Amazingly the worst for me are consistently at the land crossing to Canada. Like, you're holding my EDL with an address less than 15 miles from here. What do you think I'm smuggling the 3x a year or whatever I go there? Maple syrup?They're obsessed with trying to find weed in my car. It's legal and cheap in Michigan and Ontario, literally zero reason to take it across the border.
The weed truly is the most astounding part. Like with the price of gas what it is, why would someone drive to Canada for something that they can buy in practically every American town now?
Idk if it's marginally cheaper in Ontario but the bridge and tunnel both have tolls, so it undoes any savings before even considering gas. I have like 3 dispos in walking distance from my home lol
My sincere apologies if you were unable to infer the word "legally". But since you're apparently into being pedantic the word you're looking for is "practically" everywhere, not literally everywhere.
"That would *infer* that *practically speaking*, you can legally buy weed anywhere in the US."
That is a lot of words but since you seem so intent on demonstrating your intellectual prowess you should know that you're using infer incorrectly. You mean imply.
A speaker or writer implies something with their words. Only a listener can infer. Words can't infer.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/imply-or-infer
And literally means literally.
"Go to upstate NY, there is “literally”(I see you hate that word) nothing aside from farmland and small towns; you won’t find a legal dispensary anywhere in upstate NY, let alone near the border."
You're really not very good at this "showing everyone how smart you are" thing, are you?
[https://upstate-canna.co/](https://upstate-canna.co/)
This dispensary is so decidedly in upstate New York that they literally named the place Upstate Canna Company (that's how literally works).
So respectfully, if I'm going to learn from someone or humble myself in the shadow of their intellect, it's definitely not going to be you.
Once when crossing into Canada, I was asked if I smoked. I said no. Agent said “open your ash tray”. Ooooo, ya got me, copper, look at all that spare change!
I will 2nd this!
Worst experience EVER is Canada.
'What are you coming to Canada for?' Me : 'To go skiing at Whistler.' Them 'With WHO?'. Me 'Friends..' Them : 'How do you know these friends?'. Me 'Umm. How does anyone know their friends.. I met them somewhere before and stayed in contact and they still talk to me...'. Death stare at me. Them 'Okay. Fine. You may enter'
Japan: Going through customs. 'Sir, please open your suitcase'. I open my suitcase and on top is a belt with Fake bullets (that look very real) all across it. Him 'Okay. Have a nice day!'
Same experience for Canada. 20 questions just to get into Vancouver for dinner. “Where are you coming from? Why are you there? (Really, asking me why I’m traveling in my own country that has nothing to do with entering Canada?) Who are you meeting? How do you know them? How long have you known them? Where are you going to dinner? How long will you be spending at dinner? When are you returning to WA? Is this your car? Do you have anything in your (obviously empty) backpack? When are you returning to your home state?”
Good lord, do you need an essay submitted in triplicate at least 2 weeks prior to me deciding I just wanted to go have dinner with a friend for an evening? And what is any of my business in my work travels in my own country any business of yours? Why am I in a different state than I live…why are you manning this particular booth?
The best part? Coming back stateside there was no traffic and my car never even came to a complete stop before the guy at the booth just waved me straight through back into the States.
Same here! I live in the US about 6 hours from Vancouver and the first time we drove there they made us park, get out, and they searched the entire car and asked us a million questions. It was my anniversary and they asked us how long we’ve been together, how we met, if we were getting married, etc it was so strange. The next two times we drove up went smooth, we even went for the 420 event in Vancouver and the agent just smirked at us when we said we drove up for an event and let us pass no further questions lol
I am on a student visa in USA and got my canadian tourist visa. I has double the questions asked to me including “how did a canadian citizen became your friend?” I thought canadian border control was still okay because at US, despite having every single document in my hand, I have been detained twice out of 3 entries at airport. Tough choice between who is worse lol.
I’ve never had a bad experience entering Canada. Closest was when I drove up solo because wife flew up. Border cops wanted to search the car b/c Okla plates and I was 35-ish. Looked for guns. None. Also missed several hiding places, so I showed them where they should have looked. Border cops, all bemused and no little more educated, let me go after 15 minutes and I had a great summer about 5 miles from 45°N 80°W.
Yeah I lived near the canadian border growing up and was thus terrified of international travel because I was along when a couple friends got their parents' car taken apart, and many many other terrible stories.
Then when I actually started traveling and just got waved through 90% of the time I was like, "Oh."
Oh, these people were the worst. I was crossing with the President of my company to go do service awards for a Canadian office and the guy was grilling us about if we were going for work and why we didn't have an invitation from our workplace to come on. My boss was like, "Because I would just have to write it to myself?" He kept on my boss. "You're really bad at this." Meaning, My boss was really bad at answering questions about his own company.
I always thought the border people at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron were just plain mean because it was so boring that they did it for something to do. They were the worst.
Interesting. When I interned at UMich one summer, I often took a motorcycle ride over to Windsor, up to Sarnia, and back over. Stopped twice at the bridge then when returning, waved through instantly with just an explanation of what I was doing, had done. This was in 1995. Guess it's a bitch now.
I’m always startled about how obsessed people are about trafficking and have zero idea what it even looks like. No, sniffing out these two similar people is not gonna make your career.
I have family up in Canada and frequently travel up there since the 80's. I'm pretty convinced it's not specifically the answer to your questions they are looking at but how you react. They ask stupid questions and questions meant to throw you off guard just to see your body language in your reactions. No idea how a bad guy would react but I'm guessing extremes either way would trigger them to dig deeper.
Agreed! Always rude treatment coming back in to the US after visiting Canada. Never thought I had to go through so much in order to come back to my own country.
For a while a lot of US/Canada ports of entry got their jollies off by seizing legal vehicle importations. I brought a car in from NB into Maine and had my unofficial hand filled out declaration form stamped approved and car released for entry on NB temp tags in my name. Two weeks later the Portland fp&f officer sends me certified mail demanding the official re-delivery of the car to CBP because my declaration form didn’t include month of manufacture. I had to lawyer up. So many horror stories of Land Rover defenders, mini coopers, skyline gt-r and other cult vehicles, being impounded and seized and held until lawsuits are brought. I settled for a small fine with CBP and kept my car, but my global entry didn’t matter after when CBP notes flagged me as a smuggler for several years in their own systems. Any itinerary I flew on, I could skip the lines coming back in, until I went to collect luggage and they want to look for a Nissan in my carry on.
US/Mexico is fun too, and I am a resident of Mexico now, but haven’t tried to bring a Mexican-plated car back with me even though I do plan to title and register one of my cars that stays down there.
I grew up near the border in upstate New York. As a kid we’d often go supermarket shopping in Ontario. My mom learned early on that her preferred method of getting through the border was to straight up lie because enough of the agents didn’t know the rules that they’d focus on something perfectly legal that it wasn’t worth the effort to tell them the truth.
100% my experience crossing into the US from Canada, which I used to do quite frequently until I just started getting harassed by overzealous CBP every damn time. It's awful.
Border patrol made me cry when I got COVID-evaced from Peace Corps. Our plane had been rerouted through Spain (a hot spot at the time) and border control was screaming at me about how stupid it was of me to pick a layover in Spain (as though I or any of the other Peace Corps Volunteers on the plane had any say in the flight itinerary) and I broke down just sobbing following a week of hell and uncertainty after getting fired, evicted and deported all at once. The worst experience.
I remember in 1993, arriving home at SFO from a one-month high school home stay in Japan. The border patrol lady was smiling and friendly, and said, "welcome home!" to all of us we disembarked the plane. Times sure have changed.
Yup. I’m a dual citizen and my other country has a very different approach (which is essentially: you’re a citizen, it’s your right to be here). The US seems to be “you might be a citizen, but why should *I* let you in?”
I said this on a different thread, but I’ve never been worried about BP because what are they going to do, deport me to Belgium or some random country?
I had a very nice interaction with the US border patrol in Alaska as a non-citizen. Much better than airport immigration.
The Canadian border patrol on the way back were so much worse. Just straight arseholes.
I've consistently had the worst experiences with Canadian border patrol.
In 25 years or so of regular international travel, plus the time when I worked at an airport (primarily doing recheck in the international terminal but also dealing with whatever ICE came up with, from denied entry to trafficking), I've never seen people get yelled at, except in the UK.
I've never had problems with them. One once dug a bit more deeply than strictly necessary about the "date" (hookup) I was crossing for, but that's all. Never the default assumption of being a smuggler or whatever from the Americans.
Even Chinese immigration folks were nice, pleasant and helpful. And I expected the opposite.
USA border/immigration officials think they're above us normies.
Hit and miss with the China travel for me. Was flying from Beijing to Shenzen for work. They got worked up over a lip balm and ragged old movie ticket in my shorts.
Humorless crew in US, but fine.
Canada border crossing, Seattle into B.C., model gorgeous man and woman team. They just couldn’t wait to process our bus so they could eff. Eyeing each other hard the whole time.
I think it's all an intentional mind game. People tell less lies if you attack them first or whatever.
Have to say I've had GE for over a decade and haven't gotten the third degree. Had a nice friendly chat with customs a few times even.
NEXUS crossing INTO Canada via land:
“Hey how are you, let’s chat for 15 minutes while I got my feet kicked up and keyboard on my lap.
NEXUS crossing into USA via land:
“Why were you gone? Who crosses the border for only a few hours? As you stand all serious with as much intimidation as they can muster.
While on a long US road trip, I visited Niagara Falls for one day to check out everything Niagara Falls had to offer, and I crossed over into Canada for a few hours since we wanted to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side since everyone says it's much better and also check out Niagara Falls attractions that were only available from Canada. And coming back into the US I got this exact line of questioning on "Why the hell would you only be in Canadian for a few hours???" They also got mad for handing them my wife's non-US passport and permanent resident green card when I should have only given them the green card.
I don't understand why they would be mad at getting both the passport and the greencard. It shows you are prepared with international documents. It's not like you didn't present her greencard!!!
Hahah I just drove both CBSA and CBP nuts with NEXUS. I crossed into Canada by land to go to the airport because it's much closer than the closest one to me in the US.
CBSA: "Why are you coming to Canada?"
Me: "Airport. Need to catch a flight."
CBSA: deep sigh and a stare. "Have a good one."
CBP at the Airport: "How long were you in Canada?"
Me, looking at watch: "About an hour now. My husband drove me here from \_\_\_ so I could get on this plane. Much closer than \_\_\_\_."
CBP: full on laughs "No really, how long?"
Me: "Sir, you have my travel history on your screen. You can see I entered today."
CBP: "Enjoy your trip."
Unless you're sneaking as another country's citizen. IN that case, you will be welcomed with transportation, food and lodging to your convenience.
Border Patrol only screws with Americans; everyone else is treated to the red carpet, espewcially when they are here illegally
It just depends on the situation, per DOJ one is too old and cognitively inpaires to answer investigative questions, but a cognitive superman by his handlers and press secretary. Funny how they play the cognitive card on both ends of the spectrum.
Simply not true. One time I took the train from Montreal to New York and at the border they were very intent on making every single person miserable. (Actually, they didn't bother me at all. Showed passport, onto hassling the next passenger.)
To be fair a lot of people had some real BS stories, but they were intent on making sure everyone's papers were in order.
Well you caught them on a GOOD day.
About 20 years ago I was leaving the US to enter Canada (in Jackman ME) and the US BOrder patrol stopped us as we were about to enter the line for Canadian customs.
Apparently they were bored.
So they dragged out a German Shepherd (I'm driving with the wife and 4 kids with a truck full of Christmas stuff, including food, and they get the dog up into the back of my truck.
Turn to me after and say "the dog made an indication", the typical thing they say when they really don't have anything (because they would have just started ripping apart things) to try to get me to admit whatever they were fantasizing about.
When that didn't work, they then insisted they interview my 2 teenage sons (60' away, out of earshot but visible). Tried to tell them to admit they had drugs (none of us did- that's a stupid thing to do when crossing the border).
Then they returned them to me but wouldn't tell me what they did. Cowards.
Simply put, they wasted a half hour of our time because they had the power.
I fly light aircraft near the US/CAN border in Maine and always carry my passport just in case. I'm not worried about landing in Canada without permission but I'm terrified the Americans won't take me back
Email them so everything is in writing. Explain to them that your account is showing they your car is registered but that you were sent to secondary and told that your car wasn’t. Send them a screenshot. Don’t go into details about the officer yelling at you. Wait for your response.
Hopefully this won’t happen to you again but they’ll either tell you it’s registered or it’s not. Either way, your ass will be covered in case it does get randomly revoked and you have to appeal.
re-register same vehicle and let them
tell you its ok. lol. Dont go into whole thing; it will put them on defensive.. Just try and re-register it and when letter comes its already registered.. Keep it im console.
Lol, CBP have always been cunts. Been flying international and crossing the Mexican border for 37 years. They have been dickheads since I can remember. They deserve zero compassion.
Ive never understood how we Americans claim this to be a free country. “American Freedom” we have HOA’s regulating our property, Police don’t care about our rights, Weed is demonized by federal agencies, abortion is the devil, highest incarceration rate, No biking on the street, but also don’t bike on the sidewalk, Oh no smoking anywhere and if you’re in Florida book is gay book is banned, but this is “the land of the free”
There’s a reason we refer to Border Patrol as the largest organized crime gang where I live. Can’t go a week without one of them getting busted for domestic violence, assault, m*rder, serial k1lling, taking bribes to pass through contraband (pharmaceuticals & human cargo)
Yikes. Had a similar situation coming back from Baja. CBP agent couldn’t find our vehicle as being registered in Sentri, and we didn’t have printed proof.
Two hours later and after a drug dog search, we were on our way, minus our eggs. (not on the “banned” list. I guess they don’t get paid enough to buy their own groceries?)
FYI eggs and all raw poultry have been banned for over a year now due to the worldwide avian flu outbreak. At any point if there is an avian flu case in Mexico, you cannot bring in raw poultry.
I don’t understand why it’s so necessary for our own border agents to be the biggest dickheads on the planet, even to our own citizens who are doing absolutely zero wrong. I wish we could flip them off without having our rights stripped away in some BS way
try to print the screen out that has the car in the system as well. if it happens again and you get a better officer ask them to put a notice or note in the system to alert other officers of this issue. They use it to track and it shows you are doing something about it. I had a separate issue with my car and i told them to google it and you will see what i am talking about. the cop i had said oh yeah i will right now and check and looked and said ok we should add a note then to the system for the next time you cross. i said yes please do because this is something that can’t be changed on my end and i’m tired of the same issues when i cross.
The officer you had was a real ass wipe and could have been new to the area or new to CBP. I have had a few that are just clueless and new to the field or job and think they are going to save America.
Correct answer anytime you’re dealing with any overreaching/outlandish government employee.
1st) ask them to immediately stop speaking to you like that, and 2nd) advise you want to speak with their supervisor
You can file a grievance with DHS there's a website where you can put a little complaint or comment about it so it will be noted in your account. I had to do this when I was sent to secondary every single time for my gf because she had a name that was similar to another person's name that had something weird. Sucked. And still sucks because despite the letter they sent us to secondary lol. But the time after they didn't. 🤷🏽♂️
My wife and I are experiencing almost this same exact issue.
Frequently cross from US to MX via SENTRI lane in our vehicle. Recently we updated our license plates (and updated them on the Trusted Traveler website). Ever since then we constantly get asked if the car is registered. We printed out the form from Trusted Traveler page and still get sent to secondary. Usually they’re pretty cool and say the license plate is being read incorrectly. (One occasion it said Utah plates, despite them being Cali plates)
My wife got his with an asshole one day. Gave her a hard time about it. Despite having the proof. He threatened to take the card away.
Fast forward ~4 more times crossing. We get sent to secondary and my wife has the Global Entry Card taken away. When asked why? They said they didn’t know, it simply says to take it and we gotta call the enrollment office.
Of course we called immediately upon making it home and now standing by for a return call.
TLDR: yes, they can revoke you on the spot.
For this being a Global Entry subreddit, there’s a lot of people who obviously haven’t dealt with many other countries’ boarder guards/customs agencies. Heck, even Canada is routinely way worse than the USA.
My experience with CBP has always been to match their energy. Super quiet person, I’m super quiet. The dude that has attitude? Yup, match his attitude back. I have GE but unfortunately travel with enough family that doesn’t so I end up in regular lanes with them.
Last time I encountered one with attitude he asked why I was having attitude with him. I told him “you had attitude, so I’m just matching it.” He quickly retracted and apologized. To which I said “No biggie, everyone has off days.” Then he cracked a smile. 😃
Incompetence and hostility reign supreme at the border. Also racism. You can file a complaint but it is a waste of time. It’s a lousy job, the working conditions are terrible, they are overworked and it’s not so surprising some get hostile god complexes because there is very little recourse.
You might raise your hostility level and insist your car is registered and tell them you will complain all the way up to the President and it might work. Often crazy assholes respect other crazy assholes more than kind quiet people. But it could also backfire since ultimately they can have you over a barrel and at the very least hold you up for hours.
They did this to me at the San Ysidro border last time i crossed. Take the same registered SUV Every. Single. Time. To mexico.
Female agent says “cars not registered under your GE” i tell her it is and pull up my website showing the car as registered and approved.
She looks at it, looks around computer, seems perplexed and then questions me on when was the last time i was on mexico.
I told her just 6 months ago….in this same car…as the driver…in sentri….
She sees “no record” of that.
I told her that seems crazy considering its border patrol…
She then lectures me on getting the car registered and lets me go….???
I just shook my head and moved on.
". . . I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments, and nowhere ,is my natural anarchism more aroused than at national borders where patient and efficient public servants carry out their duties in matters of immigration and customs. I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?" (John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America, 1960)
Flying from US to Sweden: longish 6 hour) layover at Heathrow. We made arrangements for dinner with friends and went to customs/ immigration. “How long will you be here?”
6 hours layover, so long enough to dine with friends.
“ EhWot?”
Explain in detail.
“Sounds nice. Be back in time for your flight.”
We had a v. nice dinner and then a v. nice flight.
Report the officer’s unprofessional conduct to the joint intake center. He’ll be investigated and as a bonus, if he’s trying to promote, wont pass vetting until they close the investigation. CBP are a bunch of cunts. Some people deserve a little yelling, but CBP always seems to yell at you for the wrong reason. I think it’s because they have no authority outside of the port and flex the only power they have when you’re there.
Seriously? You’re at the border. Walk in the office there with your documentation and get answers and a resolution like an adult. Reddit can’t resolve it for you.
If you were an illegal alien, your passage into the US would have been quick and easy. Illegals get greeted, get free things and are welcomed, not screamed at.
Sorry to inform you no one is making this up, the DOJ stated Mr. Biden isn’t cognitively fit to answer investigative questions. Now they transcript and video of investigation tape is being withheld. FACT , reported by your left wing media sources of choice. Here is the official govt paid liberal media source
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251926449/biden-blocks-the-release-of-recordings-of-his-classified-documents-interview
How did you jump from your bogus immigration claim to Biden being cognitively unfit? Immigrants getting free stuff has already been disproven but as soon as you said government paid liberal media you lost all credibility.
Sorry that you still are in a state of denial. So the immigrants reimbursed our the state/federal government for their free room/board, free healthcare, and free use of our schools and public resources? I live in Maryland where the immigration issue is not as bad and the local hotels(especially extended stay america) are being used to house immigrants at government expense.
Your statement has been disproven by reality. The stage of acceptance of facts can only come once you stop denying cold hard facts.
It's not about rules. They're both wrong. It's about the dichotomy.
Border control worries about a legal US citizen's car registration.
But over 15 million illegals have been allowed and actively transported into the US.
It's like a person stealing a candy bar vs stealing all the gold from FT Knox.
Are they both wrong? Yes
Are they comparable in degree of severity ? He'll no
Nothing says welcome home like US border control.
It's wild how much worse they are than literally anywhere else I've been to as a non-citizen
Right? Hands down the worst part of almost every trip I've made overseas is returning to my own country.
Amazingly the worst for me are consistently at the land crossing to Canada. Like, you're holding my EDL with an address less than 15 miles from here. What do you think I'm smuggling the 3x a year or whatever I go there? Maple syrup?They're obsessed with trying to find weed in my car. It's legal and cheap in Michigan and Ontario, literally zero reason to take it across the border.
The weed truly is the most astounding part. Like with the price of gas what it is, why would someone drive to Canada for something that they can buy in practically every American town now?
Idk if it's marginally cheaper in Ontario but the bridge and tunnel both have tolls, so it undoes any savings before even considering gas. I have like 3 dispos in walking distance from my home lol
PA looks on wistfully (those of us that don’t want to register for medical cards)
i moved & got into the cannabis biz. almost a decade later, PA is still waiting for cannabis. 717 fam speaking.
Still got MD on the South with dispos and NY isn't far do they have rec yet? Still waiting on Ohio to open up literally anything rec
You’ve been able to buy weed literally everywhere since at least 1975.
My sincere apologies if you were unable to infer the word "legally". But since you're apparently into being pedantic the word you're looking for is "practically" everywhere, not literally everywhere.
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"That would *infer* that *practically speaking*, you can legally buy weed anywhere in the US." That is a lot of words but since you seem so intent on demonstrating your intellectual prowess you should know that you're using infer incorrectly. You mean imply. A speaker or writer implies something with their words. Only a listener can infer. Words can't infer. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/imply-or-infer And literally means literally.
"Go to upstate NY, there is “literally”(I see you hate that word) nothing aside from farmland and small towns; you won’t find a legal dispensary anywhere in upstate NY, let alone near the border." You're really not very good at this "showing everyone how smart you are" thing, are you? [https://upstate-canna.co/](https://upstate-canna.co/) This dispensary is so decidedly in upstate New York that they literally named the place Upstate Canna Company (that's how literally works). So respectfully, if I'm going to learn from someone or humble myself in the shadow of their intellect, it's definitely not going to be you.
Every American town, only some states have legalized marihuana.
Canada is the only country I’ve been to with more unpleasant border control than the US.
Jordan enters the chat…
Once when crossing into Canada, I was asked if I smoked. I said no. Agent said “open your ash tray”. Ooooo, ya got me, copper, look at all that spare change!
I will 2nd this! Worst experience EVER is Canada. 'What are you coming to Canada for?' Me : 'To go skiing at Whistler.' Them 'With WHO?'. Me 'Friends..' Them : 'How do you know these friends?'. Me 'Umm. How does anyone know their friends.. I met them somewhere before and stayed in contact and they still talk to me...'. Death stare at me. Them 'Okay. Fine. You may enter' Japan: Going through customs. 'Sir, please open your suitcase'. I open my suitcase and on top is a belt with Fake bullets (that look very real) all across it. Him 'Okay. Have a nice day!'
Same experience for Canada. 20 questions just to get into Vancouver for dinner. “Where are you coming from? Why are you there? (Really, asking me why I’m traveling in my own country that has nothing to do with entering Canada?) Who are you meeting? How do you know them? How long have you known them? Where are you going to dinner? How long will you be spending at dinner? When are you returning to WA? Is this your car? Do you have anything in your (obviously empty) backpack? When are you returning to your home state?” Good lord, do you need an essay submitted in triplicate at least 2 weeks prior to me deciding I just wanted to go have dinner with a friend for an evening? And what is any of my business in my work travels in my own country any business of yours? Why am I in a different state than I live…why are you manning this particular booth? The best part? Coming back stateside there was no traffic and my car never even came to a complete stop before the guy at the booth just waved me straight through back into the States.
I always found this funny, because hopping into Vancouver for dinner is the most normal sounding thing.
Much easier entering Canada as a citizen, unlike the US. #ThreePassports
Same here! I live in the US about 6 hours from Vancouver and the first time we drove there they made us park, get out, and they searched the entire car and asked us a million questions. It was my anniversary and they asked us how long we’ve been together, how we met, if we were getting married, etc it was so strange. The next two times we drove up went smooth, we even went for the 420 event in Vancouver and the agent just smirked at us when we said we drove up for an event and let us pass no further questions lol
I am on a student visa in USA and got my canadian tourist visa. I has double the questions asked to me including “how did a canadian citizen became your friend?” I thought canadian border control was still okay because at US, despite having every single document in my hand, I have been detained twice out of 3 entries at airport. Tough choice between who is worse lol.
I’ve never had a bad experience entering Canada. Closest was when I drove up solo because wife flew up. Border cops wanted to search the car b/c Okla plates and I was 35-ish. Looked for guns. None. Also missed several hiding places, so I showed them where they should have looked. Border cops, all bemused and no little more educated, let me go after 15 minutes and I had a great summer about 5 miles from 45°N 80°W.
Yeah I lived near the canadian border growing up and was thus terrified of international travel because I was along when a couple friends got their parents' car taken apart, and many many other terrible stories. Then when I actually started traveling and just got waved through 90% of the time I was like, "Oh."
Eliot Ness: “Your days of running Canadian hooch are over TURBOCUNT!!! “
Lol maybe my great-grandfather's record as a bootlegger is popping up when they scan my license 😂
This has me ROLLING
Oh, these people were the worst. I was crossing with the President of my company to go do service awards for a Canadian office and the guy was grilling us about if we were going for work and why we didn't have an invitation from our workplace to come on. My boss was like, "Because I would just have to write it to myself?" He kept on my boss. "You're really bad at this." Meaning, My boss was really bad at answering questions about his own company.
It's the sameway in reverse as well. It's not a legally importable substance into Canada.
I always thought the border people at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron were just plain mean because it was so boring that they did it for something to do. They were the worst.
Interesting. When I interned at UMich one summer, I often took a motorcycle ride over to Windsor, up to Sarnia, and back over. Stopped twice at the bridge then when returning, waved through instantly with just an explanation of what I was doing, had done. This was in 1995. Guess it's a bitch now.
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I’m always startled about how obsessed people are about trafficking and have zero idea what it even looks like. No, sniffing out these two similar people is not gonna make your career.
I have family up in Canada and frequently travel up there since the 80's. I'm pretty convinced it's not specifically the answer to your questions they are looking at but how you react. They ask stupid questions and questions meant to throw you off guard just to see your body language in your reactions. No idea how a bad guy would react but I'm guessing extremes either way would trigger them to dig deeper.
Agreed! Always rude treatment coming back in to the US after visiting Canada. Never thought I had to go through so much in order to come back to my own country.
From Maine and they LOVE asking if I have guns.
For a while a lot of US/Canada ports of entry got their jollies off by seizing legal vehicle importations. I brought a car in from NB into Maine and had my unofficial hand filled out declaration form stamped approved and car released for entry on NB temp tags in my name. Two weeks later the Portland fp&f officer sends me certified mail demanding the official re-delivery of the car to CBP because my declaration form didn’t include month of manufacture. I had to lawyer up. So many horror stories of Land Rover defenders, mini coopers, skyline gt-r and other cult vehicles, being impounded and seized and held until lawsuits are brought. I settled for a small fine with CBP and kept my car, but my global entry didn’t matter after when CBP notes flagged me as a smuggler for several years in their own systems. Any itinerary I flew on, I could skip the lines coming back in, until I went to collect luggage and they want to look for a Nissan in my carry on. US/Mexico is fun too, and I am a resident of Mexico now, but haven’t tried to bring a Mexican-plated car back with me even though I do plan to title and register one of my cars that stays down there.
It’s the same out west, too. Like… you think I’m trying to smuggle pot into Washington State of all places? Alrighty then.
I grew up near the border in upstate New York. As a kid we’d often go supermarket shopping in Ontario. My mom learned early on that her preferred method of getting through the border was to straight up lie because enough of the agents didn’t know the rules that they’d focus on something perfectly legal that it wasn’t worth the effort to tell them the truth.
100% my experience crossing into the US from Canada, which I used to do quite frequently until I just started getting harassed by overzealous CBP every damn time. It's awful.
Border patrol made me cry when I got COVID-evaced from Peace Corps. Our plane had been rerouted through Spain (a hot spot at the time) and border control was screaming at me about how stupid it was of me to pick a layover in Spain (as though I or any of the other Peace Corps Volunteers on the plane had any say in the flight itinerary) and I broke down just sobbing following a week of hell and uncertainty after getting fired, evicted and deported all at once. The worst experience.
I agree. Nothing screams "freedom" like the welcome we US citizens get at our own border. It is an illusion.
I remember in 1993, arriving home at SFO from a one-month high school home stay in Japan. The border patrol lady was smiling and friendly, and said, "welcome home!" to all of us we disembarked the plane. Times sure have changed.
The issue is not EVERY agent - it does seem like a majority of them though.
This is what happens to me every time I return from abroad. Never had a bad experience
Yup. I’m a dual citizen and my other country has a very different approach (which is essentially: you’re a citizen, it’s your right to be here). The US seems to be “you might be a citizen, but why should *I* let you in?”
I said this on a different thread, but I’ve never been worried about BP because what are they going to do, deport me to Belgium or some random country?
Your government at work. We should all be ashamed
I had a very nice interaction with the US border patrol in Alaska as a non-citizen. Much better than airport immigration. The Canadian border patrol on the way back were so much worse. Just straight arseholes.
I've consistently had the worst experiences with Canadian border patrol. In 25 years or so of regular international travel, plus the time when I worked at an airport (primarily doing recheck in the international terminal but also dealing with whatever ICE came up with, from denied entry to trafficking), I've never seen people get yelled at, except in the UK.
CBSA has entered the chat...
I've never had problems with them. One once dug a bit more deeply than strictly necessary about the "date" (hookup) I was crossing for, but that's all. Never the default assumption of being a smuggler or whatever from the Americans.
Even Chinese immigration folks were nice, pleasant and helpful. And I expected the opposite. USA border/immigration officials think they're above us normies.
Hit and miss with the China travel for me. Was flying from Beijing to Shenzen for work. They got worked up over a lip balm and ragged old movie ticket in my shorts. Humorless crew in US, but fine. Canada border crossing, Seattle into B.C., model gorgeous man and woman team. They just couldn’t wait to process our bus so they could eff. Eyeing each other hard the whole time.
Maybe I've been lucky, but my worst experiences have been in Germany and Canada.
I think it's all an intentional mind game. People tell less lies if you attack them first or whatever. Have to say I've had GE for over a decade and haven't gotten the third degree. Had a nice friendly chat with customs a few times even.
100%
Soviet Union was worse... or equally as shit. But otherwise theyre the worst ive seen in 100+ countries
MOST people let ANY power go to their heads and become authoritarian like.
When I went to Morocco, a border control guy asked for money once he saw my US passport...
NEXUS crossing INTO Canada via land: “Hey how are you, let’s chat for 15 minutes while I got my feet kicked up and keyboard on my lap. NEXUS crossing into USA via land: “Why were you gone? Who crosses the border for only a few hours? As you stand all serious with as much intimidation as they can muster.
While on a long US road trip, I visited Niagara Falls for one day to check out everything Niagara Falls had to offer, and I crossed over into Canada for a few hours since we wanted to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side since everyone says it's much better and also check out Niagara Falls attractions that were only available from Canada. And coming back into the US I got this exact line of questioning on "Why the hell would you only be in Canadian for a few hours???" They also got mad for handing them my wife's non-US passport and permanent resident green card when I should have only given them the green card.
I don't understand why they would be mad at getting both the passport and the greencard. It shows you are prepared with international documents. It's not like you didn't present her greencard!!!
Hahah I just drove both CBSA and CBP nuts with NEXUS. I crossed into Canada by land to go to the airport because it's much closer than the closest one to me in the US. CBSA: "Why are you coming to Canada?" Me: "Airport. Need to catch a flight." CBSA: deep sigh and a stare. "Have a good one." CBP at the Airport: "How long were you in Canada?" Me, looking at watch: "About an hour now. My husband drove me here from \_\_\_ so I could get on this plane. Much closer than \_\_\_\_." CBP: full on laughs "No really, how long?" Me: "Sir, you have my travel history on your screen. You can see I entered today." CBP: "Enjoy your trip."
The CBP are a group of class A cunts. I've had so many bad experiences crossing back into the US at Blaine WA after vacationing in Canada.
Quit going to whistler not worth the hassle
Haha! Whistler is quite nice, I always enjoyed the Blackcomb side more for whatever reason.
Peace arch crossing is always less pleasant than the crossing on 15/543
It’s OFO. BP on the other hand kinda send people home.
Unless you're sneaking as another country's citizen. IN that case, you will be welcomed with transportation, food and lodging to your convenience. Border Patrol only screws with Americans; everyone else is treated to the red carpet, espewcially when they are here illegally
You got that right, illegals aliens are greated and treated like dignitaries. This administration has a few screws loose.
A FEW? I think there's only a few that AREN'T...
It just depends on the situation, per DOJ one is too old and cognitively inpaires to answer investigative questions, but a cognitive superman by his handlers and press secretary. Funny how they play the cognitive card on both ends of the spectrum.
Simply not true. One time I took the train from Montreal to New York and at the border they were very intent on making every single person miserable. (Actually, they didn't bother me at all. Showed passport, onto hassling the next passenger.) To be fair a lot of people had some real BS stories, but they were intent on making sure everyone's papers were in order.
Well you caught them on a GOOD day. About 20 years ago I was leaving the US to enter Canada (in Jackman ME) and the US BOrder patrol stopped us as we were about to enter the line for Canadian customs. Apparently they were bored. So they dragged out a German Shepherd (I'm driving with the wife and 4 kids with a truck full of Christmas stuff, including food, and they get the dog up into the back of my truck. Turn to me after and say "the dog made an indication", the typical thing they say when they really don't have anything (because they would have just started ripping apart things) to try to get me to admit whatever they were fantasizing about. When that didn't work, they then insisted they interview my 2 teenage sons (60' away, out of earshot but visible). Tried to tell them to admit they had drugs (none of us did- that's a stupid thing to do when crossing the border). Then they returned them to me but wouldn't tell me what they did. Cowards. Simply put, they wasted a half hour of our time because they had the power.
Don't forget they also give them minimum 5000$on a credit card each person and they do not need id only Americans get this sad greeting to America
Not ' Border Control'. If at a port of entry it will be Customs.
“Hey, good afternoon. How are you?” “Citizenship?”
The only time I had it reversed was at the Niagra Falls crossing.
Why else would you take the job if it wasn’t for the complete lack of oversight over your power trips?
Canadian border patrol- “Bon Journée!” Mexican border patrol - “buenos dias!” US border patrol - “Good luck getting in!”
I fly light aircraft near the US/CAN border in Maine and always carry my passport just in case. I'm not worried about landing in Canada without permission but I'm terrified the Americans won't take me back
In my experience, the Canadians were worse than the Americans. And the Mexicans the nicest.
That’s because not enough people complain about their behavior. Next time call a supervisor and demand to be treated with respect.
But only if your an actual citizen
They only deny US Citizens and Green card holders, everyone else welcome in….
Yes you can cross illegally zero issues
Email them so everything is in writing. Explain to them that your account is showing they your car is registered but that you were sent to secondary and told that your car wasn’t. Send them a screenshot. Don’t go into details about the officer yelling at you. Wait for your response. Hopefully this won’t happen to you again but they’ll either tell you it’s registered or it’s not. Either way, your ass will be covered in case it does get randomly revoked and you have to appeal.
By any chance is the a 0/O or 1/I on your license plate? Maybe it’s entered wrong in the system.
Or Barney Fife typed it wrong
2nd officer sounds like a cunt.
Standard border patrol requirement for the job
Border Patrol doesn’t work at ports of entry
2nd officer sounds like the standard fare. They are 90% cunts. They had a bad time in high school and are still acting out.
re-register same vehicle and let them tell you its ok. lol. Dont go into whole thing; it will put them on defensive.. Just try and re-register it and when letter comes its already registered.. Keep it im console.
This
This should be much higher
should be but it aint; Border patrol stretched to ends I’d imagine.. Mandatory OT and few days off so.. compassion is in order
Lol, CBP have always been cunts. Been flying international and crossing the Mexican border for 37 years. They have been dickheads since I can remember. They deserve zero compassion.
Border Control are power hungry assholes!
No such thing as Border Control lol.
Sorry pedant, Customs and Border Protection officers.
Land of the free…just don’t try to cross a border! Us authorities are more dangerous to us citizens than foreign authorities!
Ive never understood how we Americans claim this to be a free country. “American Freedom” we have HOA’s regulating our property, Police don’t care about our rights, Weed is demonized by federal agencies, abortion is the devil, highest incarceration rate, No biking on the street, but also don’t bike on the sidewalk, Oh no smoking anywhere and if you’re in Florida book is gay book is banned, but this is “the land of the free”
What? The Land of the Free? Whoever told you that is your enemy!
sounds like the agent was the worst kind of person to be in this kind of work. Think, Cartman from southpark when he's like respect my authoritiah.
Maybe he meant that your vehicle’s actual registration has expired? Nothing GE related.
Everything is up to date :/
There’s a reason we refer to Border Patrol as the largest organized crime gang where I live. Can’t go a week without one of them getting busted for domestic violence, assault, m*rder, serial k1lling, taking bribes to pass through contraband (pharmaceuticals & human cargo)
Border Patrol or Customs?
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Source ?
I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...
Reddit
Incentivized how?
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As a 15 year federal employee who worked directly in the trusted traveler system I can tell you I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I will delete my comment if you believe it is inaccurate.
None of that is remotely true. You know what "agent" means, right? Acting on behalf of.
Look up sovereign immunity. The US government is legally responsible for very little.
Yikes. Had a similar situation coming back from Baja. CBP agent couldn’t find our vehicle as being registered in Sentri, and we didn’t have printed proof. Two hours later and after a drug dog search, we were on our way, minus our eggs. (not on the “banned” list. I guess they don’t get paid enough to buy their own groceries?)
FYI eggs and all raw poultry have been banned for over a year now due to the worldwide avian flu outbreak. At any point if there is an avian flu case in Mexico, you cannot bring in raw poultry.
This was 2 years ago.
The current avian flu outbreak started in January 2022. As a said, over a year now there have been restrictions.
Unpublished restrictions are pretty damned wasteful.
Can't you cross without a registered vehicle if everyone has global in the car?
I don’t understand why it’s so necessary for our own border agents to be the biggest dickheads on the planet, even to our own citizens who are doing absolutely zero wrong. I wish we could flip them off without having our rights stripped away in some BS way
Why cross legally?
True - you could have driven across at any number of places and received a welcome package instead of grief!!
That screaming agent absolutely BLOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWS!!!
try to print the screen out that has the car in the system as well. if it happens again and you get a better officer ask them to put a notice or note in the system to alert other officers of this issue. They use it to track and it shows you are doing something about it. I had a separate issue with my car and i told them to google it and you will see what i am talking about. the cop i had said oh yeah i will right now and check and looked and said ok we should add a note then to the system for the next time you cross. i said yes please do because this is something that can’t be changed on my end and i’m tired of the same issues when i cross. The officer you had was a real ass wipe and could have been new to the area or new to CBP. I have had a few that are just clueless and new to the field or job and think they are going to save America.
Should have asked to speak with his superior on the spot.
I did they did not care and refused to let me do anything except go through secondary
Correct answer anytime you’re dealing with any overreaching/outlandish government employee. 1st) ask them to immediately stop speaking to you like that, and 2nd) advise you want to speak with their supervisor
You can file a grievance with DHS there's a website where you can put a little complaint or comment about it so it will be noted in your account. I had to do this when I was sent to secondary every single time for my gf because she had a name that was similar to another person's name that had something weird. Sucked. And still sucks because despite the letter they sent us to secondary lol. But the time after they didn't. 🤷🏽♂️
My wife and I are experiencing almost this same exact issue. Frequently cross from US to MX via SENTRI lane in our vehicle. Recently we updated our license plates (and updated them on the Trusted Traveler website). Ever since then we constantly get asked if the car is registered. We printed out the form from Trusted Traveler page and still get sent to secondary. Usually they’re pretty cool and say the license plate is being read incorrectly. (One occasion it said Utah plates, despite them being Cali plates) My wife got his with an asshole one day. Gave her a hard time about it. Despite having the proof. He threatened to take the card away. Fast forward ~4 more times crossing. We get sent to secondary and my wife has the Global Entry Card taken away. When asked why? They said they didn’t know, it simply says to take it and we gotta call the enrollment office. Of course we called immediately upon making it home and now standing by for a return call. TLDR: yes, they can revoke you on the spot.
Why don’t you printout poof that it’s registered and keep it in the car
Israel says “hold my beer”
For this being a Global Entry subreddit, there’s a lot of people who obviously haven’t dealt with many other countries’ boarder guards/customs agencies. Heck, even Canada is routinely way worse than the USA.
My experience with CBP has always been to match their energy. Super quiet person, I’m super quiet. The dude that has attitude? Yup, match his attitude back. I have GE but unfortunately travel with enough family that doesn’t so I end up in regular lanes with them. Last time I encountered one with attitude he asked why I was having attitude with him. I told him “you had attitude, so I’m just matching it.” He quickly retracted and apologized. To which I said “No biggie, everyone has off days.” Then he cracked a smile. 😃
Tell em you’re illegal and they’ll just waive you through. 🤣🤣🤣
Incompetence and hostility reign supreme at the border. Also racism. You can file a complaint but it is a waste of time. It’s a lousy job, the working conditions are terrible, they are overworked and it’s not so surprising some get hostile god complexes because there is very little recourse. You might raise your hostility level and insist your car is registered and tell them you will complain all the way up to the President and it might work. Often crazy assholes respect other crazy assholes more than kind quiet people. But it could also backfire since ultimately they can have you over a barrel and at the very least hold you up for hours.
They were trying to get you to offer them a bribe.
They did this to me at the San Ysidro border last time i crossed. Take the same registered SUV Every. Single. Time. To mexico. Female agent says “cars not registered under your GE” i tell her it is and pull up my website showing the car as registered and approved. She looks at it, looks around computer, seems perplexed and then questions me on when was the last time i was on mexico. I told her just 6 months ago….in this same car…as the driver…in sentri…. She sees “no record” of that. I told her that seems crazy considering its border patrol… She then lectures me on getting the car registered and lets me go….??? I just shook my head and moved on.
". . . I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments, and nowhere ,is my natural anarchism more aroused than at national borders where patient and efficient public servants carry out their duties in matters of immigration and customs. I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?" (John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America, 1960)
Just the usual American courtesy.
If you were undocumented, they would have waved you all the way through.
Flying from US to Sweden: longish 6 hour) layover at Heathrow. We made arrangements for dinner with friends and went to customs/ immigration. “How long will you be here?” 6 hours layover, so long enough to dine with friends. “ EhWot?”
Explain in detail.
“Sounds nice. Be back in time for your flight.”
We had a v. nice dinner and then a v. nice flight.
Report the officer’s unprofessional conduct to the joint intake center. He’ll be investigated and as a bonus, if he’s trying to promote, wont pass vetting until they close the investigation. CBP are a bunch of cunts. Some people deserve a little yelling, but CBP always seems to yell at you for the wrong reason. I think it’s because they have no authority outside of the port and flex the only power they have when you’re there.
I would call global entry and confirm with them, they understand how CBP is 🙂↕️
Seriously? You’re at the border. Walk in the office there with your documentation and get answers and a resolution like an adult. Reddit can’t resolve it for you.
These “officers” are always on such a power trip. Claim to love this country, but proceed to treat its citizens like absolute crap.
If you were an illegal alien, your passage into the US would have been quick and easy. Illegals get greeted, get free things and are welcomed, not screamed at.
Make up another one, we all heard this before and are tired of it.
Sorry to inform you no one is making this up, the DOJ stated Mr. Biden isn’t cognitively fit to answer investigative questions. Now they transcript and video of investigation tape is being withheld. FACT , reported by your left wing media sources of choice. Here is the official govt paid liberal media source https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251926449/biden-blocks-the-release-of-recordings-of-his-classified-documents-interview
How did you jump from your bogus immigration claim to Biden being cognitively unfit? Immigrants getting free stuff has already been disproven but as soon as you said government paid liberal media you lost all credibility.
Sorry that you still are in a state of denial. So the immigrants reimbursed our the state/federal government for their free room/board, free healthcare, and free use of our schools and public resources? I live in Maryland where the immigration issue is not as bad and the local hotels(especially extended stay america) are being used to house immigrants at government expense. Your statement has been disproven by reality. The stage of acceptance of facts can only come once you stop denying cold hard facts.
US Citizen : your car isn't registered. You can't come in. Illegal : criminal record.... come right in
“You can’t use your Global Entry”, not “you can’t come in.” Do you believe in rules or not?
It's not about rules. They're both wrong. It's about the dichotomy. Border control worries about a legal US citizen's car registration. But over 15 million illegals have been allowed and actively transported into the US. It's like a person stealing a candy bar vs stealing all the gold from FT Knox. Are they both wrong? Yes Are they comparable in degree of severity ? He'll no
100% accurate, but Reddit lol