How does the security process work at YVR to the USA?
 

Leaving on Saturday for Alaska and Vancouver and am flying back on August 17 out of YVR on Delta. 6:00 AM flight (couldn't do anything about it...the tickets were free, and I mean totally free as Ms1995 won them in a raffle at an office Christmas party). Never been to Vancouver before and I'm wondering how the process works there for international flights. I am told that you have to stand in line to pay an airport improvement fee and that you clear US Customs and Immigration there. The question is--how does the security work? Do you stand in yet another line for screening, and are the Canadians as irritating as the TSA? I was planning on trying to get there between 4 AM and 4:30 for the 6:00 flight. Is that reasonable?

Thanks in advance.

The AIF is now included in the ticket price. Did you pay any kind of taxes/fees on your free ticket ? There's nobody checking AIF payment at YVR any more so I don't know how they would know you haven't "paid" :confused:

First lineup is for US ICE, you must take all your luggage with you :td:
Then put checked bags on conveyors. Make sure you pick the right one - with your airline's name on it. Supposed to be checkers there making sure you do, but don't bet on it.

Second lineup is for security. And no, the Canadians are nowhere near as obnoxious as the TSA. No shoe silliness unless you trip the WTMD.

4.30am should be enough.

Thanx, Wally. Ms1995 handled the ticket because the coupon was issued to her by her firm, so I have no idea whether she paid anything. Guess we'll just see how it goes.

Appreciate the advice on watching the conveyors. We are doing all carry-on, but at that time of morning, I don't want to screw around!

The Customs processing begins at 5 am and the morning can be busy how ever a 6 am departure may or may not avoid the busy period. CATSA is no war as irritating as the TSA at security. There is no silly secondary box in the middle that people have to go around or in it if you beep. The person who signals you to proceed through the WTMD is the person who wands you if the thing beeps. Shoes will only be sent through the X-ray if the hand held wand beeps over them. After security there is usally a person that is thereto direct passengers to the proper gates as there is 2 gate areas. the main one for jets and thesmaller area for the dash 8's and RJ planes known as "the barn"

If you want to purchase duty free you must purchase it before you go through customs.

If you travel with carry on's only you will get to go through secondary at customs. i travelled through yvr and I was sent to secondary because i only had a carry on. also after you go through the primary there is another person that you have to see to hand in your declaration card and that is the officer that may send you to secondary if you only have carry-on's

The AIF is included in the price of the ticket and there is no AIF booth anymore.

if you fly in to vancouver there are 3 diffrent lines at the primary customs checkpoint for Canada. The lines on the left are for Residents of Canada The line in the middle is for Flights arriving from The U.S.A. and the one on the right is for flights arriving from Overseas Residents would allways use the one on the left. They have this system in place to prevent peopke arriving from The USA from waiting forever at customs as the flight from Amsterdam and all the flights from Asia arrive at almost the same time. Could you imagine standing in that long line. A repersenitive from your cruise line will meet you at the airport if you arrive on the day of the cruise ship departure.

Thanks. We are flying into ANC so the arrival process isn't an issue. But why the secondary if you do all carry-on? Do they have some sort of evidence that indicates that carry-on only people are higher risk?

I go through YVR about once a week with only carry-on and have never been sent to customs secondary yet. Neither has anyone else, that I know of, been sent for this reason. They may have had other reasons for sending you there.

If you're elite, make sure the ticket agent gives you the FastTrack sticker on your BP. This let's you bypass most of the security lineup, a big advantage during the early morning rush.

Just curious, but are you actually flying DL from YVR nonstop to ANC?

I didn't think DL flew this route. Or are you going via SLC?

Or are you actually flying AS on a DL codeshare?

Not that it will impact your security experience, but you may not actually be checking in at the Delta counter.

Also, IIRC from my trip *to* YVR (flew home out of SEA) last summer, there were gate inspections going on at the ones I could see throught the glass on my walk from "the barn" (where my DL CRJ tied up) to Canadian Customs and Immigration.

HeHateY--

No, we're not doing anything of the sort you describe. I live in Northern Virginia. We are going from DCA to ATL, then nonstop from ATL to ANC. Coming home 11 days later, we go from YVR to SLC, then from SLC to DCA. The YVR to SLC leg is operated by some outfit called Skywest Airlines.

What about YVR to YYZ connection to the USA?
 

Related question...

What's the procedure when flying out of YVR and connecting to USA via YYZ on AC?

As a US citizen, would I have to go through Customs at YVR first, or is the departure considered "domestic" and the actual transborder from YYZ to the USA at T2 is the only Customs and Immigration point?

I suppose there is no such thing as being pre-cleared in YVR. The long line reputation at Pearson isn't something to look forward to with a tight 1hr connection on top of any possible delays getting into Toronto.

Also, can I get receipts for the GST refund stamped in YVR or do I have to wait until YYZ?

Thank you.

1995 - have a great trip. I'm puzzled by your question. You've been here on FT long enough - should know better than to ask a question like that!

Sheesh!! Evidence? :rolleyes:

LOL - again, have a great trip :D ^

1995hoo,

I think the secondary is the experience of another poster, but I've made it through YVR with carry-on only and no secondary, same with YYC (Calgary). If you are coming off of a cruise with your wife, I doubt you'll fit the profile for a secondary, but from what I gather, some secondaries are random, some are done by profile. It could be hit or miss.

At YVR: If you're flying Skywest to SLC, sounds like you'll be flying out of "The Barn". Skywest is a Delta Connection carrier which operates regional jet flights for Delta Air Lines.

The following is a link to the Delta Air Lines website with a layout of the SkyWest CRJ. It appears they have a 40 seat version and a 50 seat version.

http://www.delta.com/planning_reserv...-100/index.jsp

If you go to www.seatguru.com you can look at seating layouts on all Delta aircraft, but with the CRJ on SkyWest, you may not know what model you are on until day of flight. Some seats are better than others, but in general, the CRJ isn't the most comfortable of aircraft.

With respect to the 6:00am flight, it is operated on a CRJ with block to block time of 2 hours 9 minutes. The CRJ is a small 50 seat jet, with a 2 x 2 layout. The block time is padded, and actual flight time will probably be 1 hr 45 minutes. When you land at SLC, you'll arrive as if you came in on a US Domestic flight because all US Customs & Immigrations matters are handled at YVR.

The following is a link to the map of the SLC airport. Skywest flights arrive in concourse E. Most mainline DL flights I've taken via SLC use concourse D, a some over in concourse C, as a general rule.

http://www.delta.com/traveling_check..._slc/index.jsp

As others have said, if you want to do Duty Free shopping, make sure you do this before you clear US Customs. I'm not sure if many Duty Free outlets will be open that early in the AM (between 4am and 5am). If US Immigrations & Customs processing opens at 5am, you'll want to be ready for that when they open, especially if it is busy.

To FlyahDrone: In your case, YVR (Vancouver) to YYZ (Toronto) on Air Canada will be a domestic Canadian flight. At YYZ you will make your connection to your flight going to the USA. As such, at YYZ you will pre-clear US Customs & Immigrations and then make you flight into the US.

SDF_Traveler

No customs or anything out of YVR. The only thing done at YVR is that they will put a powder-blue tag on your check-in bag that says "USA via YYZ." You'll claim your bag at YYZ and go through Customs at YYZ. Your one-hour connection is a problem, because I think you're going from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 at YYZ. And when I flew YOW to YYZ last year, it took about 45 minutes to get my checked bag back.

The good news is that the Air Canada folks, who manages the line prior to entering Customs, solicits for passengers for flights close to departure time and they will put you at the front of the line if you're on that flight.

You will also go through security again, but (thankfully) it is not TSA stuff. You get wanded only if you beep. No shoe carnival unless your shoes beep during wanding. And YYZ got rid of the secondary security gate-checks for US-bound flights about six months ago.

It might behoove you to grab a US Customs Declaration card at YVR and fill it out on your YYZ-bound flight. Might save you a few minutes.

Oh, one final thing....do NOT act rushed or impatient when you go through ICE, you're more likely to get taken aside for further inspection. Just take a deep breath and act calmly, even if you have a tight connection.

Good luck.

Thanks LessO2 and SDF_Traveler.

^ Great idea to get the US Customs Declaration card at YVR. Planning only carry-on so that will save me from the sluggish luggage carousel.

Zen all the way.

Thought I should report back on how things went. Flew out of YVR yesterday morning to SLC, then from there to DCA. The process at YVR was relatively painless and far more pleasant than at airports in the United States. We got there at about 4 AM for the 6:00 SkyWest flight. None of the check-in counters were open yet, but they did have a large digital display indicating which counter was for which flight. Naturally, most of the stupid Americans didn't read the display, so when a line began to form at the counter for the SkyWest flight, EVERYONE rushed over to line up, only to learn 5 minutes later that they were in the wrong place. (Fine with me, moved us up to third). Check-in was routine and we were told to go line up in front of the entrance to the duty free shop, which opens at 4:30 AM. There are two lines there, so we were first in the left-hand lline. The shop opened on time and we dashed through without buying anything so as to beat the herd to the US Immigration line, since those folks don't open until 5 AM. Once again, we were first in line, had our passports scanned and our customs declarations stamped. From there you next proceed to the US Customs desk, where we simply handed over the customs declarations.

We then headed to security, which was far more pleasant than in the US. I had to take off my blue blazer, but I left on my watch, belt, and shoes and was not hassled (nor did the alarm sound). Ms1995hoo's jewellery caused the alarm to sound, but a quick wanding (without "assuming the position") was sufficient to satisfy the security folks. For some reason, however, I was required to take out both of my digital cameras and my cell phone for them to use an explosives swab (not to demonstrate that they worked, but only to swab them). The girl who did the swabbing was a bit rude, and that was the ONLY negative about the whole experience, but it was early enough in the morning that I didn't feel like arguing, especially given how much more pleasant all the other security folks were compared to the TSA. After I put the cameras away we headed to the gate, which is a long walk so we got there around 5:15 or so. There is NO line for the Airport Improvement Fee that I had read about. Guess things had changed since the information I was given.

So, in retrospect, we were all left scratching our heads at why YVR says that it is so important to arrive two hours early for an international flight when nothing is open that early, but on the other hand, we were kind of glad we were early because we managed to beat everyone through the lines.


Oh, one other note. On the way out to Alaska on August 6, when we went through security at DCA, I didn't take off my shoes and the man at the metal detector said, "Let me see the side of your shoe." I held up my foot--I was wearing Rockport topsider-style shoes with about a quarter-inch sole--and he said, "OK, come on through." Of course, the metal grommets on the shoe set off the alarm so I went ahead and tossed them on the x-ray belt rather than get wanded, but I was happy to see SOMEONE from the TSA doing it right. The guy was actually very pleasant, perhaps because there was NO line (11:20 AM on a Saturday).

EDIT: Also forgot to mention--on the way out, we were connecting in ATL (DCA to ATL, then nonstop to ANC) and we originally had only 40 minutes to connect. So when we got to DCA I called Delta and got us moved to the 12:05 flight. Somehow neither of us got the SSSS even though the change was made less than an hour before the 12:05 flight left. Sometimes miracles do happen!

I love YVR - its a beautiful airport and there is a waterful behind the lines where you wait to clear Canadian immigration. We had an 8:30am flight back to the US, there was almost no line at US immigration or customs. Have never been sent to secondary here. Not sure what they could do with you anyway as you are not technically on US soil. I guess they could alert Canadian authorities, assuming you were violating Canadian law.

Anyway, I wish all US airports were like YVR.

U.S. Immigration does have full rights to operate at YVR as if they were on U.S. soil. It is a strange set up, but that's what AIF pays for.

Also, when I was there last summer my traveling partner got the full-on secondary because of some of the mountaineering gear in his checked luggage. I mean, he got wanded, patted-down and all of his luggage *thoroughly* hand-search. However comma, they were as nice as can be. But it did take some time, as I waited for him after I'd gone through the metal detectors.

That said, about every 4th or 5th pax was gifted with a secondary, random wanding that morning.

I guess the moral of the story is, YMMV.

.... which is not for any US authority to determine.... in fact, they most likely don't even know Canadian law...

Yes, but they cannot detain you - they can only refuse you entry to the US. After all, it's Canadian soil, and you're protected by Canadian law (assuming you're in Canada legally).

This is no longer true.

Returning from YYZ>DCA yesterday on US Air express ( :rolleyes: ) EVERY SINGLE PAX was subjected to a full and thorough secondary after clearing airport security.

The USX agent said this is SOP for all int'l fllights bound for DCA. Note this was not a random selection, but the whole flight. It also caused a 1-hour departure delay because the rent-a-bodies doing the secondary were oh-so efficient.

I absolutely adore YYZ, but from now on methinks we will be flying to BUF and driving over the border.

Sigh,
Lewis

ETA: I was so angry about this I sent a letter to my "Congresswoman*" complaining about this ludicruous waste of time and resources - not to mention the insult to the Canadian people. 24,739,312 passengers travelled through Toronto Pearson in 2003, 7.3 million of which were "trans-border" passengers, and I am not aware of any incidents in recent memory that would warrant ALL PASSENGERS on only those flights bound to DCA to be held to such high scrutiny.

*in quotes because although we pay federal and local taxes, DC residents have no voting representation in Congress

Every time I have traveled from YVR back to the US, I have been subjected to secondary screening by US Customs, most likely because I only had carry-on luggage and I was traveling solo. They always seem very suspicious of me and ask me lots of questions to try to make me inadvertently "confess" to some awful crime. Once I was asked, "did you use any illegal narcotics while you were in Canada?" I would love to know how many US citizens visit Canada for the sole purpose of engaging in illegal activities. :rolleyes:

Having said all that, I find Canadian immigration and customs to be equally annoying and suspcious of me. I've been subjected to lengthy interrogation and a thorough search of my carry-on luggage almost every time I have visited Canada. I guess they don't like solo travelers either! :td:

When I return from Canada, I only have carry-ons and am traveling solo. There are plenty of others out there like that. I have never been asked the deeper questions that you get. Maybe I don't look like a terrorist, maybe the guy collecting the declaration cards likeed me jabbing him about the Oakland Raiders.

Something's in their computers about you...that's the only plausible explanation.

I was eluding to the random secondaries on LGA, ORD or IAD departures. Sorry to learn about your experiences.

Those guys usualy have things thrust upon them, and usually take longer to dissolve (ie: 30 minute rule being waived) north of the border. I think it will go away, just a matter of time.

Maybe try flying to/from IAD next time?

Most definitely. I truly love DCA, it's the only airport that, as a business and personal traveller, has ever truly felt like "home" to me, and it is 15 minutes from where I live, but IAD isn't so bad. And it's worth the drive to Dulles to be able to visit Toronto unimpeded.

I hope the letter I sent to Congresswoman Norton encourages the powers-that-be at DHS to reconsider some of the "over-reactionary" policies that have sadly become the norm in the last four years.

Secondary
 

It's important to differentiate a "secondary screening" for security for the flight versus one for customs upon entering a country in this case the US.

It seems that some people regularly get inspected at immigration/customs. I was wondering, Morrissey, what you looked like, then saw your Ian Thorpe lookalike message and looked this person up. Had no idea who he was. If you do, in fact, look like tha swimmer, you certainly don't fit the terrorist profile.

My question would be: what do you wear when traversing the border? Casual with a back pack or a suit/tie/laptop case?

I used to get checked regularly until I started wearing ties and a suit coat. This has made my immigration and customs experiences so much better. If any, I only have to put my bags theu the Agriculture scanner since I frequently bring back (permitted) food items from abroad. (And I have a full beard!)

Correct. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.

I am always wearing casual clothing. It would probably raise even more suspicions if I said I was on a leisure trip and I was wearing a suit and tie! For some reason, this only happens when I visit Canada. I've been to Thailand solo countless times, and US immigration and customs couldn't care less. After visiting Indonesia solo last year, I was fully prepared for a complete interrogation and full cavity search upon my return to the US, but all I got was a "welcome home!" Go figger!

Hey, Morrissey,


in general, my suit and tie routine has worked. I only have one "failure". And the irony is that this happened in one of my favorite countries, where I had never and have never since had any problems: Canada!

It was on Sep 14, 2001. I had booked a Star Alliance RTW and was determined to go. To make a long story short, I flew SFO to YVR to start my RTW ex Canada since the fare was much cheaper. After clearing customs, at the exit I was segregated to go to secondary screening. As I meandered the corridor and arrived at the checkpoint, no one was there. Finally I saw someone who apparently was not an inspector. After 5 mins I said I would return to the initial exit but was reprimanded by the non-inspector. After another 5, a woman came and called me to the station.

I endured about 30 minutes of interrogation, going thru every single one of my papers in my carry-ons (had no checked bags), asking ridiculous questions about my ticket: "that's a very expensive ticket!" (I answered: "No, it's much cheaper than buying it ex-USA.")

I finally said that I did not appreciate the harrassment and that they had just bombed my country, not Canada.

She eventually let me go. I had to return to special immigration, where the agent asked me if this was the first time I'd been to Canada. I stated I'd been there multiple times, he checked my passport and asked with either wonder or surprise that I'd been to Calcary, he just stamped my passport, and I was on my way.

The whole rest of the RTW was without any hassle. Right post 9/11.

I've never had that happen coming via YYZ. I fly out of there 12-16 times a year and 90% of the time, carry on only. The times I have checked bags, its usually hockey gear :)

I will say I signed up for CanPass afew months ago and it has made it much easier coming and go-ing.

Actually, read the act. The area where customs is located is the same as US soil. Its treated as a part of the embassy. They work with Canadian law enforcement if you act odd, or break any rules while waiting to enter the US. They can't detain you, but they can turn you over to Canadian authorities, who can then detain you. Yes, you can turn away if you don't want to answer their questions, but the next time you try to enter, there will be a big note on your file and you'll probably be answering more questions than before :)

For the exact law, check http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/p-19.3/93336.html

I saw that the US is now requiring non-Canadian / non-US citizens who enter from Canada to provide "additional information" when passing through customs. They have to provide the address for their first night's stay, which seems like it will do little to prevent any kind of terrorism or illegal immigration.

I don't travel internationally often, but I'm always asked that question anyway and often don't have the actual address on hand. At Heathrow, I have told them, "I don't know--it's the Victoria Park Plaza, up the street from Victoria Station." In the Bahamas, the road at the house didn't even have a name; all I could say on my past few trips there was, "Sea Watch, on Elbow Cay." Somehow, I doubt the US Customs agents will accept answers like that under this new initiative :rolleyes:

They absolutely will not. In fact, soon they'll start to fine the airline that delivers you to the US without the info and force them to send you back. :td: