Our family if crossing the US/Canadian border at Sweetgrass, MT port of entry. If anyone has crossed through this port (from both US and Canadian sides), please tell us about your experience with it. It’s our first time ever crossing the border and we don’t know what to expect. Tbh, I’m a little nervous just because we are driving all the way from Georgia to there and I don’t want anything to deny us entry (since we just don’t know).
My general questions are (answer one or all):
*What time of day is generally best to cross here (since it’s 24 hours, is it better to cross at night or during day, and what times to avoid)?
*Do you find that this port of entry is generally pretty simple and fast to go through?
*Do you find that the people here are pretty nice or really rude?
*Basically anything else you can tell us about your personal experience crossing this port and what must haves/must avoids should we absolutely know about?
One last thing, we are traveling without passports (as I’ve contacted both Canadian and US sides and they say that “official” policy is passports, but “reality” policy is birth certificates/licenses). HAS ANYONE DONE THIS RECENTLY (within last 6 months)? And my license doesn’t have my current address on it (but my previous one)…WILL THIS COMPLICATE THINGS OR PREVENT ENTRY?
Yeah. We have done MUCH research and planning. We’ve called both sides directly and asked many questions and have all our documents, proofs, etc in order. I just wanted to know other people’s experiences first-hand with this port just to get a feel for it. And i really want to know when would be best to cross so we aren’t caught in hours-long traffic/wait times. Thanks
I’m Canadian. I wouldn’t want to try to get into the U.S. without an “enhanced” driver’s licence at the least, but that wouldn’t help any passengers without passports.
I used to cross there often, whether on a motorcycle or in a car, but not since 2000, when I moved out of Alberta, and not since the U.S. demanded passports or enhanced licences. I did have an enhanced licence that I used at other crossings, but it’s since expired.
You won’t be dealing with the U.S. side until you return, which might be immediately, since you have no passports. But if Canada allows you in, don’t lie about any guns you may have with you. That would be a huge mistake. Big-time.
I never had to wait at that crossing more than 10 or 15 minutes, even in summer. And Coutts, Alberta, in February is hardly the vacation capital of the world.
Check your tire pressure when the climate changes.
Thanks for the info! We actually aren’t leaving til March 25 and crossing the Canadian border til April 5. And we are definitely not bringing any weapons or guns We definitely will still keep an eye on our tire pressure though for sure! Yeah, everyone seems really shocked we are going without passports. I have had other people call both sides just to make sure we heard correctly, and to their amazement both sides told them the same thing–that (at least at that port of entry) we only need original birth certificates and government issued licenses (never even specified “enhanced” licenses).
My Georgia license has a gold star (my husband’s too)…I wonder if that’s indication of an “enhanced” driver’s license? I really wanted to get passports, but by now (that we got our tax return to actually start the financial part of our trip) the 4-6 week time line could give us our passports AFTER we have to leave March 25 and we are nervous to apply and possibly not leave on time which would cause a PLETHORA of problems for us in many ways. I know we could pay a ton of money extra to get our passports in 2-3 weeks time instead (regular passports are $270 for the two of us, getting them expedited is around $230-$257 EACH, so $460+!) but this is just NOT in our budget which is VERY tight
@TwoFlower…I saw these but were told by numerous people these were “really unhelpful” and not very useful in border crossing? Would LOVE to hear your experience/success with them! And our other people in car are our kids 10 and under (so were told they are only required to have original birth certificates when driving across border).
It would be a helluva trip for nothing just to be forced to turn around at the border. I’d do anything I could to get passports, the price be damned. Consider them as important as the movie Casablanca’s “letters of transit.”
Enhanced licences are like passports, but a third or so of the price. I had to fill out a couple of pages of questions and wait a couple of weeks for a background check before it showed up in the mail.
In the late '90s I bought a '65 Chrysler land yacht, and one afternoon I decided to take a trip into Montana with it because we had nothing better to do and I decided it would allow me to check the odometer against the interstate’s mileage signs. The car was older than Canada’s switch to metric.
When I told the U.S. customs agent that I wanted to check the odometer, he of course thought I was nuts and locked us in a room for 20 minutes while they searched the car. Then he let us out and we were on our way.
Coming back into Canada a couple of hours later was a bit of a hoot, too.
“How long were you in the United States?”
“Two hours.”
“Did you buy anything in the United States?”
“Gas, in Shelby.” (Five or 10 miles south of the border. I think it’s called Shelby. Back then it consisted only of a couple of truck stops and a few old houses.)
“Why did you visit the United States?”
“To check the car’s odometer against the interstate mileage signs.”
One more thing, do we need to import our vehicle?? Again, this was never discussed by the officers at the border when I asked what was required for our particular visit to Canada.
Here’s our scenario: we are going to evangelism school for 3 months (from April 27-July 30) but have to arrive early because our lease expires in US making staying here any extra impossible/expensive (our family is 800+ miles away in Michigan). We are still considered by the Canadian government to be just visiting (since our stay is less than 6 months), and this also means (according to govt) that we don’t need any studying visas etc. We will be leaving Canada after our stay and returning to US tenatively around August 1.
So with this basic scenario, do you know if we are required to “import” our vehicle or is it not necessary? Again, the border officers didn’t seem to find it important enough to discuss with us on either side, so we don’t know.
Lol Kenm! Yeah, everyone’s really pushing us for the passports too. The other commenter here said US Passport Cards. Do you know or have experience with these? Is it less wait time for mailing to us? Will it work just like a Passport? Any other info? Thanks everyone for comments!
Oh bummer, guess that answers THAT question… “The passport card is the wallet-size travel document that can only be used to re-enter the United States at land border-crossings and sea ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.” Re-entry only. No good for us.
I’ve crossed at Coutts/Sweetgrass before, both ways (note that I live in Alberta, Canada). Things were pretty smooth–because all passengers in the car had passports.
It is true that Canada does not require passports from visiting Americans, but the US requires passports from everybody coming from Canada. As a matter of practicality, Canada would like to make sure that Americans can return home, so it is typical for Canada to ask for passports from American travellers, and to refuse admittance if an American cannot show a passport. Ultimately, it is up to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at the time and on the spot.
And even if you gain entry to Canada, you will have to regain entry to the US. Without an American passport, you are sure to be delayed until your American citizenship is assured.
My source is a colleague who worked his way through law school acting as a CBSA officer.
In short, OP, do you like gambling? Because you’re gambling on two things here: that you’ll be admitted to Canada quickly and easily; and secondly, if you are, that you’ll be allowed back into the US quickly and easily. I won’t give odds, but I can tell you that your odds of passing the border quickly and easily will improve greatly if you get passports for you and your family. In the end, no matter what you may have been told on the phone, seen on a web site, or heard from e-mail, it all comes down to the officer at the border. And no matter how much you protest, that officer doesn’t care what you may have been told on the phone, seen on a web site, or heard from e-mail.
Well, I think you’ve convinced me. The good Lord will just have to provide the money to make up for the extra cost of having to expedite these babies. I hope this works out well (with timing etc).
Thanks, Spoons! And I think you’re right…I’m just so nervous about all this stuff it’s hard to keep my head on straight (and not knowing one thing from the next makes it harder…since I’ve literally never encountered this before ever). But, we will just have to bite the bullet and hope it all works out OK for money and timing…and just get us some passports But both sides did say 16 and under is just birth certificates for kids, so I’m 100% sure we don’t need passports for them, right?
So passports aside…since we are now on the hurry to get us some passports…Can someone please answer this question about if we have to import our vehicle?
But both sides did say 16 and under is just birth certificates for kids, so I’m 100% sure we don’t need passports for them, right?