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I have a question that quite frankly I'm a little embarrassed about. Please withhold all judgements.
In the not-so-distant future, my friends and I are gonna take a trip up to Montreal from New York (where we live). I've crossed the border twice in my life, so I understand how it is and what they generally ask -- but I've never crossed with another person.
Back when I befriended one of the guys I'm going with, through whom I befriended all the other guys (and his girlfriend) that I'm going with, there was never any clearness on my age. Somehow or another, the conclusion was reached that I was 2 years older than everyone, when in reality I'm 4 years older. I didn't deliberately perpetuate the myth, but never bothered to correct anyone out of embarrassment as my life was sort of a mess at the time and hadn't befit a recent college grad. Now, I'm 27 and more settled and my friends are 23.
Coming clean is always the best option and I do wish to do so one day; age differences tends to matter less the more of it you have. However, coming clean before our fun-filled weekend is not an option. True, lying is bad but this lie is relatively innocent and not at the expense of anyone. It's wrong but not criminal.
Anyway, to the point of my question. Would a border agent make mention of the age disparity that exists between me and my friends? The two previous times I crossed the border, no question of my age was ever raised. After all, they have that information once they scan your Passport. Then again, they have asked me where I was from. What kinda questions should I expect to hear traveling with a group of 4 or 5 thrill-seeking youths?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
I doubt they'll ask you about age disparities, they may want to know if all occupants of the car are over 18.
They;ll want to know length of stay,reason for stay,where you are staying.
nationalities, have you ever been arrested? if any of your party has a prior criminal conviction they will be denied entry and make sure all members are on the same page when it comes to drugs,dont even think about it. And when you are being questioned at the border no funny stuff,be dead serious and answer all questions truthfully.
They may or may not ask for your passports going in to Canada but on your return trip the US customs will definitely ask for passports.
First off, that's not much an age difference. The border agent would have no reason to bring up the issue even if the age difference was double that. You're all adults. Answer all questions in a direct and matter of fact manner. Don't add or omit anything. The likelyhood of the border agent referencing the age difference is virtuallly nil.
Anyway, to the point of my question. Would a border agent make mention of the age disparity that exists between me and my friends? The two previous times I crossed the border, no question of my age was ever raised. After all, they have that information once they scan your Passport. Then again, they have asked me where I was from. What kinda questions should I expect to hear traveling with a group of 4 or 5 thrill-seeking youths?
They'll ask where you're from and where you're going. They won't ask for your age verbally because it's in your passport. 4 years is nothing.
I think the biggest risk you're facing is that your friends may want to check out your passport (small talk harmless type of thing) before you give it or after you get it back from the border agent, and then they may go "DOB 19xx?? wtf man you're an old fart!!"
I'm not getting the nervousness over the small age discrepancy, my wife and i are 7 years apart and we cross the border all the time and the topic of age difference has never arisen..I'm not sure what you think might happen as i've never heard of age discrepancy laws ..
Thank you all your response. I wasn't expecting 4 replies. Certainly, you've allayed my concerns. Still, I should be more forthright with my friends. Presumably, I'll be driving, so I'll have control over the passport give and take. It's quite astonishing that my friends have never discovered my age after all these years. One time a cop pulled me over and my friends were in the car. He took my license and prompted me for my age. With a tremble in my voice, I said I was 24 (two years younger than I was at the time) and he didn't comment that what I said did not match my ID. Apparently, that cop flunked arithmetic in grade school. I sometimes feel like one of those Cuban defector baseball stars, everyone is duped into believing they are younger than they actually are.
Just an FYI, we (wife and I) went to Montreal in fall, crossed in Vermont @I-89 border. Crossing took about 5 minutes, questions asked were very straightforward, where do we live, where are we going, what is the purpose of visit, where are we staying, when are we coming back, and are we carrying any firearms, or alcohol or tobacco products, then thank you have a nice trip.
Canada border patrol did swipe our passports. Lots of cameras at crossing, I guess they had our info, such as who the vehicle was registered to, etc before we madecit to the gate, there were about 6 cars in front of us.
DO NOT joke with agent,one we had was nice but very serious. Looked right into my eyes when I answered his questions. Take off your sunglasses before you get there. Have car registration, insurance card ready in case they ask. Have passports ready, don't be fumbling for them. Have hotel reservation if applicable, printed and give to agent to show proof of where you are staying.
Was a pretty easy experience, just don't give a smart answer and you will be fine.
They;ll want to know length of stay,reason for stay,where you are staying.
nationalities, have you ever been arrested?
Yes, that's exactly what they ask. They have also asked me what I do for a living and if I planned to do business in Canada. They also ask me when the last time I was in Canada to see if they could trip me up.
When I lived in Seattle, I used to go to Vancouver a lot (same protocols). If I was traveling with someone, it was WAY LESS of an issue. If you are going solo, they seem to get wigged out. In fact, one time I was sent into the immigration office because they wanted to know why I had been to Canada so frequently. I told them that I was from Seattle and it was close, and when I was young I never had to answer why I went from LA to San Diego (same distance) on a whim. They said 'ok, go ahead.'
They should be savvier in profiling and figure that a lot of people go for travel purposes and nothing more. I have had some borderline hostile experiences at the US-Canadian border. They are rarely "nice." I've found more hostility going INTO Canada than coming back into the States.
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