Secondary Inspection at border crossing?
Apr 24, 2015, 6:25 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SEA & RDM
Programs: UA - 1MM, DL Diamond, AS MVP75, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 8,037
Secondary Inspection at border crossing?
We live in Washington State and frequently travel to Canada (I would guess we have crossed 75 times by car). Every time we have been asked a question or two and then sent on our way...Until Yesterday.
Driving up to see the Canucks/Flames game 5 the CBSA agent gave us the third degree while filling out a little orange form (in addition to the normal where what why questions...have you ever changed your name, have you ever been charged with a crime, have you ever been to court, have you ever been fingerprinted, why are you driving a rental car, what cars do you own, do you have any friends in Vancouver, do you have any firearms (three different times), are you licensed to carry a firearm, have you ever had a background check, do you have tickets for the game, how far away do you live, etc. etc. etc.). Eventually he sent us over for a secondary inspection/background check.
It seems like something triggered it but maybe not. Could it have been the rental car? My wife also forgot her passport (we discovered early in the trip and went back and got it) but we asked right off the bat if her global entry card would have worked to which he sort of angrily said no...and then it all started.
It could have been random but if so I would think something like this would have happened by now. Maybe he was from Calgary.
Driving up to see the Canucks/Flames game 5 the CBSA agent gave us the third degree while filling out a little orange form (in addition to the normal where what why questions...have you ever changed your name, have you ever been charged with a crime, have you ever been to court, have you ever been fingerprinted, why are you driving a rental car, what cars do you own, do you have any friends in Vancouver, do you have any firearms (three different times), are you licensed to carry a firearm, have you ever had a background check, do you have tickets for the game, how far away do you live, etc. etc. etc.). Eventually he sent us over for a secondary inspection/background check.
It seems like something triggered it but maybe not. Could it have been the rental car? My wife also forgot her passport (we discovered early in the trip and went back and got it) but we asked right off the bat if her global entry card would have worked to which he sort of angrily said no...and then it all started.
It could have been random but if so I would think something like this would have happened by now. Maybe he was from Calgary.
Apr 25, 2015, 5:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
No one can answer your question. There is a TV show called Border Security on National Geographic where you can watch what they do and see how they arrive at their suspicions - or random checks. You would probably enjoy it now.
Tip: When you arrive at the border, let the officer ask the questions and listen carefully and give the proper response. Don't ask them any hypothetical questions - or real ones unless you didn't understand the questions - you may miss what they are asking you or they may take it as a tactic on your part to distract them. If you did something that raised a logical suspicion they can follow it up. It could be that the person who rented the car the last time had a problem. Or it was a random selection.
Tip: When you arrive at the border, let the officer ask the questions and listen carefully and give the proper response. Don't ask them any hypothetical questions - or real ones unless you didn't understand the questions - you may miss what they are asking you or they may take it as a tactic on your part to distract them. If you did something that raised a logical suspicion they can follow it up. It could be that the person who rented the car the last time had a problem. Or it was a random selection.
Apr 26, 2015, 11:22 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,687
We live in Washington State and frequently travel to Canada (I would guess we have crossed 75 times by car). Every time we have been asked a question or two and then sent on our way...Until Yesterday.
Driving up to see the Canucks/Flames game 5 the CBSA agent gave us the third degree while filling out a little orange form (in addition to the normal where what why questions...have you ever changed your name, have you ever been charged with a crime, have you ever been to court, have you ever been fingerprinted, why are you driving a rental car, what cars do you own, do you have any friends in Vancouver, do you have any firearms (three different times), are you licensed to carry a firearm, have you ever had a background check, do you have tickets for the game, how far away do you live, etc. etc. etc.). Eventually he sent us over for a secondary inspection/background check.
It seems like something triggered it but maybe not. Could it have been the rental car? My wife also forgot her passport (we discovered early in the trip and went back and got it) but we asked right off the bat if her global entry card would have worked to which he sort of angrily said no...and then it all started.
It could have been random but if so I would think something like this would have happened by now. Maybe he was from Calgary.
Driving up to see the Canucks/Flames game 5 the CBSA agent gave us the third degree while filling out a little orange form (in addition to the normal where what why questions...have you ever changed your name, have you ever been charged with a crime, have you ever been to court, have you ever been fingerprinted, why are you driving a rental car, what cars do you own, do you have any friends in Vancouver, do you have any firearms (three different times), are you licensed to carry a firearm, have you ever had a background check, do you have tickets for the game, how far away do you live, etc. etc. etc.). Eventually he sent us over for a secondary inspection/background check.
It seems like something triggered it but maybe not. Could it have been the rental car? My wife also forgot her passport (we discovered early in the trip and went back and got it) but we asked right off the bat if her global entry card would have worked to which he sort of angrily said no...and then it all started.
It could have been random but if so I would think something like this would have happened by now. Maybe he was from Calgary.
GE is an American entry program. Nothing to do with Canadian CBSA admission. The GE card by itself is not a legal travel document.
There were episodes of border security (Canada) about this; the other famous misconception is my TX firearms license should enable me to carry my gun into Canada.
