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I see you are from Pittsburg. I'm assuming therefore you will be crossing in Niagara someplace. All 3 border crossings are pretty good here. I like the Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls the best though. I don't know why it is but there is almost never more than a couple of cars at a time there. I go over to NF NY fill u my car, do a bit of shopping and come home in less than an hour in total. The other two crossings at the Peace bridge and the Queenston Lewiston bridge are good but they can be busy at times. I have waited over an hour at both but the usual is just ten minutes or less.
Thanks for letting me know and I imagine that I would cross somewhere around Buffalo NY.
Lot of Canadians go to the USA for shopping on the weekend, Friday evening or Saturday morning are the times to avoid the border if you are headed into the states. they all come back Sunday afternoon/evening,try to avoid coming into Canada at that time,
And dont forget the passport.
Thanks for letting me know and I imagine that I would cross somewhere around Buffalo NY.
That would be Buffalo, Ft. Erie crossing at the Peace Bridge. It's usually really fast. I have crossed there over 200 times and usually it's ten minutes or less.
As a US citizen, I find that I am questioned more by US customs agents on my way home than by Canadian customs agents going into Canada.
The Canadians want to know where I'm staying and how long I'll be in Canada and that's about it.
Coming back to the States, customs agents want the address where I stayed. They want to know how much I spent and exactly which stores I shopped in and whether I spoke to anyone and on and on and on.
Doesn't it seem strange that the two travelers were able to record the whole thing? Now just how many people have audio recorders on them running all the time? This thing smells like a set up to me.
Doesn't it seem strange that the two travelers were able to record the whole thing? Now just how many people have audio recorders on them running all the time? This thing smells like a set up to me.
You are right that it was pre-determined but there was a reason for it. This incident happened about 3 years ago and the story about it made the news. The two travellers had already had similar problems several times before with the guards gestapo tactics when crossing to go shopping and they got fed up with it so they decided to record what happened the next time they crossed. That recording that you heard was the result and then they posted it on youtube.
Ya gotta just not mess with border guards or be at all agressive.
I had to fly to Miami on business a few years back and went through USA immigration at the Toronto airport (or was it Montreal? . . . ) - anyways, the officer was this little pint of a girl, really young and on a huge power trip. She was asking me the stupidest questions and I was getting really frustrated but I remember being cognisant of the fact that I didn't HAVE to like her or her questions or her attitude - I just had to get through the border! That person held the keys to the kingdom so to speak, so I had better stay calm or my trip was not going to happen - and it was an important trip, so I am sure my mounting panic was showing on my face making everything look more sinister to her.
I got through but it left a really bad taste in my mouth, primarily because her power over my life in that moment scared me, and I don't scare easily!
Ya gotta just not mess with border guards or be at all agressive.
Best advice.
Don't even smile unnecessarily. Summer of 2006, I was in London when the bombs went off, and spent the ensuing days at Wimbledon. The security was tight. Someone commented that all the 3 young female constables were very good looking, and we all concurred and smiled warmly. Big mistake. We were all hauled into a checkpoint hut, emptied our belongings from our knapsacks, had our passports scrutinized. But thankfully, we did not have to return to the long lineups, and were allowed to our seats directly.
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I had to fly to Miami on business a few years back and went through USA immigration at the Toronto airport (or was it Montreal? . . . ) - anyways, the officer was this little pint of a girl, really young and on a huge power trip. She was asking me the stupidest questions and I was getting really frustrated but I remember being cognisant of the fact that I didn't HAVE to like her or her questions or her attitude - I just had to get through the border! That person held the keys to the kingdom so to speak, so I had better stay calm or my trip was not going to happen - and it was an important trip, so I am sure my mounting panic was showing on my face making everything look more sinister to her.
I got through but it left a really bad taste in my mouth, primarily because her power over my life in that moment scared me, and I don't scare easily!
We could have met the same lady; it was in Montreal. She did not wear a uniform, just a blouse and slacks. I was dead tired then, having been rerouted from Atlanta to Chicago - Montreal, instead of Seattle - Vancouver. And of course, all the passengers missed the connecting flights home.
I never run into problem crossing the US border and rarely took more than 2 mins talking to US border Officer.
My secret ? Get your passport ready, always hand over the passport(s) open with the picture page, and stack them up if more than one passport, all windows are open so they can see all passengers inside the vehicle, answer all questions accurately and keep them short. don't get lippy.
IF you make it easy for them, they will make it easy for you.
Great video on how not to do it when crossing the border and how easily it can degenerate into a power trip you gonna lose big time...
In normal circumstances the Canadian guy could have thought the other guy was a bit anal with his questions but when you are crossing that border you have basically no rights and that border guard can be as rude and nasty as he likes and you just sit there and take it responding as humbly and truthfully and as polite as possible.
Its just the way it is at the border,you can be denied entry merely on the border guards say so and if he feels threatened he can even shoot you.. The guys response when asked which store at the mall he was going to should have been="probably all of them"
I've often had this fantasy of answering the border guards question of "do you have anything to declare?" with a witty retort of
"Yeah i'm fat and you're ugly and i'm going on a diet tomorrow"
I can see that going over well. Don't be surprised if the border guard asks you to step out of your car at that moment for giving him a flippant answer. The guy simply replied in a light manner that he didn't know which stores he was going to visit and that he hadn't settled his itinerary, and for whatever reason that offended the guard's sense of duty and honor. I'm tired of people making excuses for being abused at the border and at the airport in the name of security. There are stretches of empty roads without any guards whatsoever watching them. If a terrorist really wanted to enter the US or Canada from either side he can do so easily.
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