Well I must admit that there was one Canadian Guy who was very cool with me when I was outside immigration and obviously I was very pissed off about my situation. He was border patrol I believe and we got to talking about the police force or their military. Something about their military is only 80,000 strong and they pretty much stick to themselves when it comes to wars and shit. Anyways, I was in the Marine Corps 88’-95’ MOS EOD/Cbt Engr. and Counter Intelligence. Come to find out we worked on some JTF missions near eachother during the same years I was in Marines doing Anti Narcotics Ops In Mexico and Texas Borders. So he at least calmed me down a bit.
All I know is We are all people no matter what side we’re on. So I just don’t understand why politics have to ruin it for everybody. We should all blaze up and reform! Anyways I guess my experience could have been worse! Some of you guys have some pretty scary stories and seems like the U.S. is filled with a bunch of typical assholes!
Well Canada was very easy to get into before 9/11 and since then the US has put considerable pressure on Canada to tighten up and the pusillanimous bastards complied. So you got trapped by the blow-by.
In 1967 the King assassin had a fake Canadian passport. The US complained and they tightened up. As a result, 36 years later, it is still much harder to get a Canadian passport than a US passport; it has to be replaced every five years, not ten, and replacements mean starting over, unlike the US where you basically get a new passport by turning in your old one.
As a result of US complaints about laxity of Canadian immigration requirements, my wife and I, immigrants to Canada, will have to get a new immigrant card that costs $50, is valid for five years (and then has to be renewed for another $50–or more) unless they decide to do it for only one year or not do it at all and requires us to recall every departure from Canada for the last five years. Since we have three children living in the US, this means several dozen trips not all of which I can recall and certainly not the dates. All because, oh never mind, political commentary is banned.
Customs officers are assholes - I think it’s part of the job description. I don’t know if this will make you feel any better, but I am Canadian, and travel to the US quite frequently. I have never had a problem with the US border guards, but on no less than three occasions, have run into trouble trying to get back into Canada. Go figure…
I would love some REAL CANADIAN CHEESE! Like my Grandfather use to bring me when he VISITED the USA! He use to drive Maislin Trucks 18 wheelers for the whole time it was alive. I am a US Born Canadian you could say if there is such a thing. My grandfather and grandmothers bothsides Pure blood Canadian, from Quebec, Montreal Canada. I am part of the Louis-Napoleon Audet, Architect clan! The Joseph-Napoleon Audet, Lawyer clan Ring a bell? Look it up in google under ARSAshould be there. Wish I could visit my relatives without such a hassle and get this Canadian cheese He use to gewt me when I was a little kid. Looked like a melted bubble of cheese. Tasted like the best cheese in the world!
Just a question, do your parents hold Canadian Citizenship since their parents are Canadian? If they do, then you could legally claim Canadian citizenship also. Refer to this site: Citizenship Canada Official Site If you are eligible, Immigration Canada cannot refuse you entry. Even if they challenge your claim, they must firt allow you entry before beginning proceedings.
I’m an American who grew up near Canada (and thus visited frequently), cuts through Canada when going to visit my sister in Buffalo, NY, and who has been to Europe.
I’d have to say that, even as a US citizen, I’ve had a lot more trouble and hassle with US border officials than with anyone else’s.
I’ve always wondered how much worse foreigners get treated - thanks to the Dope, now I know.
Ya know, if these “procedures” actually kept REAL undesirables out of the country they might be justifiable but I can’t help wondering if they really do anything at all, other than provide an outlet for bullies and annoy a lot of people.
I am a Canadian and have never had a problem crossing into the States. Every time I’ve come back though, Canadian customs has thoroughly searched my car, to the point at looking through some of my class notes. Guess I fit some sort of profile.
To clear up some misconceptions, a non-U.S. citizen with criminal convictions can frequently apply for a waiver, especially if the convictions were minor (as in marijuana possession) or long ago. There is no requirement to have a lawyer do the paperwork, but this area of law is EXTREMELY technical and much depends on the specific language of the statute under which the person was convicted.
If granted, the waiver will allow entry into the U.S., and depnding on the specifics, even clear up barriers to permanent residency if the person is otherwise eligible. There are various types of waivers, but my office has been pretty successful clearing up these kinds of things, and I certainly don’t think we’ve ever charged anyone $10k for the paperwork to do so, and we’ve seen some really messy cases. I’m not even talking about pot possession or DUI, I’m talking renouncing your U.S. citizenship to avoid the draft and then slugging the consular officer who comes to your house to ask you about it, and then lying to your immigration attorney 30 years later when they ask you about it, such that they then unknowingly lie to INS. Boy, was that case fun.
Oh, and believe me, U.S. border enforcement (especially on the Canadian land border) is extremely haphazard, but we certainly do more than our share of ridiculous overkill grilling of visitors from Canada. Poke around on the board using “border” or “immigration” as keywords, and you will find some pretty hair-raising stories. I’ve been treated more politely entering the Soviet Union than returning through JFK on the same trip, with my U.S. passport showing that I was born a U.S. citizen.
I think you’re talking about the I-94 fee, which used to be $6 but recently increased to $7. The I-94 is the little white card stapled into your passport upon entering the U.S.; most visitors have theirs taken back when leaving the U.S., so it’s only good for 1 trip, but Canadians get to keep theirs for the duration of whatever period of stay they’re granted at the border. 90 days sounds about right for a tourist visit, but people coming for longer stays (as students, or on multi-year work visas) keep theirs unless they leave North America, no matter how many times they cross the border during that period. $7 for 3 years isn’t a huge amount of money, don’t you think?
A bit further down on that page is a description of the process to obtain an Approval of Rehabilitation.
It says it will permanently remove the inadmissability caused by a conviction, and you can apply at the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, among other places.
On my grandfathers Marriage Certificate it says he was born in St. Camille, P.Q. Canada. His father was from Canada also but had moved to the states when my grandfather and grandmother got married, sometime in 1942. He live in Lewiston, ME. His name was Joseph Audet. My grandfather is dead now and My mom says my grandmother was born in US. Does this mean My mom can still claim dual citizenship because my grandfather was born in Canada and then moved to US and lived here till he died? His brothers and his family are all buried in Canada. If so, Can I claim citizenship also and get into Canada under this statute?
I had to fly from Chicago to Toronto in the mid-80s for work. When I got to Toronto airport I thought we had been diverted to Baghdad, lots and lots and lots of Mideasterners hanging around the airport. So me and my boss, both of us VERY American looking go through customs. Right after we get through the passport check, a man comes over and says we have to follow him. They take us to this room with lots and lots and lots of very foreign looking people. We wait there for about a half hour then decide if we don’t speak up we are never going to get out of here. So we go up to a guy that looks like he works there and tell him we have been waiting forever. What gives? So they take us into a little room and interrogate us for about a half hour, then they let us go. I guess we just looked suspicious amongst the throngs of Mideasterners milling around the airport. Needless to say, we weren’t real happy about the whole deal.
Incident 2: (circa 1993) Me and a few buddies decide to go to Canada on a fishing trip. We rent a van and drive from the Chicago area up through International Falls into Canada. When we get to the customs check, they ask each one of us how many cigarettes we have. We all had a full carton plus a few packs, we all made sure of that before we got into Canada because cigarettes cost like 3 or 4 times as much up there at that time. So we all tell her we have about 15 packs a piece. She say “NO!!! EXACTLY how many cigarettes do you have?!?!”. We say, well about a carton and a half a piece. I thought she was going to draw her gun and start shooting, but instead she ordered us to pull over into a small parking lot. So we do, then here comes 4 or 5 border guards blasting out of the office heading for our van. They order us all out of the van, they search the van thoroughly, emptying out our suitcases and everything. Each pack of cigarettes they found they tossed into a collective pile on the ground outside the van. They had discovered that we DO NOT have 15 packs a piece but 18 packs a piece!!! They were very happy with their find and looked at us very suspiciously. I wondered what next? Maybe a full body cavity search to see if I had a pack of smokes rammed up my ass? But anyway, we paid the taxes on the couple “HOT” packs of cigarettes they found and we were on our way. We stopped for breakfast and decided we wouldn’t let the Nazi border guard incident ruin our entire fishing trip.
" … God keep our land, glorious and free! Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee. …"
Well, I know at least one American citizen they won’t have to worry about ever crossing their borders again.
sysjtr: The rules for “inheriting” Canadian citizenship are pretty complicated, but here’s the facts that I think apply to you (as you’ve described your situation):
Any person born in Canada is a Canadian citizen. So is anyone born abroad to at least one Canadian citizen born in Canada.
If you are the child of a Canadian citizen, and your Canadian parent was not born in Canada, you automatically lose your Canadian citizenship at the age of 28, unless you make an application to retain your citizenship and you reside in Canada for at least one year prior to making said application.
As I understand your description, your maternal grandfather was born in Canada, but your mother and you were not. Your mother probably has Canadian citizenship (but see below). However, the second point above would apply to you, and whether or not you could claim Canadian citizenship depends on your age. This also might depend on whether your mother has maintained Canadian citizenship - if she’s officially rescinded it at some point, you’re probably SOL.
Finally, it’s possible that your mother isn’t a citizen either, since your grandfather moved to the US before the enactment of Canada’s first citizenship act in 1947, but I’m not sure. The more I look at this information, the more complicated your situation seems. IANAL, of course; consult this page for more information.
I live on the Canadian border and cross frequently. I never have any trouble going or coming. But, earlier this year I went to Montreal several times to have cosmetic dentistry done and the first trip I went through the Jackman border crossing, which is the way MapBlast routed me. That turned out to be a huge mistake. Two hours later, after a personal and car search, and a computer check, Iwas given permission to be in Canada for three days and to extend this I had to apply 10 days ahead in the Country (huh?), which fortunately I didn’t need. Later, I decided that it was because I was going 100 miles out of my way and that was suspicious. On the way back I took the route as the crow flies and got home much sooner. For some reason, when I rechecked MapBlast it would not recognize the shorter route. I should have checked the route out before I left.
I have been very embarassed by some of the idiotic actions engaged in by my government in the name of “homeland security”. A famous case here in Maine, where much of the border is just an unguarded dirt road, a Canadian crossed the border to get gas as he had done all his life and was arrested because he had a hunting rifle in his truck. Many thousands of dollars, court appearances, and jail time later, he finally was released and banned from every entering the US again. In his town the border runs through the backyard gardens of several of the residents. Is this any way to treat the Canadians who have always been our good friends? In Calais Maine we even share fire departments and water systems. I hate what has happend and feel like Bush and the rest of his cowboys should be out of office asap so that common sense can return. NONE of this is or will be able to prevent another terrorist attack. It just makes us look stupid.
I live on the Canadian border and cross frequently. I never have any trouble going or coming. But, earlier this year I went to Montreal several times to have cosmetic dentistry done and the first trip I went through the Jackman border crossing, which is the way MapBlast routed me. That turned out to be a huge mistake. Two hours later, after a personal and car search, and a computer check, Iwas given permission to be in Canada for three days and to extend this I had to apply 10 days ahead in the Country (huh?), which fortunately I didn’t need. Later, I decided that it was because I was going 100 miles out of my way and that was suspicious. On the way back I took the route as the crow flies and got home much sooner. For some reason, when I rechecked MapBlast it would not recognize the shorter route. I should have checked the route out before I left.
I have been very embarassed by some of the idiotic actions engaged in by my government in the name of “homeland security”. A famous case here in Maine, where much of the border is just an unguarded dirt road, a Canadian crossed the unmanned border to get gas as he had done all his life and was arrested because he had a hunting rifle in his truck. He was charged with entering illegally with a weapon. Many thousands of dollars, court appearances, and jail time later, he finally was released and banned from every entering the US again. In his town the border runs through the backyard gardens of several of the residents. Is this any way to treat the Canadians who have always been our good friends? In Calais Maine we even share fire departments and water systems. I hate what has happend and feel like Bush and the rest of his cowboys should be out of office asap so that common sense can return. NONE of this is or will be able to prevent another terrorist attack. It just makes us look stupid.
I’m Canuck (BC) and my bf is American (WA). We cross the border frequently to visit one another. He takes Peace Arch, I use the Truck Crossing.
He had a DWI from when he was younger and he worked it out fairly painlessly. Since 5 years had passed from the date of the sentencing he just had to pay $140 US and have an interview with the Canadian Customs manager (?) at the border. He filled out some forms and basically the manager had to determine if my bf was rehibiliated. He now has a letter that he carried in his glovebox for when he’s crossing the border that will supposedly allow him across if challenged.
(I’m not sure if ‘manager’ is the proper term but the bf can’t recall the proper title. It was the guy in charge of the crossing.)
As for border crossings in general, I’ve learned quickly what to do to ease the process. I turn off the radio, take off the sunglasses, have my ID ready. I keep the car clean and make extra sure my tattoos are covered. The only time I’ve ever had a problem and pulled over was when we were both in the truck crossing at a tiny middle-of-nowhere border crossing into the US, with a truck full of SCA gear. Not too fun, but we were polite and patient and eventually made it though.
(Sorry if this doesn’t make much sense grammar-wise. A rescue dog just decided to give birth in the truck and I’m a little frazzled!)
If it makes you feel any better syjstr you’re not the only person refused entry recently. Three NZ Maori players couldn’t go on a rugby tour there because of similar convictions - Link.
Note that one of them hasn’t even got a conviciton, Riki Flutey was charged with an assault in Argentina but has yet to stand trial.
Despite lacking three top players, the rest of the team beat Canada 65-27 on Saturday.