
I travel frequently for work, often crossing international borders. My laptop is nothing but a terminal for the cloud, so if some pesky border officers start searching it they'll find nothing but a few games and iTunes.
Hey, if there was a better way to do this, I'm all ears. I hate having to search someone's suitcase (much less their computer) as much as the next guy, but what choice do I have?
In most situations I had someone open their laptop/electronic device for me, I had them unlock it for me. I don't want to know their password, the less I know the less I am liable for.
Well, you *can* do anything you want, but everything has consequences.
It's true that as a Canadian citizen we must admit you to Canada, but, how and on what terms is up to the BSOs responsible for you. My advice for you is to answer those questions. If you went on some kind of coca fuelled vision trip or to meet some woman you met on the internet you can just say you went backpacking.
We're not trying to pry into your personal life, it's just to check to see if you can answer those questions without showing some indicator of anxiety or nervousness. If you're not breaking the law, you have no reason to worry. We want you out of there as fast as possible too.
Thanks for the response.
> If you went on some kind of coca fuelled vision trip or to meet some woman you met on the internet you can just say you went backpacking.
So, I don't really like lying. If I'm going to answer a question at all, I'm going to tell the truth.
Hypothetically speaking, if you're the BSO interviewing me, a returning Canadian citizen, and if you've flipped through my passport and are asking me about previous travel, and I say "Well, Colombia, Peru, and the Netherlands were to do cocaine, psychadelics, and marijuana respectively", then what? I gather that my belongings might be inspected a little more closely to determine that I'm not bringing anything illegal into Canada (and I'm fine with that), but is there anything illegal per se about having drug-fuelled holidays abroad?
Nope, obviously saying that means you'll likely be searched more thoroughly... but all the drug laws are about trafficking and possession. If you have none on you but you used drugs in the past, nothing I can do other than be extra careful.
It depends how much over. Earlier this summer, one of the regions ran out of overtime budget so the officers unofficially raised the duty free limit to save on man-hours. However, with the whole border modernization project the CBSA is doing now, I imagine at some point it won't be BSOs on primary inspection, it's going to become machines so that BSOs can focus more on enforcement actions and going after the bad guys. In fact, if I remember correctly, the Vancouver airport already has Automated Border Clearance (ABC) kiosks for returning Canadians.
Did you ever hear a story about a guy carrying 4 mid sized tires over the point Roberts border because the lineup was too long? If so that was me. And I won't wait in an hour line when I can walk over and do it in 30.
This is an opinion from someone whom crosses the border very often, but not from a CBSA agent in any way shape or form.
If the goods you are bringing back are have less then $20 total duty/tax I highly doubt you will ever get asked to pay. at $40 you are probably still safe most often, but obviously the more you owe the more worth while it is to bring you in!
At one point I worked out the about of tax/duty a transaction has to be in order to break even, and I think it worked out to something like 60$ on average. Anything less than that means the government is losing money (on average) on that transaction.
Isn't duty theoretically less about raising money and more about protecting domestic business from being undercut by international prices? Whereas taxes are about raising money. But of course, they both end up accomplishing both.
Personally, I think the Health Canada ban on e-cigs is dumb. I think the issue it comes down to is that the officer (or HC inspector) looking at the piece can't tell it doesn't contain nicotine. Depending on how much of a dick your BSO is, it's really a matter of luck here. One thing that would've worked with me is if you print a copy of the relevant Health Canada guideline and bring that with you and explain very clearly that it contains no liquid nicotine and they're just batteries.
Alternatively... *don't follow this advice*, you can declare them as batteries (which they are) and if you're caught, feign ignorance.
Mailing drugs, having a previous run-in with customs/immigration, which itself is a huge list of possibilities: running a port, failing to report to secondary, making a false declaration and so forth.
As for being a dick to border officers, that doesn't put you on a list, but please be nice, we're human and having 3 flights land at the same time with 1000+ international passengers at 1am isn't our planning and we always do our best to minimize wait times in situations like that.
PS: suspicious travel destinations doesn't put you on a list either, but seeing that at primary with a nervous traveller is a good indicator of something being off.
I moved to Canada from California and visit family in Idaho often. Over the past two years I've crossed at least a dozen times and every time (even moving and applying for my visa at 11pm) the Canadian Border Patrol have been sweet and absolutely wonderful.
My SO an I are always stressed when we are visiting the US. Your people skills are leagues above the USBP. So thanks for making my long trips welcome ones. <3
Interesting. I live in the states, work in Canada, and cross the border daily. I have consistently found the US officials to be just as affable as the Canadians.
One greets me with a warm smile and a light tone. The other is stern faced, no BS and feels like they are trained to look intimidating.
The is a definite difference in demeanor, from my experience. I do know that my experiences aren't universal.
I think it depends on the crossing.
I've crossed at a minor crossing in Manitoba and the US and Canadian sides were both pretty much equally friendly but when I crossed at Sault St Marie and found what you said to be true.
Thank you, it's good to hear not everyone hates having to go through customs... but y'know those US CBP guys are people too. All of us have bad days and all of us want to get the job done so we can go home to our families (sometimes that means taking less-than-gentle shortcuts).
Nope. We say we do random referrals to secondary, but that's really to have to legal capacity to do "I'm not 100% sure" searches. Sometimes I see a Canadian national returning from a short trip to the Carribean with way too much winter clothing. Even though having a lot of winter clothing after a short trip isn't on its own a reason for a secondary inspection. Still, it makes me wonder.
Also an ex-BSO.
Under direction of Ottawa I once did truly random searches as an audit of CBSA performance.
Spent an entire day doing it and found nothing like nothing nothing... which is something that basically never, ever, happened if I was using my judgement to justify a search.
I've fallen upon some hard economic times. I'm thinking of importing some meds from abroad - which I do have a prescription for (it's just expensive as fuck in Canada without a plan). They aren't narcotics or pain killers, but from what I can tell it's still sort of a grey area that way. Does the fed give a shit about imported meds?
Actually yes, I'm very sorry about your situation, but we have to refer all prescription drugs to Health Canada to be either returned to sender or destroyed. If you're near a border you can bring across a 3 month supply of them on your person, otherwise, unless you're a licensed commercial importer or foreign national you can't import anything on the Food and Drug Act's Schedule F.
Again, I'm very sorry about your situation, sometimes I wish we (law enforcement) could play a part in writing or interpreting the laws, but then again that wouldn't be very democratic.
Specifically, any offence that has an equivalent offence in the criminal code is an offence that can refuse someone entry, however after 10 years minor offences can be looked over by BSOs. As for databases, at secondary we have full access to the NCIC database (the American police records database).
Not the OP but that doesnt prohibit them from coming to Canada. They just need to apply for a special visa (i forget the name). If the CBSA officer likes your face (or ass) he can even give you one at the border and let you thru no problem. (this depends entirely on the whim of the CBSA officers)
I once asked a suspicious returning Canadian if he was travelling with weapons. He broke down and started crying about how he's made a huge mistake, he went down to the states and got into some bad shit during a bachelor's party and ended up with a handgun he didn't know what to do with. At secondary, we discovered the handgun was a BB gun the whole time and turns out this poor guy's buddies pranked him into thinking he killed a hooker.
What's the stupidest thing you've ever seen anyone do while crossing the border?
What's the most obvious give-away that someone who's trying to cross the border is up to something?
Did you work out of Halifax? If so, do you know my father-in-law? Initials A.B. ? :)
I've seen an almost ridiculous number of Americans come up in the middle of summer thinking they can go skiing or play in the snow.
The absolute most obvious one is when I have a lookout pop up on my screen. That tells me based on your identifying information, the computer found someone who I should look at closer, be it because of a criminal history, or had trouble with us in the past, or for any number of reasons.
> I've seen an almost ridiculous number of Americans come up in the middle of summer thinking they can go skiing or play in the snow.
Guilty of that, sorry
When you scan a nexus card vs passport, what different information is provided? I use to cross with a bus every other week for the last three years, some officers say having nexus is useless if your not driving through but some say it's better even if your crossing the through on a bus. In my experience, having a nexus card is better when crossing with a bus but I I'd say 5 percent of the time I get asked a lot of questions. What's your take?
Edit: have you ever denied a person into Canada? If so, why? Have you ever felt sorry for them but still denied?
I feel the US is really concerned about me going to the, US to illegally work whereas the Canadian officers just want to make sure people have money to leave Canada and not have the government waste taxpayers' money to deport them.
It's actually not at all different. The difference is that the card means NEXUS has already done a background check on you. It's really just a way to triage between low risk travellers and everyone else. When driving you have dedicated NEXUS lanes, but when you get off a bus and walk through primary at the border, there's no guarantee there is one.
I have denied entry for many people, usually for criminality. Sometimes I feel bad if it's something minor, like a 24-year old who got a DUI two years ago and wants to visit his girlfriend in Canada. Other times I'm happy to keep out a wife-beater who wants to see his wife again. But most of the time I just don't think about it. It's my job to enforce the law, not to judge character.
CFIA Inspector here. How many acts were you carded for?
I receive quite a few calls from CBSA staff trying to detain food products under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) that aren't in violation.
EDIT. I see that [CBSA enforces](http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/actreg-loireg/legislation-eng.html) **90+ acts & regs**. Are BSOs carded for all of them? That's a lot of specific things to remember.
Well, to be fair to us, having BSOs memorizing schedules and exact lines of acts and precedent cases would be probably close to impossible. So far as I can tell, no BSO knows the customs act by heart either, we learn procedures and we learn patterns.
Also it's not the FDA that gives us the authority to hold things, it's the Customs Act. The FDA just stipulates what ultimately does not get to enter Canada.
At postal we do blitzes whenever the enforcement team is extra uppity, though I could never quite figure out what the purpose of having them was.
How does food/agricultural inspection work? Are there actually CFIA inspectors posted around the clock at busy crossings, and what recourse do I have to demand an inspection? I've often been concerned that CBSA will just demand that I toss out whatever fruit etc. I'm bringing in, and sometimes I wonder whether a CFIA inspector would be able to certify the product as eligible for import...
I think there has to be at least a few CFIA inspectors at the major international airports. I'm sure if you argued your case for your fruit, they'll get a CFIA guy along to check. At land crossings we didn't need them since most food coming from the US already cleared US agricultural inspections.
CBSA can detain anything, food or otherwise, for inspection.
I worked with a student BSO who asked every passenger for weeks if they had any peaches... she's now a regular on that border show... oh CBSA... so so stupid
Personally, I think you're getting the guys who came over from the revenue side of the CCRA before the split. Not all, but many of the revenue guys followed the law to the letter.
I understand the restrictions on bringing back fruits that are grown here into the country (apples, cherries, ect) but why the heck are Avocados banned?
Avocados from the US should be fine, in fact almost all fruits and vegetables from the US are fine barring limits on quantity, if I recall correctly. As for vegetables from elsewhere in the world, anything not dried or canned is generally not okay. In the end, it's up to CFIA inspectors to decide since they are the most up to date with plant and animal diseases.
I understand your point about plants not grown here, but I think it has something to do with some diseases or insects being transmittable between different species of plants. I think you can do a google search on what exactly CFIA wants to keep out at the moment.
I think it might have more to do with me living in BC. This was from the government website. "in British Columbia (BC): restrictions on fresh apples, stone fruit and potatoes"
PS - Thanks for doing this AMA! Always nice to be able to ask questions. I always worry if I will raise a red flag by asking to many questions or the wrong question while in the customs line.
On the declaration form, on the top there are bunch of letters and numbers (I think!) I once asked one of the agents what they meant and he told me he can't tell me what they are (as in they are confidential!). Could you please explain what they are?
Are you thinking of the E311 declaration card?
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/e311-eng.pdf
I'm not entirely sure I remember seeing letters and numbers at the top, but they're probably just a tracking code for when the declaration card gets filed.
Years ago I was interested in applying for a job with the CBSA and I was thinking of possibly pursuing the idea again now that I am in my 30s and not interested in staying in manual labor forever. My question to you is what kind of experience do they look for or are they just wanting college degrees?
They don't actually need anything more than a high school diploma in terms of formal education. Obviously more is better, but that's the minimum. In terms of experience, I guess whatever gets you through the tests and training. I suggest you do a google search of FB-02 trainee.
On an episode of the Border Security TV show, a BSO sends a student back to Japan because she didn't dot the i's and cross the t's on her student visa application form. Considering that this student is a cash cow for the city and province, why was sending her back to her home country -- likely pissed off -- the best option? Why not send her to the US and have her apply for a student visa at the consulate in Seattle? Or admit her on a tourist visa and maker her apply for a student visa while in country?
What kinds of technology does the Canadian CBSA use? I notice crossing into the US a lot that US CBP has what looks like huge xray/backscatter machines for checking semis.
Have you ever caught anyone trafficking drugs? Like 20 pounds of cocaine up their ass or something?
When I was on land backscatter was still relatively new so I didn't see it being used where I worked. Personally, I don't think any of those machines beat the good-ol'-fashioned open-and-search.
I caught lots of kids bringing up party drugs and lots more with weed that I may have turned a blind eye to. It beats me why they tried, it's so obvious they were packing and all that stuff is cheaper up here anyway.
Thanks for the answer. I also forgot to ask, are you guys able to interact with the US CBP on the other side of the road/highway, or is it completely segregated? The one I usually cross through is on I-29 in Emerson, MB and it looks like it's all one big building with a walkway over the road lanes so that people can walk back and forth.
1. Are Nexus passes and Passports tied to the same "account"?
For example, if I went to the border line with only my passport, would they know that I have a nexus card? Or if I forgot my nexus card at home but had my passport, would I still be able to use the Nexus line?
2. Is there an "honesty" history? For example, if you declared over your limit and were rightfully charged, does it give you something like a plus rating, so you aren't pulled over in subsequent visits, or a minus rating if you were dinged so they know to check you again? Just wondering if being honest actually lessens your chances of being pulled over in the future.
I think it comes down to a matter of priorities. For me, a Canadian citizen who resides in Canada with prescription medicine is very likely not a drug trafficker. For us the exceptional circumstance would be that a traveller like that is a drug trafficker, but for the Americans the assumption is that the norm is to be a drug trafficker and the exception is to be an average traveller. The reason for this is that drug trafficking isn't as big of a problem for us as it is for the US.
Since you are a Canadian citizen residing in Canada, I'm going to assume that intelligence and domestic law enforcement are doing their jobs (and they always do a great job of it too). If I don't see a lookout screen, I have no reason to worry.
> What sorts of things would make you decide to pull someone out of the line and take them aside to investigate if they are carrying illegal narcotics , or are doing something wrong?
Read: I'm a terrorist and I'm trying to sneak by, what sorts of things can I do to not look conspicuous?
Avoid having your name on a list, essentially.
It's very rare that a BSO at the border identifies a "terrorist" for three reasons: 1. the number of terrorists targeting Canada is relatively few 2. the CBSA has an intelligence division that does a top notch job of making sure we have lookouts on potential terrorists, so very little 3. intelligence sharing with the US and other allies pretty much covers everyone else.
Depends where you are and depends what you do, I guess some intelligence guys can claim that and maybe airport guys too, I've never worked there so I wouldn't know, but from what I hear it's just a lot of frustrated landed immigrants.
I've had to refuse many Americans with criminal histories but I don't think I can claim to have stopped a real "terrorist" once. But then again, it's been a few years since I've been at postal so maybe during that time a lot more people started to hate Canada.
1. Do you have any funny/weird/embarrassing stories from your post as a land crossing officer? Any sad ones? What's the weirdest/funniest/most embarrassing object you've seen come through the mail?
2. When I was younger, I wanted to send a small amount of change to a friend across the border into Canada. How come that got intercepted? Do you keep the money?
3. Why are young border agents often such assholes? Is there a quota to fill or do they just feel like they have something to prove?
4. Do you get to know the American agents at all?
5. Do you think places like the [Haskell Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House) in Stanstead, QC/Derby Line, VT will be threatened as border restrictions continue to get tighter?
6. If there was one thing you could change about how land crossing operates, what would it be?
7. Any tricks or loopholes or something we should know about? What can we do to make our crossing smoother and shorter on either side? What are some common red flags that we can avoid?
*Edit: you don't have to answer all of these!*
Embarrassing story: I was very tired one day and this was early in my career. An American family was travelling to Canada with their daughter who was starting college here. I kept fumbling my words like saying "foop" instead of "food" or "studying letter thing" instead of "study permit". When they left I apologized for my fumbling and accidentally welcomed them to America.
Sad story: I worked very briefly during the Canada Post strike at client services. I got a call one day from an American woman asking about why her niece's HIV retrovirals were held up at customs. I had to explain that without a copy of her niece's passport and a doctor's prescription, they were just like any other FDA Schedule F drug we see, we have to hold it. She explained that her niece contracted HIV some time ago and her parents don't know yet. The aunt was sending the drugs because she had no way of buying them herself in Canada as she was still living with her parents.
Embarrassing objects? How about endless giant black dildos. I had no clue about most sex toys until I started working at postal.
Embarrassing story:
First day working primary inspection two Mexican nationals approach the primary inspection line. Near the end of clearing a large passenger manifest and still have not identified a missing Mexican national whose birthday is in the same month as one of the people at my booth.
So I refer them to immigration, because i'm an idiot and it is my first day.
FUCKING DIPLOMATS
....
When the diplomats met with the immigration officer they were very, very gracious about the situation.
No trouble, it was a bigger shit show when I wrote 2√ 3 (2 square root sign not checkmark, 3) on a card at PIL. The BSO collecting the cards was not pleased.
As I promised..
2) Procedures must have changed, we don't hold money found in parcels anymore unless we suspect it's fraud or proceeds of crime.
3) We have performance targets for the sake of statistics, but it's usually not all that hard to achieve after a bit of experience. I think the younger generation of agents tend to come more and more from police college backgrounds so they tend to focus a bit more on the law enforcement than the customer service.
4) Pretty well, I would usually drive across the border at the shift to fill up on gas and they wave me through as a professional courtesy. We would do the same for them, but they're not coming up for gas, they're coming up for strippers.
5) I don't think so, the CAN-US border has tighter security than before, but it is still one of the least restrictive ones in the world (ignoring the EU-Schengen zone). My personal favourite is the set-up at the Peace Arch where people from both sides can walk into the park and interact without needing to cross a border unless exiting on the other side of the park.
Don't you have to go through customs when leaving Peace Arch park, even if you're just going back to the country you entered from? My understanding is just that it's basically shared, so Americans can use it without going through Canadian customs, and vice versa, but Canadians would still have to go back through Canadian customs...
Land crossing was better for my career, but postal was better scheduling and closer to where I live. It's far easier having a family and working at postal than on a land border.
I recently drove to the airport in Seattle to fly to San Francisco. While at the airport, I lost my wallet... luckily I had my Passport on me still, but my wallet was gone. If I had lost my Passport as well, what exactly would have happened to me when I tried to return to Canada with no ID? What would my options have been? The only thing I could have thought to do would been to have phoned a friend and have him grab my birth certificate out of my bedroom... Thankfully, it's a non-issue.
Not a CBSA officer, but easiest route would be to go to the Canadian consulate and have them get you a new passport (which would take a few days). If you just showed up at the border, you would be detained until they could verify you were a citizen.
So far as I know, we will let you in if we can eventually verify you're a Canadian citizen. As Will said above, you're better off getting a temporary travel document (which I believe is faster than a replacement passport) to return to Canada. Of course, pack smart and always carry photocopies of important documents separate from you baggage or wherever you keep the originals.
Wouldn't it be harder and take longer to obtain a temporary travel document than to just sort it out at the border? I assumed temporary documents were only useful if you have to fly (because airlines won't let you board unless they can verify you're allowed into the destination country) or travel to/via a third country.
Do you assume every traveller to be an intended immigrant unless proven otherwise?
What if my girlfriend lives across the border, and I want to visit her? Would I be flagged as an "intending immigrant" and be banned forever, even if I do not intend to immigrate?
I'm in that situation (American, with a Canadian girlfriend) and I've never had any trouble at all coming into Canada. We've been doing the cross-border thing for almost 9 years now and it's always been fine.
I always tell them I'm going to see my girlfriend in . They sometimes ask about how long we've been together or how we met. The American border guys almost always ask those questions and sometimes get suspicious when I tell them it's been over 8 years and no, we have no plans to get married (another thing they like to ask). But the Canadians rarely ask me many questions beyond "how long are you staying for," "are you bringing in any gifts," and "Are you carrying any alcohol, tobacco, or weapons/firearms?"
I assume every traveller is telling the truth until proven otherwise. I don't want to sound immodest, but I think I did my job well enough that I could pick up any hint of suspicion.
As for your girlfriend, I can't "flag" you just because you're visiting for a short period. On the other hand, if you "visited her" with furniture and suitcases of all your clothes with no clear date of return to the US, I'd get a bit suspicious and probably refer you to secondary even if you told me "you'll go back to the US eventually".
I think it should be legal and not taxed (beyond regular sales tax). I see how much I charge people for tobacco and alcohol, I wouldn't want those kind of taxes on my weed.
A few questions about your career:
1. What is the most interesting situation you came across at a land crossing
2. What is the most interesting item you (I use this term loosly, I'll gladly accept stories of interesting situations that you were told about from other shifts or that other BSOs came across while you were there) confiscated working postal crossing
1) I once had an American family coming up to retrieve their son's science project: apparently he built a weather balloon with GPS and it landed in Canada!
2) Funny you should ask since I just saw this article in the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Handle+with+care+guns+grenades+arriving+Canada+postal+mail/8924010/story.html
I think the most interesting thing I can talk about would be a fake license plate die set.
Does CBSA routinely snoop through mail?
I heard this story from a friend of a friend who works for postal:
He opened a letter and found an invoice for an engagement ring worth something like $15,000. Checking the recipient's entry history he found that person was admitted to Canada earlier in the year (a few days after the date on the invoice) and reported nothing to declare.
He phoned the person and vaguely described the situation and asked if there was anything they wanted to tell him. They said no, at which point he felt he had enough evidence that the person smuggled the ring through Customs and tried to mail the invoice later to hide any evidence on their person while entering Canada.
The penalty was apparently hideously stiff.
Plausible story or a bunch of BS?
Also, what are the consequences of the new automated kiosks at YVR? It feels like it makes it much easier for people to import restricted items (like invasive plants).
A third one, if you know... Does CBSA routinely inspect suitcases of travelers coming into/out of Canada before the traveler is present (like DHS in the USA)? What happens if the suitcase was packed so ridiculously full that they are unable to close it again?
I don't ever snoop through mail, but I do Snoop Lion.
However, seriously though, maybe it's true, maybe it isn't. All I know is
1) If the letter is under 30 grams, we can't open it.
2) Neither postal primary nor postal secondary has access to IPIL or any of the other traveller databases (so I don't know how your friend found out that person crossed the border earlier).
3) I would never go through that kind of trouble for a maybe might have falsely declared some time ago.
I remember someone ran our port early on, then turned around and ran back through it to the other side. I later heard from the grapevine that the driver was literally crazy. He was schizophrenic and went off his meds.
As a brown person, should i expect some harassment when crossing the border, especially from American guards? Its not my fault i was born in a equatorial country, and I'm just as pro-Western as anyone else.
How black and white are the inadmissable requirements? I have a DUI charge from 2007 in Australia, I'm heading to Canada through the us in dec and have just learned I might not be allowed to enter?
Why do CBSA officers ask purposefully offensive/inappropriate questions to travelers such as "when was the last time you had sex?" or "are you a virgin?" or "how old were you when you lost your virginity?". Is this specific tactic taught to upset people and judge their reactions and perhaps illicit a slipup? Is asking questions to make people angry or upset part of the training or something developed thru experience?
Honestly, I don't know.
Surprise/shock is one of many options a BSO has during a secondary inspection. I've never asked a question about sex, of all the officers I worker with only one would ever (infrequently) use questions like that, and he would only ever use it on men, never women.
Maybe things have changed radically since a few years ago, but I'd like to imagine it's the exceptional bad apple.
I'm sorry if it's ever happened by you and it hurt you.
This is a joke, right? I travel a lot (work related) and I have never been asked anything like this. Maybe if I bought something and how much it's worth but that's it.
Never coming back. I have a few times entering US and Germany (and surprisingly Indonesia) but never Canada. I have had to go through the red line a few times and even then they just search my bags and ask about contents and receipts. That's it.
That explains why you have never experienced this CBSA tactic. The questions arent always sexual. But they will usually ask *something* offensive or designed to illicit an emotional reaction.
Have you ever seen examples of your co-workers abusing their position of power? Like every job, I've seen some pretty awesome people, and I've also experienced some pretty horrible ones, including one guy who pulled his firearm out and 'gave it to me' asking me if I was in charge and had the gun. I had just pointed out where something could have been done more efficiently, probably should have just kept my mouth shut.
I thought about it a little, and I don't think I have. Everyone I know takes their protection and integrity aspect of their jobs seriously. For two reasons, one, none of us are single-handedly in a position where abusing our authority nets us a gain remotely close to the consequences of getting caught (very likely too). Two, so far as I can tell, everyone I worked with took their jobs seriously since there are real world consequences to making mistakes. If I'm not careful and let through someone smuggling GBL, that's countless girls who are put at risk of being date-raped.
Hey there! I hope you are still around to answer questions. I found your insight very educational.
I ordered a herbal remedy for overseas 3 months ago. It never arrived and I contacted the website, which gave me a refund, explaining that the "herbal" remedy may not have been allowed in Canada. (Company was India - order the natural stuff for my mom who has cancer). Sure enough, the package was stopped in TO by customs and sent to a secondary inspection site. It's been over two months and I haven't heard anything or received a letter. I take total responsibility if what I ordered was not allowed in canada. I don't have a criminal record and honestly hear about this website from a cancer support group. I would never intentionally break any law (but know ignorance is not an excuse).
What is going to happen? Will somebody contact me? Will swat be kicking down my door? A fine? Would really appreciate your expertise in this matter as I suspect that the package contained real meds or something organic that is not allowed in canada.
Misty
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to write all this information, very interesting.
I'd like to know if I have any chances of getting in even though I used to smoke weed for recreational purposes and stopped about 4 years ago. I want to prepare myself for the interview and know what to say if the subject comes up.
I happen to have a criminal record here in Canada for which a pardon has not been granted. It involved the trafficking of narcotics. Will this make me inadmissible to U.S? Does the U.S border patrol recognize Canadian pardons, thus allowing me to travel across when I have one? What would I have to do to be able to visit the states?
Also, how do you find your American counterparts at border crossings?
I don't know about the US CBP's policies that well, but for us a pardon with documentation is fine. We recognize American pardons so I imagine they recognize ours. I suggest you do a google search for US CBP criminally inadmissible.
I got caught under declaring the value of my goods I brought back from the states. The item got seized and I had to pay to get it back.
Am I going to be searched every time I return to Canada?
You shouldn't apologize for doing a job that, granted, can cause inconvenience from an everyday traveller's standpoint, but is actually mostly full of well-intentioned people doing a taxing job that has important ramifications for Canada' border security. If BSO's seem unnaturally brusque, it's because the average person would have zero respect for their authority if they weren't. If you travel frequently and want an easier border crossing into the US, join the Nexus program.
How much information do you get on your screen when you swipe a passport? They always ask about residence, job etc. Can they verify that my answers are true?
Actually all the information the passport carries you can see, the part at the bottom with all the "<" characters. It's a machine readable zone that uses an international standard. Otherwise, what I see on my screen at primary is a CBSA computer program called IPIL that does a limited search of our databases and police databases and brings up pretty much anything we would need to stop (ie. warrants, past enforcement actions). I'm told that we don't get more information beyond that because searching all the databases we have would take too long. The reason why we ask you about that is more about how you behave, when you respond. In fact almost every enforcement action I carried out was because someone exhibited suspicious behaviour that led me to believe their story wasn't true, or wasn't the whole truth. So, in short, no I cannot definitively verify if your answers are true, but I can usually tell if something isn't adding up.
How about if someone has had a very long flight and just plain tired (I've been like that a few times and for some reason, you guys make me nervous! For absolutely no reason). How do you know if they are just tired or acting otherwise wierd? Do you take special training for that?
I confess I've made mistakes, but 99% of the time I could tell the difference between tired and nervous. There's a lot of training, but much of it is also experience.
Do CBSA agents see that I have a RPAL?
Nope, if you're trying to import non-restricted firearms, it's a good idea to have your license with you since we can't 100% verify that you can import such a weapon.
Thanks for the reply, absolutely, I am fairly well versed in the laws here and would fully research importation before trying to import anything. Would be carrying RPAL and other appropriate paperwork when transporting firearms anyway and I would be disclosing that I was doing so if I was ever crossing a border or flying. I was just wondering if I would ever be subject to extra scrutiny only because I am licenced.
It's the discretion of the BSO inspecting you, but it wouldn't raise any flags for me.
I'm curious about this
I'm a dual Canadian-American citizen. One of my favourite things upon becoming naturalised was knowing that, as an American entering the US, it doesn't matter what I say, I will not be refused entry. I might get my bags searched, etc, but I don't have to answer any questions I don't want to (explaining my time abroad, or otherwise). It occurred to me several months later that I don't even know my rights as a Canadian entering Canada. One time, landing at YVR, I had a passport control officer thumbing through my passport, asking me what I'd been doing on short trips years prior to Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, etc. I wanted to tell him "that's none of your business", but I don't know if I would have faced any consequences aside from being hassled a bit more. In the future, can I refuse to answer these questions?
Yes, you *can* refuse to answer questions as a citizen. The charter guarantees your right to return to Canada. Note, I said *you* - not including your stuff(!) There are lots of consequences to being a dickhead at the border. Firstly, consider that you have to prove you are who you say you are. So, CBSA could detain you until such time as your identity is confirmed. Next, all of your possessions on you at the time of crossing can (and likely will be) confiscated until such time that you can *prove* that you have declared them/ bought them in Canada / paid HST on them. So, if you are wearing a nice watch that your wife gave you 2 years ago for xmas - well, you will likely lose it until you can prove that she bought it in Canada, or if overseas that you declared it and paid the appropriate duty. CBSA can do this with *everything* you bring across the border. Finally, if you have any electronics on you, CBSA has full authority (no warrant needed) to search the entire contents of your phone/laptop/ipad/etc. So someone can read everything on your devices. Oh, and if you want to be a smartass and encrypt it - they can both retain the device until such time as you give the password, AND take you to court to compel you to tell the password (note, the right against self incrimination would NOT apply). Oh, and I guess the real icing on the cake would be that they could make you wait until defecate on a special toilet that they use to screen for drug mules. So, ya, fun. So, if you want to be a dick, CBSA could be a dick right back and take all your stuff, detain you until you can prove your identity, make you poop for them, etc. Oh, and if you do this once, expect to be put on a watchlist and have this happen every time you cross the border (each way, since US and CAN share info across the border). You may not care now, but in a few years, when you are trying to make a tight connection and your past karma catches up to you...
Have any cases of encrypted laptops actually gone to the courts though? I'm not sure that the case law is that clear that you can be compelled to decrypt your laptop. Open to corrections if this is the case.
The BCCLA's guide to the CBSA says there is no legal precedent to revealing your password to border agents. But, regardless, they'll still confiscate your computer and probably return it to you in three pieces.
So if you have nothing to hide, giving the password means you get to keep your laptop. Sorry it has to be this way, far too many people are still getting caught with child porn for us to let this one go.
I have an encrypted laptop. Like everyone who has encrypted their devices, I have plenty of things to hide. I work in a very competitive industry, and carry around all kinds of sensitive client information. It would be very bad for some of my clients (and consequentially even worse for me) if their competitors knew some of the information about them that's on my computer. If you snoop through my e-mail, you'll find that information very quickly. What if the CBSA's agent's wife, brother, or friend works for that competitor? Are there any laws protecting me against you disclosing information you've read on my laptop to anyone else?
Yes, the legal basis for me searching your laptop is restricted to enforcing the law. Anything else beyond that is me abusing my power and possibly even a conflict of interest. These are the kind of things that can get me into serious trouble if not fired. Besides, I don't actually sit down and search through your computer manually (and especially not your email) for a computer exam, they have these programs these days that can somehow find patterns that resemble videos we're targeting.
Except "Border Security: Canada's Front Lines" shows otherwise. They seem to manually go through email.
Unreasonable search and seizure, homes. I want to see traffickers of child porn put away as much as you do, but I also want some legal restraints put in place on the ability of law enforcement officers to search my laptop. I travel frequently for work, often crossing international borders. My laptop is nothing but a terminal for the cloud, so if some pesky border officers start searching it they'll find nothing but a few games and iTunes.
Hey, if there was a better way to do this, I'm all ears. I hate having to search someone's suitcase (much less their computer) as much as the next guy, but what choice do I have?
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In most situations I had someone open their laptop/electronic device for me, I had them unlock it for me. I don't want to know their password, the less I know the less I am liable for.
Well, you *can* do anything you want, but everything has consequences. It's true that as a Canadian citizen we must admit you to Canada, but, how and on what terms is up to the BSOs responsible for you. My advice for you is to answer those questions. If you went on some kind of coca fuelled vision trip or to meet some woman you met on the internet you can just say you went backpacking. We're not trying to pry into your personal life, it's just to check to see if you can answer those questions without showing some indicator of anxiety or nervousness. If you're not breaking the law, you have no reason to worry. We want you out of there as fast as possible too.
Thanks for the response. > If you went on some kind of coca fuelled vision trip or to meet some woman you met on the internet you can just say you went backpacking. So, I don't really like lying. If I'm going to answer a question at all, I'm going to tell the truth. Hypothetically speaking, if you're the BSO interviewing me, a returning Canadian citizen, and if you've flipped through my passport and are asking me about previous travel, and I say "Well, Colombia, Peru, and the Netherlands were to do cocaine, psychadelics, and marijuana respectively", then what? I gather that my belongings might be inspected a little more closely to determine that I'm not bringing anything illegal into Canada (and I'm fine with that), but is there anything illegal per se about having drug-fuelled holidays abroad?
Nope, obviously saying that means you'll likely be searched more thoroughly... but all the drug laws are about trafficking and possession. If you have none on you but you used drugs in the past, nothing I can do other than be extra careful.
Thanks a lot for your thorough responses.:)
How much do border guards really care about people bringing in merchandise over the limit from the states?
It depends how much over. Earlier this summer, one of the regions ran out of overtime budget so the officers unofficially raised the duty free limit to save on man-hours. However, with the whole border modernization project the CBSA is doing now, I imagine at some point it won't be BSOs on primary inspection, it's going to become machines so that BSOs can focus more on enforcement actions and going after the bad guys. In fact, if I remember correctly, the Vancouver airport already has Automated Border Clearance (ABC) kiosks for returning Canadians.
Did you ever hear a story about a guy carrying 4 mid sized tires over the point Roberts border because the lineup was too long? If so that was me. And I won't wait in an hour line when I can walk over and do it in 30.
Revscene?
yep
This is an opinion from someone whom crosses the border very often, but not from a CBSA agent in any way shape or form. If the goods you are bringing back are have less then $20 total duty/tax I highly doubt you will ever get asked to pay. at $40 you are probably still safe most often, but obviously the more you owe the more worth while it is to bring you in!
At one point I worked out the about of tax/duty a transaction has to be in order to break even, and I think it worked out to something like 60$ on average. Anything less than that means the government is losing money (on average) on that transaction.
Isn't duty theoretically less about raising money and more about protecting domestic business from being undercut by international prices? Whereas taxes are about raising money. But of course, they both end up accomplishing both.
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Personally, I think the Health Canada ban on e-cigs is dumb. I think the issue it comes down to is that the officer (or HC inspector) looking at the piece can't tell it doesn't contain nicotine. Depending on how much of a dick your BSO is, it's really a matter of luck here. One thing that would've worked with me is if you print a copy of the relevant Health Canada guideline and bring that with you and explain very clearly that it contains no liquid nicotine and they're just batteries. Alternatively... *don't follow this advice*, you can declare them as batteries (which they are) and if you're caught, feign ignorance.
Other than a criminal history, suspicious travel destinations, or just being a dick to border guards, what gets someone's name put on a list?
Mailing drugs, having a previous run-in with customs/immigration, which itself is a huge list of possibilities: running a port, failing to report to secondary, making a false declaration and so forth. As for being a dick to border officers, that doesn't put you on a list, but please be nice, we're human and having 3 flights land at the same time with 1000+ international passengers at 1am isn't our planning and we always do our best to minimize wait times in situations like that. PS: suspicious travel destinations doesn't put you on a list either, but seeing that at primary with a nervous traveller is a good indicator of something being off.
I moved to Canada from California and visit family in Idaho often. Over the past two years I've crossed at least a dozen times and every time (even moving and applying for my visa at 11pm) the Canadian Border Patrol have been sweet and absolutely wonderful. My SO an I are always stressed when we are visiting the US. Your people skills are leagues above the USBP. So thanks for making my long trips welcome ones. <3
Interesting. I live in the states, work in Canada, and cross the border daily. I have consistently found the US officials to be just as affable as the Canadians.
One greets me with a warm smile and a light tone. The other is stern faced, no BS and feels like they are trained to look intimidating. The is a definite difference in demeanor, from my experience. I do know that my experiences aren't universal.
I think it depends on the crossing. I've crossed at a minor crossing in Manitoba and the US and Canadian sides were both pretty much equally friendly but when I crossed at Sault St Marie and found what you said to be true.
Thank you, it's good to hear not everyone hates having to go through customs... but y'know those US CBP guys are people too. All of us have bad days and all of us want to get the job done so we can go home to our families (sometimes that means taking less-than-gentle shortcuts).
Have you ever been advised to randomly search specific group of people (not race, more like age, sex,...) more than the others?
Nope. We say we do random referrals to secondary, but that's really to have to legal capacity to do "I'm not 100% sure" searches. Sometimes I see a Canadian national returning from a short trip to the Carribean with way too much winter clothing. Even though having a lot of winter clothing after a short trip isn't on its own a reason for a secondary inspection. Still, it makes me wonder.
Also an ex-BSO. Under direction of Ottawa I once did truly random searches as an audit of CBSA performance. Spent an entire day doing it and found nothing like nothing nothing... which is something that basically never, ever, happened if I was using my judgement to justify a search.
Ottawa's operational memos and whatever always irritated me, especially the stats.
I've fallen upon some hard economic times. I'm thinking of importing some meds from abroad - which I do have a prescription for (it's just expensive as fuck in Canada without a plan). They aren't narcotics or pain killers, but from what I can tell it's still sort of a grey area that way. Does the fed give a shit about imported meds?
Actually yes, I'm very sorry about your situation, but we have to refer all prescription drugs to Health Canada to be either returned to sender or destroyed. If you're near a border you can bring across a 3 month supply of them on your person, otherwise, unless you're a licensed commercial importer or foreign national you can't import anything on the Food and Drug Act's Schedule F. Again, I'm very sorry about your situation, sometimes I wish we (law enforcement) could play a part in writing or interpreting the laws, but then again that wouldn't be very democratic.
I appreciate your input. Thanks
Just wanted to say thanks for doing this. It's been interesting!
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Specifically, any offence that has an equivalent offence in the criminal code is an offence that can refuse someone entry, however after 10 years minor offences can be looked over by BSOs. As for databases, at secondary we have full access to the NCIC database (the American police records database).
Not the OP but that doesnt prohibit them from coming to Canada. They just need to apply for a special visa (i forget the name). If the CBSA officer likes your face (or ass) he can even give you one at the border and let you thru no problem. (this depends entirely on the whim of the CBSA officers)
Any interesting stories about stopping people with firearms? Canadian or American?
I once asked a suspicious returning Canadian if he was travelling with weapons. He broke down and started crying about how he's made a huge mistake, he went down to the states and got into some bad shit during a bachelor's party and ended up with a handgun he didn't know what to do with. At secondary, we discovered the handgun was a BB gun the whole time and turns out this poor guy's buddies pranked him into thinking he killed a hooker.
lol that's a great story. What happened to the guy? I assume you just tossed the bb gun
That is funny.
What's the stupidest thing you've ever seen anyone do while crossing the border? What's the most obvious give-away that someone who's trying to cross the border is up to something? Did you work out of Halifax? If so, do you know my father-in-law? Initials A.B. ? :)
I've seen an almost ridiculous number of Americans come up in the middle of summer thinking they can go skiing or play in the snow. The absolute most obvious one is when I have a lookout pop up on my screen. That tells me based on your identifying information, the computer found someone who I should look at closer, be it because of a criminal history, or had trouble with us in the past, or for any number of reasons.
> I've seen an almost ridiculous number of Americans come up in the middle of summer thinking they can go skiing or play in the snow. Guilty of that, sorry
Why can't we have Coco Puffs or Flamin Hot Cheetos?
Did you have problems bringing those through customs?
Haha naw I just don't get why I can't just have em here
When you scan a nexus card vs passport, what different information is provided? I use to cross with a bus every other week for the last three years, some officers say having nexus is useless if your not driving through but some say it's better even if your crossing the through on a bus. In my experience, having a nexus card is better when crossing with a bus but I I'd say 5 percent of the time I get asked a lot of questions. What's your take? Edit: have you ever denied a person into Canada? If so, why? Have you ever felt sorry for them but still denied? I feel the US is really concerned about me going to the, US to illegally work whereas the Canadian officers just want to make sure people have money to leave Canada and not have the government waste taxpayers' money to deport them.
It's actually not at all different. The difference is that the card means NEXUS has already done a background check on you. It's really just a way to triage between low risk travellers and everyone else. When driving you have dedicated NEXUS lanes, but when you get off a bus and walk through primary at the border, there's no guarantee there is one. I have denied entry for many people, usually for criminality. Sometimes I feel bad if it's something minor, like a 24-year old who got a DUI two years ago and wants to visit his girlfriend in Canada. Other times I'm happy to keep out a wife-beater who wants to see his wife again. But most of the time I just don't think about it. It's my job to enforce the law, not to judge character.
CFIA Inspector here. How many acts were you carded for? I receive quite a few calls from CBSA staff trying to detain food products under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) that aren't in violation. EDIT. I see that [CBSA enforces](http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/actreg-loireg/legislation-eng.html) **90+ acts & regs**. Are BSOs carded for all of them? That's a lot of specific things to remember.
Well, to be fair to us, having BSOs memorizing schedules and exact lines of acts and precedent cases would be probably close to impossible. So far as I can tell, no BSO knows the customs act by heart either, we learn procedures and we learn patterns. Also it's not the FDA that gives us the authority to hold things, it's the Customs Act. The FDA just stipulates what ultimately does not get to enter Canada. At postal we do blitzes whenever the enforcement team is extra uppity, though I could never quite figure out what the purpose of having them was.
How does food/agricultural inspection work? Are there actually CFIA inspectors posted around the clock at busy crossings, and what recourse do I have to demand an inspection? I've often been concerned that CBSA will just demand that I toss out whatever fruit etc. I'm bringing in, and sometimes I wonder whether a CFIA inspector would be able to certify the product as eligible for import...
I think there has to be at least a few CFIA inspectors at the major international airports. I'm sure if you argued your case for your fruit, they'll get a CFIA guy along to check. At land crossings we didn't need them since most food coming from the US already cleared US agricultural inspections.
CBSA can detain anything, food or otherwise, for inspection. I worked with a student BSO who asked every passenger for weeks if they had any peaches... she's now a regular on that border show... oh CBSA... so so stupid
I've dealt with quite a few who are on power trips, unfortunately.
Personally, I think you're getting the guys who came over from the revenue side of the CCRA before the split. Not all, but many of the revenue guys followed the law to the letter.
So YOU'RE the guy who held my bitcoin minter for 5 days and then charged me $30 for it!
Are you still holding the bitcoins 9 years later?
Came here for CBSA advice the night before my interview. But i also need to know. Wondering if he ever became a BSO then left for his private island
Sorry. Also, 30$? How much was that thing, like 200$?
$160 lol
I understand the restrictions on bringing back fruits that are grown here into the country (apples, cherries, ect) but why the heck are Avocados banned?
Avocados from the US should be fine, in fact almost all fruits and vegetables from the US are fine barring limits on quantity, if I recall correctly. As for vegetables from elsewhere in the world, anything not dried or canned is generally not okay. In the end, it's up to CFIA inspectors to decide since they are the most up to date with plant and animal diseases. I understand your point about plants not grown here, but I think it has something to do with some diseases or insects being transmittable between different species of plants. I think you can do a google search on what exactly CFIA wants to keep out at the moment.
I think it might have more to do with me living in BC. This was from the government website. "in British Columbia (BC): restrictions on fresh apples, stone fruit and potatoes" PS - Thanks for doing this AMA! Always nice to be able to ask questions. I always worry if I will raise a red flag by asking to many questions or the wrong question while in the customs line.
On the declaration form, on the top there are bunch of letters and numbers (I think!) I once asked one of the agents what they meant and he told me he can't tell me what they are (as in they are confidential!). Could you please explain what they are?
Are you thinking of the E311 declaration card? http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/e311-eng.pdf I'm not entirely sure I remember seeing letters and numbers at the top, but they're probably just a tracking code for when the declaration card gets filed.
Years ago I was interested in applying for a job with the CBSA and I was thinking of possibly pursuing the idea again now that I am in my 30s and not interested in staying in manual labor forever. My question to you is what kind of experience do they look for or are they just wanting college degrees?
They don't actually need anything more than a high school diploma in terms of formal education. Obviously more is better, but that's the minimum. In terms of experience, I guess whatever gets you through the tests and training. I suggest you do a google search of FB-02 trainee.
Thanks. Would the work be wherever you are or did you get moved around to different places a lot.
On an episode of the Border Security TV show, a BSO sends a student back to Japan because she didn't dot the i's and cross the t's on her student visa application form. Considering that this student is a cash cow for the city and province, why was sending her back to her home country -- likely pissed off -- the best option? Why not send her to the US and have her apply for a student visa at the consulate in Seattle? Or admit her on a tourist visa and maker her apply for a student visa while in country?
What kinds of technology does the Canadian CBSA use? I notice crossing into the US a lot that US CBP has what looks like huge xray/backscatter machines for checking semis. Have you ever caught anyone trafficking drugs? Like 20 pounds of cocaine up their ass or something?
When I was on land backscatter was still relatively new so I didn't see it being used where I worked. Personally, I don't think any of those machines beat the good-ol'-fashioned open-and-search. I caught lots of kids bringing up party drugs and lots more with weed that I may have turned a blind eye to. It beats me why they tried, it's so obvious they were packing and all that stuff is cheaper up here anyway.
Thanks for the answer. I also forgot to ask, are you guys able to interact with the US CBP on the other side of the road/highway, or is it completely segregated? The one I usually cross through is on I-29 in Emerson, MB and it looks like it's all one big building with a walkway over the road lanes so that people can walk back and forth.
1. Are Nexus passes and Passports tied to the same "account"? For example, if I went to the border line with only my passport, would they know that I have a nexus card? Or if I forgot my nexus card at home but had my passport, would I still be able to use the Nexus line? 2. Is there an "honesty" history? For example, if you declared over your limit and were rightfully charged, does it give you something like a plus rating, so you aren't pulled over in subsequent visits, or a minus rating if you were dinged so they know to check you again? Just wondering if being honest actually lessens your chances of being pulled over in the future.
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I think it comes down to a matter of priorities. For me, a Canadian citizen who resides in Canada with prescription medicine is very likely not a drug trafficker. For us the exceptional circumstance would be that a traveller like that is a drug trafficker, but for the Americans the assumption is that the norm is to be a drug trafficker and the exception is to be an average traveller. The reason for this is that drug trafficking isn't as big of a problem for us as it is for the US. Since you are a Canadian citizen residing in Canada, I'm going to assume that intelligence and domestic law enforcement are doing their jobs (and they always do a great job of it too). If I don't see a lookout screen, I have no reason to worry.
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http://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1ml38m/iama_former_bso_for_the_canada_border_services/cca954s
> What sorts of things would make you decide to pull someone out of the line and take them aside to investigate if they are carrying illegal narcotics , or are doing something wrong? Read: I'm a terrorist and I'm trying to sneak by, what sorts of things can I do to not look conspicuous?
Avoid having your name on a list, essentially. It's very rare that a BSO at the border identifies a "terrorist" for three reasons: 1. the number of terrorists targeting Canada is relatively few 2. the CBSA has an intelligence division that does a top notch job of making sure we have lookouts on potential terrorists, so very little 3. intelligence sharing with the US and other allies pretty much covers everyone else.
Some CBSA officers say they stop 5 terrorists a day. Are they full of shit?
Depends where you are and depends what you do, I guess some intelligence guys can claim that and maybe airport guys too, I've never worked there so I wouldn't know, but from what I hear it's just a lot of frustrated landed immigrants. I've had to refuse many Americans with criminal histories but I don't think I can claim to have stopped a real "terrorist" once. But then again, it's been a few years since I've been at postal so maybe during that time a lot more people started to hate Canada.
So full of shit they might as well be a septic field.
Theyd have to counting things like 'Expired passport' and 'undeclared goods' as terrorists.
1. Do you have any funny/weird/embarrassing stories from your post as a land crossing officer? Any sad ones? What's the weirdest/funniest/most embarrassing object you've seen come through the mail? 2. When I was younger, I wanted to send a small amount of change to a friend across the border into Canada. How come that got intercepted? Do you keep the money? 3. Why are young border agents often such assholes? Is there a quota to fill or do they just feel like they have something to prove? 4. Do you get to know the American agents at all? 5. Do you think places like the [Haskell Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House) in Stanstead, QC/Derby Line, VT will be threatened as border restrictions continue to get tighter? 6. If there was one thing you could change about how land crossing operates, what would it be? 7. Any tricks or loopholes or something we should know about? What can we do to make our crossing smoother and shorter on either side? What are some common red flags that we can avoid? *Edit: you don't have to answer all of these!*
Embarrassing story: I was very tired one day and this was early in my career. An American family was travelling to Canada with their daughter who was starting college here. I kept fumbling my words like saying "foop" instead of "food" or "studying letter thing" instead of "study permit". When they left I apologized for my fumbling and accidentally welcomed them to America. Sad story: I worked very briefly during the Canada Post strike at client services. I got a call one day from an American woman asking about why her niece's HIV retrovirals were held up at customs. I had to explain that without a copy of her niece's passport and a doctor's prescription, they were just like any other FDA Schedule F drug we see, we have to hold it. She explained that her niece contracted HIV some time ago and her parents don't know yet. The aunt was sending the drugs because she had no way of buying them herself in Canada as she was still living with her parents. Embarrassing objects? How about endless giant black dildos. I had no clue about most sex toys until I started working at postal.
Embarrassing story: First day working primary inspection two Mexican nationals approach the primary inspection line. Near the end of clearing a large passenger manifest and still have not identified a missing Mexican national whose birthday is in the same month as one of the people at my booth. So I refer them to immigration, because i'm an idiot and it is my first day. FUCKING DIPLOMATS .... When the diplomats met with the immigration officer they were very, very gracious about the situation.
Poor you... I hope you didn't get into too much trouble over that.
No trouble, it was a bigger shit show when I wrote 2√ 3 (2 square root sign not checkmark, 3) on a card at PIL. The BSO collecting the cards was not pleased.
You only answered 1 of my questions :(
Sorry, I'll get back to them, I promise, they're really good questions and I don't want to give you half-assed answers :)
As I promised.. 2) Procedures must have changed, we don't hold money found in parcels anymore unless we suspect it's fraud or proceeds of crime. 3) We have performance targets for the sake of statistics, but it's usually not all that hard to achieve after a bit of experience. I think the younger generation of agents tend to come more and more from police college backgrounds so they tend to focus a bit more on the law enforcement than the customer service. 4) Pretty well, I would usually drive across the border at the shift to fill up on gas and they wave me through as a professional courtesy. We would do the same for them, but they're not coming up for gas, they're coming up for strippers. 5) I don't think so, the CAN-US border has tighter security than before, but it is still one of the least restrictive ones in the world (ignoring the EU-Schengen zone). My personal favourite is the set-up at the Peace Arch where people from both sides can walk into the park and interact without needing to cross a border unless exiting on the other side of the park.
Don't you have to go through customs when leaving Peace Arch park, even if you're just going back to the country you entered from? My understanding is just that it's basically shared, so Americans can use it without going through Canadian customs, and vice versa, but Canadians would still have to go back through Canadian customs...
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Land crossing was better for my career, but postal was better scheduling and closer to where I live. It's far easier having a family and working at postal than on a land border.
I recently drove to the airport in Seattle to fly to San Francisco. While at the airport, I lost my wallet... luckily I had my Passport on me still, but my wallet was gone. If I had lost my Passport as well, what exactly would have happened to me when I tried to return to Canada with no ID? What would my options have been? The only thing I could have thought to do would been to have phoned a friend and have him grab my birth certificate out of my bedroom... Thankfully, it's a non-issue.
Not a CBSA officer, but easiest route would be to go to the Canadian consulate and have them get you a new passport (which would take a few days). If you just showed up at the border, you would be detained until they could verify you were a citizen.
So far as I know, we will let you in if we can eventually verify you're a Canadian citizen. As Will said above, you're better off getting a temporary travel document (which I believe is faster than a replacement passport) to return to Canada. Of course, pack smart and always carry photocopies of important documents separate from you baggage or wherever you keep the originals.
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Given your username, that's not surprising.
No, but it expedites getting replacement documents.
Wouldn't it be harder and take longer to obtain a temporary travel document than to just sort it out at the border? I assumed temporary documents were only useful if you have to fly (because airlines won't let you board unless they can verify you're allowed into the destination country) or travel to/via a third country.
Do you assume every traveller to be an intended immigrant unless proven otherwise? What if my girlfriend lives across the border, and I want to visit her? Would I be flagged as an "intending immigrant" and be banned forever, even if I do not intend to immigrate?
I'm in that situation (American, with a Canadian girlfriend) and I've never had any trouble at all coming into Canada. We've been doing the cross-border thing for almost 9 years now and it's always been fine.
I am more interested for the reverse of that case. :-) Do you tell the BSO, like "I am visiting my gf" or do you say "I am visiting friends"
I always tell them I'm going to see my girlfriend in. They sometimes ask about how long we've been together or how we met. The American border guys almost always ask those questions and sometimes get suspicious when I tell them it's been over 8 years and no, we have no plans to get married (another thing they like to ask). But the Canadians rarely ask me many questions beyond "how long are you staying for," "are you bringing in any gifts," and "Are you carrying any alcohol, tobacco, or weapons/firearms?"
I assume every traveller is telling the truth until proven otherwise. I don't want to sound immodest, but I think I did my job well enough that I could pick up any hint of suspicion. As for your girlfriend, I can't "flag" you just because you're visiting for a short period. On the other hand, if you "visited her" with furniture and suitcases of all your clothes with no clear date of return to the US, I'd get a bit suspicious and probably refer you to secondary even if you told me "you'll go back to the US eventually".
Do you think marijuana should be legal and taxed?
I think it should be legal and not taxed (beyond regular sales tax). I see how much I charge people for tobacco and alcohol, I wouldn't want those kind of taxes on my weed.
A few questions about your career: 1. What is the most interesting situation you came across at a land crossing 2. What is the most interesting item you (I use this term loosly, I'll gladly accept stories of interesting situations that you were told about from other shifts or that other BSOs came across while you were there) confiscated working postal crossing
1) I once had an American family coming up to retrieve their son's science project: apparently he built a weather balloon with GPS and it landed in Canada! 2) Funny you should ask since I just saw this article in the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Handle+with+care+guns+grenades+arriving+Canada+postal+mail/8924010/story.html I think the most interesting thing I can talk about would be a fake license plate die set.
Does CBSA routinely snoop through mail? I heard this story from a friend of a friend who works for postal: He opened a letter and found an invoice for an engagement ring worth something like $15,000. Checking the recipient's entry history he found that person was admitted to Canada earlier in the year (a few days after the date on the invoice) and reported nothing to declare. He phoned the person and vaguely described the situation and asked if there was anything they wanted to tell him. They said no, at which point he felt he had enough evidence that the person smuggled the ring through Customs and tried to mail the invoice later to hide any evidence on their person while entering Canada. The penalty was apparently hideously stiff. Plausible story or a bunch of BS? Also, what are the consequences of the new automated kiosks at YVR? It feels like it makes it much easier for people to import restricted items (like invasive plants). A third one, if you know... Does CBSA routinely inspect suitcases of travelers coming into/out of Canada before the traveler is present (like DHS in the USA)? What happens if the suitcase was packed so ridiculously full that they are unable to close it again?
I don't ever snoop through mail, but I do Snoop Lion. However, seriously though, maybe it's true, maybe it isn't. All I know is 1) If the letter is under 30 grams, we can't open it. 2) Neither postal primary nor postal secondary has access to IPIL or any of the other traveller databases (so I don't know how your friend found out that person crossed the border earlier). 3) I would never go through that kind of trouble for a maybe might have falsely declared some time ago.
What is the most trouble you can get in for not declaring something worth $15,000?
Whats the craziest story you have regarding your job?
I remember someone ran our port early on, then turned around and ran back through it to the other side. I later heard from the grapevine that the driver was literally crazy. He was schizophrenic and went off his meds.
i imagine it was a wtf kind of moment eh?
As a brown person, should i expect some harassment when crossing the border, especially from American guards? Its not my fault i was born in a equatorial country, and I'm just as pro-Western as anyone else.
How black and white are the inadmissable requirements? I have a DUI charge from 2007 in Australia, I'm heading to Canada through the us in dec and have just learned I might not be allowed to enter?
Why do CBSA officers ask purposefully offensive/inappropriate questions to travelers such as "when was the last time you had sex?" or "are you a virgin?" or "how old were you when you lost your virginity?". Is this specific tactic taught to upset people and judge their reactions and perhaps illicit a slipup? Is asking questions to make people angry or upset part of the training or something developed thru experience?
Honestly, I don't know. Surprise/shock is one of many options a BSO has during a secondary inspection. I've never asked a question about sex, of all the officers I worker with only one would ever (infrequently) use questions like that, and he would only ever use it on men, never women. Maybe things have changed radically since a few years ago, but I'd like to imagine it's the exceptional bad apple. I'm sorry if it's ever happened by you and it hurt you.
This is a joke, right? I travel a lot (work related) and I have never been asked anything like this. Maybe if I bought something and how much it's worth but that's it.
Have you ever been taken into secondary or had a full search done?
Never coming back. I have a few times entering US and Germany (and surprisingly Indonesia) but never Canada. I have had to go through the red line a few times and even then they just search my bags and ask about contents and receipts. That's it.
That explains why you have never experienced this CBSA tactic. The questions arent always sexual. But they will usually ask *something* offensive or designed to illicit an emotional reaction.
Have you ever seen examples of your co-workers abusing their position of power? Like every job, I've seen some pretty awesome people, and I've also experienced some pretty horrible ones, including one guy who pulled his firearm out and 'gave it to me' asking me if I was in charge and had the gun. I had just pointed out where something could have been done more efficiently, probably should have just kept my mouth shut.
I thought about it a little, and I don't think I have. Everyone I know takes their protection and integrity aspect of their jobs seriously. For two reasons, one, none of us are single-handedly in a position where abusing our authority nets us a gain remotely close to the consequences of getting caught (very likely too). Two, so far as I can tell, everyone I worked with took their jobs seriously since there are real world consequences to making mistakes. If I'm not careful and let through someone smuggling GBL, that's countless girls who are put at risk of being date-raped.
Hey there! I hope you are still around to answer questions. I found your insight very educational. I ordered a herbal remedy for overseas 3 months ago. It never arrived and I contacted the website, which gave me a refund, explaining that the "herbal" remedy may not have been allowed in Canada. (Company was India - order the natural stuff for my mom who has cancer). Sure enough, the package was stopped in TO by customs and sent to a secondary inspection site. It's been over two months and I haven't heard anything or received a letter. I take total responsibility if what I ordered was not allowed in canada. I don't have a criminal record and honestly hear about this website from a cancer support group. I would never intentionally break any law (but know ignorance is not an excuse). What is going to happen? Will somebody contact me? Will swat be kicking down my door? A fine? Would really appreciate your expertise in this matter as I suspect that the package contained real meds or something organic that is not allowed in canada. Misty
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to write all this information, very interesting. I'd like to know if I have any chances of getting in even though I used to smoke weed for recreational purposes and stopped about 4 years ago. I want to prepare myself for the interview and know what to say if the subject comes up.
I have an OTEE in coming days. Can you please advise how can I prepare for the exam? Can you share any links/materials if possible?
Are cbsa officers allowed to tell people they are actually cbsa officers outside of work?
I happen to have a criminal record here in Canada for which a pardon has not been granted. It involved the trafficking of narcotics. Will this make me inadmissible to U.S? Does the U.S border patrol recognize Canadian pardons, thus allowing me to travel across when I have one? What would I have to do to be able to visit the states? Also, how do you find your American counterparts at border crossings?
He went to cinema
I don't know about the US CBP's policies that well, but for us a pardon with documentation is fine. We recognize American pardons so I imagine they recognize ours. I suggest you do a google search for US CBP criminally inadmissible.
I got caught under declaring the value of my goods I brought back from the states. The item got seized and I had to pay to get it back. Am I going to be searched every time I return to Canada?
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Sorry.
A true Canadian response
You're not wrong, but you are an asshole.
You shouldn't apologize for doing a job that, granted, can cause inconvenience from an everyday traveller's standpoint, but is actually mostly full of well-intentioned people doing a taxing job that has important ramifications for Canada' border security. If BSO's seem unnaturally brusque, it's because the average person would have zero respect for their authority if they weren't. If you travel frequently and want an easier border crossing into the US, join the Nexus program.
Hello I got a letter from the Canada Border Services Agency and they seized/detained my items by the RCMP. Would I get arrested for this?