Canadians flying into the US
 

I know that this is a bit off topic but I thought that I should ask anyways since there must be some Canadians that would know the answer.

For Canadians flying into the US from Europe, what immigration forms do we have to fill in as we are not apart of the visa waver program but are a part of the western hemisphere travel initiative?

I don't know the exact code of the form, but it will be the same form you fill out when you fly trans-border from Canada to the USA - the blue and white one with your name, address, hotel, etc.

The annoying issue, though understandable, is that Canadians have to go through the "non-citizens" line, where the people in front are photographed, fingerprinted, and have their visa forms checked, while Canadians only need to present the form and passport... so it will take longer than the US citizens line, unless you're lucky and have a plane with no "foreign" citizens.

Canadians only need to fill out the blue form.

Says who? This Canadian always gets in the U.S. citizens line and have never been told I was in the wrong line. BTW, I learned that trick on these pages years ago never havinf tried it before but it's worked like a charm for me so far.

Interesting discussion.. I posted this similar experience on the BA Forum a few weeks ago.. I flew BA from LHR-JFK and noticed that there was sign for Canadian and American passport holders.. and this was the first time that I used the American passport line. I asked in the BA Forum whether this was a new development, and didnt get the answer.

It does appear that Canadians can use the American lines.. although I cannot find any proof other than on BA T7 at JFK

This has worked for me at all pre-clearance locations other than... DUB.

There I was told to go back to the end of the non-citizens line... which makes me nervous each time I do it at MIA, ATL, JFK, etc., given that the lineups tend to be much longer.

Simon

That depends on the station.

Worked for us too flying into Boston two weeks ago from Frankfurt.

That's not quite correct; canadian citizens arriving via CLT who are *not* in-transit, or are in-transit overnight must fill out an I-94.

This might be the case at other stations as well (I know it's not the case at ORD, DFW and MIA), I got a fuzzy answer back from DHS when I inquired if this was the case in other locations other than CLT.

So, if I am flying into LAX from SYD (connecting onto DEN and YTO) on a Canadian passport I can simply use the American passport line and skip all the bother with fingerprints and photographs?

I've never seen the "joint" entry point signed that way, but because Canadian passport holders only have to fill in the same white card as Americans, and not the green ones, nor go through the photo/fingerprint process, only the snottiest of INS agents would likely give you a hassle. Personally, I've always used the visitors entry when coming through a US gateway airport but found the lines actually shorter than for the US Residents ones.

At pre-clearance, I've got my NEXUS card! (Too bad the kiosks are not available at non-Canada/US entry points.)

I did in March on the way back from AKL via SYD at SFO on the way back home to YEG and have done it many others times including ORD, SEA and LAX. As I said in maybe a dozen times DHS/INS agents have never said a thing, though I'm sure it is an imperfect system and YMMV.

I remember way back when I flew via HNL to YVR from SYD, they only requested I show them the blue form and the passport. But again, this was the days before they started fingerprinting and photographing. At least us canuckistans don't need to worry about the additional hassle, yet.

Sanosuke!

Canadians do not need to fill out an I94(white form) or an I94W(green form) unless you hold some kind of a visa (like an H1B, E1, etc.). Canadians entering the US only need to fill out the customs declaration card (blue form, with white text fields).

I got berated for attempting this at JFK a year or so ago. The agent working the line told me to go the the US citizens line but when I reached the officer he asked me how I could be so stupid and sent me to the back of the foreigners line nearly causing me to miss my connecting flight.