Where do USCBP pre-clearance staff live?
 

Where do the staff that operate the pre-clearance facilities in Canadian airports go when they are off duty? It's always something that I've wondered.

Do they fly in every morning on the first flight and leave on the last?
Live in Canada permanently/long term on a special visa?
Come up for a few days at a time and live in hotels or USCBP accommodation?
Live near the border and drive up every day?
Canadian citizens employed by the US government?

They live in the city that they are assigned to. They sign a two year commitment. Which can be extended if both parties agree. The most you can stay is five years. They have diplomatic passports with special work visas. Housing has to be approved by the Embassy, and you get so much square feet according to your rank.

CBP personal in are assigned to pre clearance facilities for an initial two year assignment and can extend for three more years one year at a time. Generally, the personal live in Canada and are provided a housing allowance from the US Government. They are in the country on a work visa. They are US citizens as they are CBP Officers and that is a requirement. They can go where they want when they are off duty.

FB

The information concerning housing is incorrect. Square footage has nothing to do with your rank or really with the equation at all. You are given a housing allowance based on market conditions, with extra percentages in reference to the size of your family.

FB

That sounds like a fair deal. Do they do the same for like, er, Tahiti.

(If yes, is there a link to a web site for an application?)

Not Tahiti, but there are pre clearance facilities in Ireland. In addition, there are CSI (container security initiative) ports that have CBP personnel assigned to them. There are actually more CSI ports then pre clearance facilities. CBP usually has an officer assigned to most Embassies and CBP runs an IAP (Immigration Advisory Program) in several countries. There are more officers assigned outside of the United States than most people realize.

FB

I know there's one in Freeport Bahamas. Sign me up!

Me too. :-)

I've lamented before that the TSA would probably love more than anything to have TSOs stationed abroad to "properly screen" passengers on flights either going to the US or touching US airspace. I've mentioned that you could fill an entire "fish out of water" sitcom series about TSOs living abroad.

Yep, they're at NAS as well. I once asked the guy who was pre-clearing me if he liked living there, and he just rolled his eyes and said something about how it wasn't as great as most people assumed.

The real laugh at Freeport was the plane was an ATR with maybe 30 people.
Check bags, go through Bahamas security, walk 5 feet to Bahamas customs, walk 5 feet to U.S. Customs, walk 3 feet to U.S. security. Funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Not always. According to a friend of mine who worked at YVR, some of the officers at YVR Vancouver live in Washington State and commute to work - Either from Blaine or Point Roberts.

I imagine that is a personal choice the officers have when they are so close to the border.

Nassau is a dump. I wouldn't want to live there. The only thing they have going for them is the weather. You can bet they're not being put up at Atlantis or some other resort.

Freeport wouldn't be as bad.

I can confirm that the TSA is pretty active outside the US "training" airline/security personnel on proper procedures. My personal Dec 2 example is noticing a change in CDG questioning procedures at the AA security kiosk including "where do you work, what do you do, where do you plan to travel next?".

I balked and refused those questions on a privacy basis which caused a flurry of activity at the security desk. I was allowed to continue once they reviewed my status; but after checking in I went to the security desk to query "why the new questions?".

The head of the desk stated "well they're not really new" and when I responded saying "I hope France continues to respect traveller's privacy and not be influenced by the TSA"; he shocked me with "They (the TSA) are here this week. Believe me we wouldn't be asking these questions if we didn't have to".

<sigh>

Maybe the rules about residency legnth have changed over the years, but when I worked summers at YYZ with Eastern, we had a very friendly pre-clearance guy who would stop by the office and chat frequently - he lived in Toronto for years, his wife was a Toronto local and his kids were born in Toronto and went to school there.