> HI folks,
>
> I read and digested all of your replies and thought I should reply to
> some things people have mentioned...
>
> Okay, I've been searched before, I've crossed borders before. I've
> often been searched when I was doing something that would cause more
> questions (travelling to the US for a month during "summer break",
> they
> are looking for students who are going to work illegally... they want
> to be sure that's not me). They want to be sure people going shopping
> aren't taking luggage, sometimes checking a wallet is reasonable to
> look for fake ID, etc. I am not bothered she wanted to see my actual
> cash, look in my wallet.
>
> Reading my address book to demand to know why I have a friend in
> another country and how long I've known them, etc, etc, and doing this
> repeatedly borders on harassment. I'm permitted to have friends in
> other countries/cities, and I don't have to have met everyone who's
> address I have. I trade souvenirs, coins, stamps, tacky crap. I carry
> addresses of my "friends" so I can send them such tacky crap when I
> travel. Niagara Falls Canada is no exception, and I made sure to have
> those addresses for postcards.
>
> I've been searched randomly because I was on a bus or train, and
> that's
> what they were doing. I didn't really like it, and I didn't
> necessarily
> like all the questions... it was weird to be suspected of something
> that seemed odd. (I was searched as someone who was suspected of
> carrying guns/ammo, just because my bag seemed too heavy for it's
> size... I let him look, because I'm co-operative with law enforcement,
> and he backed down when he realized I had 30 lbs, literally, of junk
> coins I bought at a flea market). I've been raked over the grills
> during the illegal immigration searches in the southern US just
> because
> I don't have stamps in my passport or a visa (which is NORMAL for a
> B-2
> visitor from Canada... if I ask for a stamp at the border, they freak
> out...) they go away when they are satisfied of my intentions.
>
> If this immigration officer had decided that checking me out would
> include calling my employer (which she could have done), checking with
> the hotel to see that I was really a guest there, asking questions to
> determine how much money I was really saving by walking to mail those
> letters/small packages, checking what's in them... I expect that, they
> always look to see what I'm mailing to make sure it's not illegal or
> something that should be dutied.
>
> What offended me, was when she asked what I did for a living, and I
> told her I worked in a postal franchise inside a store, she responded
> by telling me "that store doesn't have post offices, they're run by
> the
> government." Um, I'm sorry, the store has a post office, and I manage
> it. Everyone in Canada would know that, but because she didn't know
> that... she in a round about way accused me of making that up.
> Then she
> told me if I had a full time job, I should be at work on a Monday
> morning. (I have to work Saturday and Sunday every second week,
> I'll be
> damned if I work seven days in a row just because they think I
> need to
> work on Monday because everyone else does... Immigration is a
> shift
> job, different hours, different days... they should get that loud
> and
> clear). Next offensive comment was when she told me I wasn't full
> time,
> and I had "lied" about that... I'm sorry if 32 hours is not full
> time
> in the US, but that's what my company guarantees to full time
> employees... yes, I get more hours often, but in fairness,
> everyone has
> their turn at 32 hours a week sometimes, and everyone gets the odd
> 4-5
> day weekend.
>
> But for the record, I called a different port of entry (for
> information
> purposes), and mentioned I had some difficulty crossing, and my
> reasons
> for going across. The officer who answered (a supervisor) explained
> the
> burden of proof for my visiting... and how everything I had with me
> should have been sufficient. What he didn't understand, is why this
> lady cared where I did my shopping with money I obviously earned
> (direct deposit on my bank statements) or why she was even reading my
> bank statements. He did not understand why it would be relevant to
> discuss who my acquaintances were in any great detail, or further to
> make a reference that I should not trust people on the Internet and
> how
> giving out my street address (to people I trade things with) was
> dangerous. She actually told me one of my Internet trading partners
> would come up to Canada and kill me! (She said that as she gave me
> back
> my stuff and let me through). And when we were discussing my job, and
> she was questioning it, she told me "you are not making any sense"
> because she didn't understand what I did for a living. (Listening
> helps
> with that I find).
>
> So to answer the "over sensitive" comment, and whether or not I'm just
> reacting to being searched... I don't like it, but it's happened many
> times. I never posted about it, I just keep it in mind that they have
> a
> job to do. There's doing a job, and there's a fine line between being
> a
> nosy busybody because you have nothing to do... It was rather slow at
> Immigration that morning, and I suspected I'd answer more questions
> than usual because of this.
>
> My insurance doesn't cover me bringing the car into the US because of
> my driver's license restrictions... but she never asked me about that
> (why I'd walk instead of drive). And I brought my camera to take
> photos
> of the hotel and Canadian side of Niagara Falls from the bridge,
> because I think it looks cool.
>
> I really have a difficult time justifying my life to people who just
> can't accept that not everyone's the same. I've met my fair share of
> immigration/customs officers, and answered quite a few strange
> questions... They always ask why I don't fly some place instead of
> using ground transportation... It's simple, I can't collect tacky crap
> at every truck stop if I'm flying over them. But most officers accept
> I'm a little weird with my preferences, and only want to be sure I'm
> not breaking laws, smuggling, the usual stuff... I just find this
> frustrating, tis all.
>
> Sapphyre
I'm just a reader and poster here and I'm far from convinced that you
are not a wanna-be illegal immigrant or a smuggler or a would be
terrorist. Come on Sap, why are you walking across the Can/Am border
carrying your bank statements and address book just to mail some things
from the US side of the border? Seems like a lot of non-essential
evidence to carry just to cross the border to mail a few things.
Also what kind of restrictions are there on your driver's license that
would prohibit your insurance company from insuring you if you crossed
the border? You apparently don't like to fly and drive everywhere so
what kind of restrictions could you have that won't allow you to drive
across the border but will allow you to drive into different provinces
in Canada?
Are you a Canadian citizen or a Canadian resident? What did you give to
the agent to show your identity?
My in-laws live on the Can/Am border and cross several times a month for
shopping and mailing from the post office in the US and to pick up mail
at their PO Box there. My niece would cross the border once a week to
buy gas as many Canadians do. So my thought is that something in your
demeanor or your identification caused this agent to be very very leery
of allowing you to enter.
--
I'm not an attorney. This disclaimer is valid in NYS!
Posted via http://britishexpats.com |