windsor border guards

Anyone has any comments in general on the attitude of the border guards
coming from Canada; so the US guards? Is there something about Windsor
we do not know?

On Oct 8, 3:43 pm, paula wrote:
Anyone has any comments in general on the attitude of the border guards
coming from Canada; so the US guards? Is there something about Windsor
we do not know?

It varies from guard to guard, and port of entry to port of entry.
I've crossed the same port station three times this year, and got
"attitude" for lack of a better word from the last crossing (as in,
the guard might have had a chip on his shoulder about Canadians who
shop in the US... who the heck knows, I'm just glad he didn't refer me
for secondary inspection).

What exactly is the situation you want insight on?

Sapphyre wrote:
On Oct 8, 3:43 pm, paula wrote:

Anyone has any comments in general on the attitude of the border guards
coming from Canada; so the US guards? Is there something about Windsor
we do not know?


It varies from guard to guard, and port of entry to port of entry.
I've crossed the same port station three times this year, and got
"attitude" for lack of a better word from the last crossing (as in,
the guard might have had a chip on his shoulder about Canadians who
shop in the US... who the heck knows, I'm just glad he didn't refer me
for secondary inspection).

What exactly is the situation you want insight on?


Thanks; actually it was my husband by himself. He luckily is a very calm
person which he feels helped him get into the US.
Travelling with a west european passport, he is coming back home to
western Canada ( has all the proper paperwork re rental and immigration
papers; even the old ones) but taking the shorter via the US route. He
had a road trip to Toronto with our son ( was posted here for
suggestions; they had a blast) who starts to study in Toronto; so hubby
helped him set up. Hubby explained that to border guard; i.e. he was not
staying in the US for long; is on his way home. Mini van, rented and
empty besides some empty totes, his cooler, laptop and some clothing.
We know; we are pulled over due to passports, need to fill in paperwork,
get eye scan etc. pay $12 per person and are on our way. This time they
totally searched the van, almost damaging it; o.k. no damage no problem,
just their job. But... as he of course had no idea where he would stay
( to be based on time line and fatigue level) they kept threatening him
with not being allowed in ... HUH?? Yes, they really want to know the
address in the US where one is staying, but ....circumstances were
explained. They kept badgering him for over an hour after paperwork was
completed and paid for. What is up with that???

On Oct 8, 2:36 pm, paula wrote:
Sapphyre wrote:
On Oct 8, 3:43 pm, paula wrote:

Anyone has any comments in general on the attitude of the border guards
coming from Canada; so the US guards? Is there something about Windsor
we do not know?

It varies from guard to guard, and port of entry to port of entry.
I've crossed the same port station three times this year, and got
"attitude" for lack of a better word from the last crossing (as in,
the guard might have had a chip on his shoulder about Canadians who
shop in the US... who the heck knows, I'm just glad he didn't refer me
for secondary inspection).

What exactly is the situation you want insight on?

Thanks; actually it was my husband by himself. He luckily is a very calm
person which he feels helped him get into the US.
Travelling with a west european passport, he is coming back home to
western Canada ( has all the proper paperwork re rental and immigration
papers; even the old ones) but taking the shorter via the US route. He
had a road trip to Toronto with our son ( was posted here for
suggestions; they had a blast) who starts to study in Toronto; so hubby
helped him set up. Hubby explained that to border guard; i.e. he was not
staying in the US for long; is on his way home. Mini van, rented and
empty besides some empty totes, his cooler, laptop and some clothing.
We know; we are pulled over due to passports, need to fill in paperwork,
get eye scan etc. pay $12 per person and are on our way. This time they
totally searched the van, almost damaging it; o.k. no damage no problem,
just their job. But... as he of course had no idea where he would stay
( to be based on time line and fatigue level) they kept threatening him
with not being allowed in ... HUH?? Yes, they really want to know the
address in the US where one is staying, but ....circumstances were
explained. They kept badgering him for over an hour after paperwork was
completed and paid for. What is up with that???-

What's up? 9/11, that's what's up.

What's up with that? They didn't believe his story, that's what's up
with that. It's not to say that every person who isn't believed is
lying, I've often being accused of "making no sense" because someone
else isn't inside my head doing my thinking for me.

I had a similar situation, where I was asked repeatedly why I was
making a stop in a particular city enroute to Chicago. For the life of
me I couldn't figure out why they cared where I was making my pit
stops enroute. My passenger had mapquested something in that town, and
I guess that's what they were trying to get out of me (since they
searched his stuff, and mine for the most part was untouched). I found
the mapquest thing a day later and asked him why he had that, he said,
"so I'd know where it is", and I told him that if I know diddly about
the town and I'm driving, his stupid mapquest wouldn't help me find
what he was looking for anyway. Besides, I told him... who wants to
make a long pitstop if we have to drive 470 miles in a day? This guy
wasn't thinking when he packed his stuff and planned his route, and it
got us into trouble. Fortunately since I rented the car and had all
our details of what we were doing, and he was pretty much clueless
aside from the "evidence", so to speak, believing me was enough to let
both of us go. To this day, I'm not travelling with anyone anymore...
I can't stand being harassed for information I don't have, like I'm
supposed to have checked everything before we packed. I thought
knowing my friends don't do drugs, carry weapons, or commit crimes was
enough information. Apparently not.

S.

On Oct 8, 5:36 pm, paula wrote:
Thanks; actually it was my husband by himself. He luckily is a very calm
person which he feels helped him get into the US.
Travelling with a west european passport, he is coming back home to
western Canada ( has all the proper paperwork re rental and immigration
papers; even the old ones) but taking the shorter via the US route. He
had a road trip to Toronto with our son ( was posted here for
suggestions; they had a blast) who starts to study in Toronto; so hubby
helped him set up. Hubby explained that to border guard; i.e. he was not
staying in the US for long; is on his way home. Mini van, rented and
empty besides some empty totes, his cooler, laptop and some clothing.
We know; we are pulled over due to passports, need to fill in paperwork,
get eye scan etc. pay $12 per person and are on our way. This time they
totally searched the van, almost damaging it; o.k. no damage no problem,
just their job. But... as he of course had no idea where he would stay
( to be based on time line and fatigue level) they kept threatening him
with not being allowed in ... HUH?? Yes, they really want to know the
address in the US where one is staying, but ....circumstances were
explained. They kept badgering him for over an hour after paperwork was
completed and paid for. What is up with that???- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

paula wrote:

Thanks; actually it was my husband by himself. He luckily is a very calm
person which he feels helped him get into the US.
Travelling with a west european passport, he is coming back home to
western Canada ( has all the proper paperwork re rental and immigration
papers; even the old ones) but taking the shorter via the US route. He
had a road trip to Toronto with our son ( was posted here for
suggestions; they had a blast) who starts to study in Toronto; so hubby
helped him set up. Hubby explained that to border guard; i.e. he was not
staying in the US for long; is on his way home. Mini van, rented and
empty besides some empty totes, his cooler, laptop and some clothing.
We know; we are pulled over due to passports, need to fill in paperwork,
get eye scan etc. pay $12 per person and are on our way. This time they
totally searched the van, almost damaging it; o.k. no damage no problem,
just their job. But... as he of course had no idea where he would stay
( to be based on time line and fatigue level) they kept threatening him
with not being allowed in ... HUH?? Yes, they really want to know the
address in the US where one is staying, but ....circumstances were
explained. They kept badgering him for over an hour after paperwork was
completed and paid for. What is up with that???


Some of them are real dicks and are too ignorant about simple geography to
understand. My brother lives close to Fort Erie and frequently travels to
Ottawa to visit his son. If he sticks to Ontario highways he has to drive
north to get to the QEW and drive almost 30 miles west to get around Lake
Ontario and then start going east. It is shorter to hop across the border
at Buffalo and save that extra distance around the lake. He also misses the
heavy traffic congestion in, through and out of Toronto. He figures it
saves him at least an hour. He always gets hassled about the border, not
just that they don't understand how it can be shorter, but as if taking a
short cut through the US is not a valid excuse to enter the country.

They didn't believe his story

Security officers are trained to be suspicious when someone's travel
plans seem unusual, or if something "just doesn't look right."

In most cases it turns out that nothing's wrong, of course.

James

wrote:

They didn't believe his story

Security officers are trained to be suspicious when someone's travel
plans seem unusual, or if something "just doesn't look right."

In most cases it turns out that nothing's wrong, of course.

And when in doubt the revert to authoritarian asshole mode.

jdoe wrote:

Some of them are real dicks and are too ignorant about simple geography to
understand. My brother lives close to Fort Erie and frequently travels to
Ottawa to visit his son. If he sticks to Ontario highways he has to drive
north to get to the QEW and drive almost 30 miles west to get around Lake
Ontario and then start going east. It is shorter to hop across the border
at Buffalo and save that extra distance around the lake. He also misses the
heavy traffic congestion in, through and out of Toronto. He figures it
saves him at least an hour. He always gets hassled about the border, not
just that they don't understand how it can be shorter, but as if taking a
short cut through the US is not a valid excuse to enter the country.

bingo, using the US as a short cut is indeed not a valid reason for
entry.

If that is the case, we should shut our border to the thousands of US
trucks that use the Ontario corridor to get from NY to MI.

Security officers are trained to be suspicious when someone's travel
plans seem unusual, or if something "just doesn't look right."

In most cases it turns out that nothing's wrong, of course.

And when in doubt the revert to authoritarian asshole mode.

I think this mode is to encourage the guilty to begin sweating.