Crossing to Canada

Crossing to Quebec is not as quick as it used to be.

by Michael O'Brien

Photo by Sally Unher

 

Coming to America

Thank God it’s Friday. You’ve had a tough week at school and you welcome the weekend with open arms. You’re especially excited for this particular Friday because you and your friends are set to head out to Montreal for the weekend. The plan is to leave Plattsburgh at 3pm and get to Montreal just in time to grab a bite for dinner. Perfect. Except it is not so perfect. Only 60 miles from Plattsburgh, it should not take hours to get to Montreal But it does and that’s because of one thing: the Canadian border.

Ever since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, border security between the United States and Canada has been tightened. Homeland security suddenly became a much larger issue, so in June 2002, Customs Commissioners Robert Bonner of the United States and Robert Wright of Canada outlined security improvements to the World Customs Organization in Brussels, Belgium. After customs officials realized that terrorists were in some major Canadian cities, the borders closest to those cities (including Montreal) were tightened up. Border security is also slightly dependent on the alert level. According to Janet Rapaport, Press Officer for United States Customs, security is currently at elevated condition, or yellow alert. Surveillance is increased from the lower risks of terrorist attacks (blue and green levels), but is not as high as the more severe alert levels, such as red and orange.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which became an official agency of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003, currently has over 40,000 employees, including border patrol agents, trade specialists, inspectors and canines. “CBP officers carry radiation detector pagers for clearing vehicles,” adds Rapaport.

CBP officers pull over any cars that seem suspicious, but they can actually pull over anyone for any reason. Customs officers are authorized to examine any luggage, cargo, or traveler. "There are a host of different reasons why people are pulled over, but the way you interact with the border agents and your responses can be a factor," says Dominique McNeely of Canada's Customs Public Affairs. If your car’s registration is expired, you don’t have the proper identification, or you’re not a United States citizen, expect to hear the phrase, “Come with me.”

Once you are pulled over, a CBP officer takes you inside, checks your identification, and “bombards you with questions,” says Jennifer Lamica, a Plattsburgh State University (PSU) sophomore from Malone, New York, a town approximately 10 minutes from the Canadian border. Some common questions, Lamica says, are “Who are you?", "Why are you going to Canada?", "What are you doing there?", and "When will you be back?”. In addition to asking a lot of questions, CBP officers may do a background check. “When they run your ID, they check and see if you’ve ever been arrested or ever been turned away from the border and things like that," Lamica continues. The most important thing, says McNeely, "is that travelers make complete and honest declarations to border agents or they can make your admittance into Canada more complicated."

On the way back to the United States, another frequently asked question is, “Are you bringing anything back?” Items purchased in Canada must be declared in customs. Travelers are allowed to bring $800 worth of goods into the U.S., as long as it isn’t anything illegal (including alcohol if you’re under 21) or any merchandise from barred nations including Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.

As long as you’re a legal American–carrying identification- and you ditched your stash of Cuban cigars before you got to the border, you should be fine. It may take longer than it used to, but after all, Canada isn’t going anywhere. Plus, it's better to be safe than sorry, eh?

Do you have any horror stories about crossing the border? E-mail us!

Acceptable Forms of Identification to Show at the Border A visa is not required in order to travel to Canada, but proof of United States citizenship/permanent residence is still required. A valid passport is your best bet, but if you feel uncomfortable carrying around such an important document, there are other options. Your birth certificate is an acceptable alternative, but it must be an original copy. Photocopied and laminated birth certificates will be turned away, since the border patrol can't see if the seal is raised, the true test of birth certificate authenticity. However, birth certificates must be partnered with valid photo identification: driver's license, state identification card, military identification card, etc. An original Naturalization certificate, along with photo identification, is also acceptable. If you are a permanent resident, but not a citizen, of the United States, usable forms of identification are valid 1551 stamps in your passport or your original Alien Registration Card, aka Green card.