us-canada travel without passport or birth certificate?

I visited Canada from the US recently, and didn't realize I was
supposed to bring a passport or birth certificate. They acted
irritated with me, had me go talk with someone at the immigration
office (right there at the border), and then let me in. They
similarly scolded me when I came back to the US, although this time it
was just the guy at the booth, no standing in line elsewhere.

So the question is, could I likely get away with this again?

Or have they probably put my name down on a list of "improper border
crossers"? If I show up again, and they have a record of the fact
that I did this 1 month ago and now I'm trying it again, I have a
feeling they'll tell me I can't enter canada.

I know I need to get a birth certificate or passport, but that won't
be easy, and will likely take weeks.

I know I need to get a birth certificate or
passport, but that won't be easy, and will
likely take weeks.

Getting a birth certificate is usually pretty quick and easy;
I've done it on several occasions while doing research into
my family tree and they usually arrived in a few days when
ordered by mail, and if I went to the appropriate office in
person I got them in minutes.

Just phone city hall in the city where you were born and they'll
tell you which office to contact. You can even order them online
in many places.

State governments also keep copies of most birth certificates:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm

James



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Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
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What about foreign born Canadian Citizen ? are they still allowed
to enter the US for holiday travel simply by having a photo ID
such as a Canadian drivers license together with their Canadian
citizenship paper. ?

JTK

"JamesStep" wrote in message
...
I know I need to get a birth certificate or
passport, but that won't be easy, and will
likely take weeks.

Getting a birth certificate is usually pretty quick and easy;
I've done it on several occasions while doing research into
my family tree and they usually arrived in a few days when
ordered by mail, and if I went to the appropriate office in
person I got them in minutes.

Just phone city hall in the city where you were born and they'll
tell you which office to contact. You can even order them online
in many places.

State governments also keep copies of most birth certificates:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm

James

Karl wrote:
: What about foreign born Canadian Citizen ? are they still allowed
: to enter the US for holiday travel simply by having a photo ID
: such as a Canadian drivers license together with their Canadian
: citizenship paper. ?

I did it in May 2003 with just a driver's license and provincial birth
certificate.

No biggie.


Emma

What if they let you into Canada and then refused to let you back into the
US until you had the proper documents?
Wouldn't that be fun.

In article
. rogers.com,
"Karl" wrote:

What about foreign born Canadian Citizen ? are they still allowed
to enter the US for holiday travel simply by having a photo ID
such as a Canadian drivers license together with their Canadian
citizenship paper. ?

No need for passport. The Canadian citizenship card is good enough.

Weeks? Goodness, why do we put up with such inconveniences?

Our time is much better spent trying to figure out if we can get away with
something again.



"myname" wrote in message
om...
I visited Canada from the US recently, and didn't realize I was
supposed to bring a passport or birth certificate. They acted
irritated with me, had me go talk with someone at the immigration
office (right there at the border), and then let me in. They
similarly scolded me when I came back to the US, although this time it
was just the guy at the booth, no standing in line elsewhere.

So the question is, could I likely get away with this again?

Or have they probably put my name down on a list of "improper border
crossers"? If I show up again, and they have a record of the fact
that I did this 1 month ago and now I'm trying it again, I have a
feeling they'll tell me I can't enter canada.

I know I need to get a birth certificate or passport, but that won't
be easy, and will likely take weeks.

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message
...
In article
. rogers.com,
"Karl" wrote:

What about foreign born Canadian Citizen ? are they still allowed
to enter the US for holiday travel simply by having a photo ID
such as a Canadian drivers license together with their Canadian
citizenship paper. ?

No need for passport. The Canadian citizenship card is good enough.

Thanks that is what I wanted to hear. Being of German decent and a
Canadian Citizen for 43 years, I do have a valid Passport.
But some paranoid immigration officer will most likely will give me
a real hassle when they see visas and entry stamps for Egypt, Kenya,
Tanzania, Greece, Turkey etc in my passport. All nice places to visit
and happy to see you for what you are, A TOURIST. That is willing
to spend good money there .

Happened with my old passport in 1988. I was on my way to a trade
show in Chicago, with a client who happened to be the VP of a large
Media company. I got pulled aside and grilled for ten minutes whether
I was a communist or member of a communist organization. All this
because I had been to Varadero, Cuba with my family the year previously.

I was so embarrassed as my client had to wait for me. Wondering what the
hell is going on. Needless to say that the US was off my list of places to
visit for the last 15 years.

JTK

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 03:57:17 GMT, "Karl"
wrote:

Thanks that is what I wanted to hear. Being of German decent and a
Canadian Citizen for 43 years, I do have a valid Passport.
But some paranoid immigration officer will most likely will give me
a real hassle when they see visas and entry stamps for Egypt, Kenya,
Tanzania, Greece, Turkey etc in my passport. All nice places to visit
and happy to see you for what you are, A TOURIST. That is willing
to spend good money there .

I can't imagine why US border oficials would object to your
passport stamps.

Happened with my old passport in 1988. I was on my way to a trade
show in Chicago, with a client who happened to be the VP of a large
Media company. I got pulled aside and grilled for ten minutes whether
I was a communist or member of a communist organization. All this
because I had been to Varadero, Cuba with my family the year previously.

Well, now, Cuba is a different thing to paranoid American
government officials, but you still got in. I'm guessing that
since 1988 they're unlikely to give a damn if you really are a
communist.

I was so embarrassed as my client had to wait for me. Wondering what the
hell is going on. Needless to say that the US was off my list of places to
visit for the last 15 years.

Your choice.


************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

In article
.rogers.com,
"Karl" wrote:

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message
...
In article
. rogers.com,
"Karl" wrote:

What about foreign born Canadian Citizen ? are they still allowed
to enter the US for holiday travel simply by having a photo ID
such as a Canadian drivers license together with their Canadian
citizenship paper. ?

No need for passport. The Canadian citizenship card is good enough.

Thanks that is what I wanted to hear. Being of German decent and a
Canadian Citizen for 43 years, I do have a valid Passport.

Not just german descent but of german birth? The citizenship card is
nice for not showing the U.S. authorities where you've been but also so
they can't quickly scan and log your travel activities which they can
with a passport.