Douglas, British Colombia, Canada to Blaine, Washington, USA | Customs and Immigration

I got a long line and the Canadian border police didn't like me at all. they pulled me in for extra questioning. I made sure to act with the upmost respect as being an ass back to them can only cause more trouble. they made me sit in a waiting room where I noticed everyone (including me) was either Asian or Arabic. they asked me if I had drugs or guns, searched my car. and after an hour let me go into Canada.

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Canadian crossing US to Canada after 10 months of travel:

asked if we had over $800 in purchases to declare, we said no, then sent us on our way! wow, easy. wish we didn't purge eat all our fruits and veggies in preparation lol

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Crossed without VISA, as a Brasilian i needed to entry by land, but I fly from seattle to Vancouver, activate my ETA, turn by land by bus, than pick up my car and crossed, he just ask to prove i activate my ETA showing our flight to vancouver, ask the normal questions, dont search anything and let us go!

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Went through for the first time ever. Mid day crossing. At 2 pm they did a shift change right before I got through. The guy before was searching ever vehicle it seemed. The new agent asked me; Where do you live, have you been to Canada before, where are you going, why are you going there, how long will you be there, what job do you do, have you ever been a gun owner. She took my passport, said the arriveCAN info was linked to my passport and didn't need to see it.She knew I had a dogbyt asked no questions about her. Didn't take too long and no search.If you have a truck camper be careful going over the line of black/yellow bumps..go super slow! Safe travels!! :-)

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Crossed the Border from US-CAN with our Overland Truck, took us 5min, very friendly Border Personal.

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Crossed with BC plates, Belgian passport, told them I was driving the Panam and border agent took me into secondary and got questioned 40min about funds, house and job back home, why I’m in the US, when I plan on leaving, etc…

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No fruit or veg with seeds unless it has a sticker saying it was grown in the States, no meat, firewood plants soil or seeds for planting

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Very friendly border. No issues after returning from 5 months in the USA in our class B camper van. Border had 3 lanes open at 11 PM, approximately 15 minute wait in line. Border agent was very friendly, had great sense of humour, and got us through in less than 2 minutes. Nice welcome home after a long time out of the country!

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I was kept and questioned by 5 agents for two hours. I am a Canadian on the long journey down the Panamerica and they required proof of my return to Canada and a proof of funds. I am spending only 5 weeks in the US but will not be back in Canada for about 2 years so I had no proof yet of my return to Canada. I have been to the US many times before and have never been asked for a proof of funds. They kept telling me that they have to know that I wasn't here to work illegally. Seriously, if I wanted to enter incognito, I would have come up with a better story than wanting to drive from Alaska to Argentina! To save yourself the trouble, bring proof of funds if you can.

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USA to Canada (US I-5 Freeway crossing):
No US checkpoint, Canada handles the whole procedure (no USA exit stamp). Hand your USA migration card to Canadian border staff.
Thorough interview, mostly centered on financial background although I was not asked to show proof of funds. Also was asked about weapons, fruits, cash over 1.000 USD, speeding or other tickets, arrests in the past (any country), and valid health insurance.
Had to hand over a small can of pepper spray and fill out a form for that.
Staff attitude was professional but not friendly. No waiting time (Wednesday, 5:30 pm).
Irregular: I was not allowed to be present while the vehicle was searched. No vehicle customs papers are being issued.
Got granted six months stay (German passport, German vehicle).

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Border Crossing: USA / Canada originally posted at  http://www.vangabonds.com/border-crossing-usa-canada/

We cross borders by land in a CR-V with US passports and our two dogs. We do not carry drugs or weapons or disallowed fruit (usually).

When, Where, and Which Direction:October 20, 2012 – Blaine, WA, USA > Douglas, British Columbia, CanadaOctober 27, 2012 – Douglas, British Columbia, Canada > Blaine, WA, USAWhat We Needed (or what we thought we needed):Per the Canada Welcomes You  website http://www.canadawelcomesyou.net/faq.html , Americans crossing from the US to Canada in a vehicle with dogs require
Passports,Vehicle Registration,Proof of Insurance, andSigned Certificates of Rabies Vaccinations.The Process:On both sides of the border, roads were well marked with directional signage and clear lanes. The setups looked very similar to toll booths on a turnpike (see photos in original article). On both sides, drivers were funneled into lanes where they waited their turn to pull up to the station and meet the Border Patrol Officer. Once the officer was satisfied with his/her review of the travelers’ documents and the travelers’ answers to his/her questions, passports were returned (unstamped for Americans), and the car was free to drive into and throughout the country.

Costs:None for Americans.

Dogs:  No one asked for their vaccinations or rabies certificates and only one border officials even acknowledged that we were traveling with canines.
Our Experience:After months of what we thought were thorough preparations, we found ourselves, just days before heading into Canada, with lapsed vehicle registration, without our proof of insurance, and in possession of only unsigned veterinary documentation. Not a great start, Kietzmans. A little bit of scrambling (thanks, Moms!) and a little bit of letting go had us as prepared as we needed to be as the only documentation we were asked for in four total crossings were our passports.

For the most part, our crossings were uneventful and generally consisted of some condescending questions about why we would ever even think to travel to wherever it was we were going and then distrustful glances paired with long pauses following our far too inconspicuous answers. “Oh, just visiting? Right…” In all fairness, our answer to “Where is home?” didn’t really make things easy for the interrogators, but that only actually came up once. You know what we thought was crazy? No one asked what was under the giant tarp in the back of our CR-V. I mean, all you can really see in our vehicle are two humans, two dogs, some essentials in the front seat, and then this giant mass covered by a tarp and then wrapped up in and secured by a net that takes up a good third of the cabin. Wouldn’t that be your first question if you were searching for something slightly amiss or trying to catch us off guard? “What are you transporting?” Not that we’re complaining. We were very happy with our smooth sailing border experiences.

Photos available at  http://www.vangabonds.com/border-crossing-usa-canada/

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