Entering the U.S.A

[max_boost]

Has anyone been to the U.S recently? What documents are required? Blame it on Bush and his whole BS war on terrorism, I remember my buddy telling me he use to drive from Lethbridge to the border with only his driver's license. I have a Citizenship card but no passport. Is the passport mandatory? Or can it be a combination of any few pieces of identification? I'm flying down to Vancouver for a few days and decided it be fun to drive to Seattle since it's a fairly short trip.

http://centralalaska.worldweb.com/TravelEssentials/CustomsImmigration/8-452.html

[benyl]

Make sure you spend at least a day south of the boarder... or be prepared to have your car searched. At least that is what happened to me.

Photo ID plus proof of citizenship is good enough. But I always travel with my passport... even inside Canada.

[max_boost]

Yah I plan to spend at least one night in Seattle, perhaps even more if things go well. I guess I'll give it a try and hopefully they will let me in!

[rage2]

You can still get through with Citizenship card and Driver's license. But the US embassy encourages you to use a passport, because if the terror level thingy is high, they might require it.

If you don't have a passport, have fun. The new rules with the passport photos are a bitch! :thumbsdow

[K271]

I encourage you to have a passport. Drivers will do but if you get a prick border guard they may refuse it. When I go back and forth, I have to carry all my papers, passport, work visa, contract from work, US Employment Authorization Card. Missing one of those they won't let me in. The more ID you have the better.

[max_boost]

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't have plans to cross the border so that is why I never applied for a passport. Looks like this will be an interesting trip! :thumbsup:

[BebeAphrodite]

Hope you get thro.. n cuz neither of u have a passport it's probably gonna look fishy
those customs guys always seem to be on a powertrip...

[CRXguy]

Originally posted by benyl
Make sure you spend at least a day south of the boarder... or be prepared to have your car searched. At least that is what happened to me.


I guess it depends on luck. I've gone over the border a few times for an hour max, and custom guards never hassled me.


Originally posted by max_boost
Thanks for the info guys. I didn't have plans to cross the border so that is why I never applied for a passport. Looks like this will be an interesting trip! :thumbsup:

Good luck man! :thumbsup:

[benyl]

Depends... I have done it in my car with no problem. With a rental, it was a problem.

It is only an extra 10 minutes for them to do it... I had nothing to hide.

[dj_rice]

Damn you guys got thru so easily,

First time, me and my gf were gonna head down to San Fran for a month, had my tickets, and return tix, and my drivers and birth certif, and passed thru Canada customs easily...but when I tried passing US Customs at the Calgary Airport, they started asking me so many questions like, where are u stayin when ur down there, howd u meet the person ur staying with,how much money you have...and I only had $100 US cash in my wallet..and the dude is like, U need at least $100 a day to survive in the US a month, and I'm like I have a bank card...but he wouldnt let me pass thru, but my gf got thru easy as shit cuz she has duo citizenship...

So wtf...lol..then they gave me a list of all these things I need to actually pass thru, like pay stubs, utility bills, proof of education, and solvency and reasons I'm gonna be coming back to Canada or some shit lol...and shitty thing..I was down the hole $500 for the tickets cuz they were non-refundable...and now I'm like classified as a red threat at us customs...like i'm a terrorist or something lol...

[Ben]

Back in the early 90's our family used to go to Great Falls MT. for a small break in November, this is when my parents did all the Christmas shopping and such. On our way back accross to Canada, they decided to search the vehicle, they had us all standing outside the car as they went though the contents, laying it all out in plain site. Needless to say they ruined Christmas that year. My sister was 5, I was 8.5 years old at the time, and you should have seen the faces on the guards when my dad said "Thanks for ruining the kids christmas fellas" was priceless. I dont think they realized what they had done (putting all these toys in plain view of us) until after my dad said that. I already knew about Santa, but my sister was clueless. Then all the questions start coming out of her about what's with all the toys and such. I can still remember the looks on those two fool's faces. I bet they felt bad.

They must have put something on the records or something cause they've never searched us again, and we've crossed prolly 20 times. And we've got a conspicuous vehicle too. I've fount the easiest way to get accross with as few a questions as possible is to have a Passport, and bring a female/kids, haha

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by dj_rice
...but he wouldnt let me pass thru

You could be flagged in their system for the next 5 years. Prepare to be hassled and quizzed more than the average guy each time you attempt to enter the US.

[tulit]

haha. Yeah.

I drove from Vancouver to Seattle (actually Everett) over new years break.

I only went down for the day, was by myself, In a car with Alberta plates (I flew to Vancouver and borrowed my sisters car).

They searched the car GOOD. Took like 3 hours to get through the border. They thought I was running some good old Alberta sticky.

No idea how to avoid this. Maybe if I wasnt going alone and had bc plates??

[benyl]

When that happened to me, it was because I was stupid and said I didn't buy anything. The reality was, I didn't.

[BebeAphrodite]

Originally posted by Ben
Back in the early 90's our family used to go to Great Falls MT. for a small break in November, this is when my parents did all the Christmas shopping and such. On our way back accross to Canada, they decided to search the vehicle, they had us all standing outside the car as they went though the contents, laying it all out in plain site. Needless to say they ruined Christmas that year. My sister was 5, I was 8.5 years old at the time, and you should have seen the faces on the guards when my dad said "Thanks for ruining the kids christmas fellas" was priceless. I dont think they realized what they had done (putting all these toys in plain view of us) until after my dad said that. I already knew about Santa, but my sister was clueless. Then all the questions start coming out of her about what's with all the toys and such. I can still remember the looks on those two fool's faces. I bet they felt bad.

They must have put something on the records or something cause they've never searched us again, and we've crossed prolly 20 times. And we've got a conspicuous vehicle too. I've fount the easiest way to get accross with as few a questions as possible is to have a Passport, and bring a female/kids, haha

that's horrible....
last time I came back they pulled EVERYTHING out into plain view, went thro all my clothes and everything I had brought back...
I had about 40 identical teddy bears that I received as a present in a few bags in the trunk and they even laid those all out and badgered me for like 1/2 hour asking questions about the bears....
we were there for about 2 hours.. what a waste considering i had driven average of 180 km/hr to speed up the travel time.
Nothing fit when we tried to stuff everything back in because they had flipped everything around. What really pissed me off was the way they treated the items. Literally threw them around and dropped them everywhere - with no care - I'm surprised nothing was broken!! :whipped:

[RC-Cola]

Yea, going through the border now days is a little different then it was a couple of years ago. I've been lucky and haven't ever been searched so far. I had a friend who worked teh Coutts crossing in Alberta. They basically have the right to go through any of your personal belonging and rip apart your car without permission. They can't wreck anything on purpose without a warrant but if they can reduce your car to nuts and bolts if they like, oh and of course they don't put it back together or supply you any tools to get it back together.

[hjr]

never had ANY problems crossing over. weather by car or plane. i had a transfer in LA on my way to Lima and no issues. My passport was less than 6 months to expiry though so i was a bit worried but no troubles. If a customs dude wouldnt let me on a plane i think i would freak out. That of course would make it worse, but damn that would suck. I would not have moved until i spoke with his superior! DAMN that would suck.

[max_boost]

I had no problems crossing the border from VAncouver. Actually, the customs guy was super nice and friendly. Perhaps I was just lucky!

[E36M3]

I think experiences vary.. I cross the Canada/U.S. border at least 20 times a year, and have never had an issue ever, either by air or car.

You need to make sure that you are extremely upfront and honest, and that you answer all questions in a direct manner, and you will usually be fine.

It probably doesn't hurt to look presentable either.

[dj_rice]

I think maybe I shall drive to Vancouver and cross the border that way and then get a plane ticket to get to San Fran

Seems alot easier to pass thru the Seattle/Van one

[peacekeeper]

just stay in Canada. there's so much to see and do here that going to the States with all of the troubles at the borders is not worth it. watch out too. i've heard of a couple cars getting vadilized because of their Canadian plates.