When you can read Canada, you are standing in Canada, and when you can read United States you are standing in the United States. No fence, no gates, just a dirt road and a stone marker. Last photo is the bridge to the border crossing closest to this site

Anyone else, Canadian citizen with a valid Canadian passport, was rejected admission from the US with this reason and a 5 year ban
"You are an immigrant not in the possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing card, or other valid entry document required by the Immigration and Nationality Act"

I wanna know if you had problem entering other countries?

I’m a Canadian citizen and cross frequently (probably six times a year) between Canada and the US through air and land (in Niagara) and never had issues on either side, never been referred once to secondary. Today, I drove to the US for my Nexus interview at Whirlpool and on the way back, when I told the CBSA officer (at Rainbow) that I was in the US for my Nexus interview, he immediately started writing and that’s when I knew I was getting sent to secondary. This was his first question and he already made his mind to send me to secondary. I’m curious as to whether other people have had similar experiences coming back from a Nexus interview or this is just a one-off occasion.

Y'all are too cute! I'm literally just asking anyone with experience in this. People who wish they have dual citizenship, people who do and don't want to renounce, in other words anyone who's not renounced themselves could just keep scrolling.

Asking as a (still) US/Canadian dual citizen. I just crossed by land into the US using my Canadian passport without a problem, but I'm wondering if I'd be "flagged" at the border if I renounced.

I'm still examining emotionally and practically if I should give up my US citizenship, and I'm wondering if anyone here has experience since I cross the border often.

I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has dealt with Canadian entry requirements after having California drug convictions dismissed.
I’m planning an Alaska cruise that embarks in Seattle and ends in Vancouver, where we would disembark. I’m trying to understand what I need to resolve before traveling.
During about a year in 2011–2012, I received several drug-related charges, including felony possession and a trafficking-related charge. At the time, I was severely addicted to drugs and was driving my boyfriend, who was a drug dealer. I take responsibility for my involvement; I’m sharing that for context.
My court agreement stated that after completing a one-year approved program, with no new law violations, I could return after 18 months to withdraw my plea on the trafficking-related count and have it dismissed. It also provided for dismissal of another count under California Penal Code §1203.4. I have other possession cases from that period as well.
I completed six months of inpatient treatment followed by six months of sober living in 2013. I have remained drug-free and have had no new convictions since 2012. I went back to school, became a licensed esthetician, and now own a business. I’m also a mom. That two-year period of addiction feels like another lifetime, and I have truly turned my life around.
I didn’t pursue the court relief back then, but I’m working with an attorney now. He believes the judge will likely dismiss and expunge all of the eligible convictions. Nothing has been granted yet.
I understand that a California dismissal may not resolve Canadian inadmissibility, so I’m trying to get clear on the next steps:
Has anyone had Canada recognize a plea withdrawal and dismissal under a treatment-based plea agreement, or a §1203.4 dismissal?
Did you still need Canadian criminal rehabilitation or a temporary resident permit?
Does disembarking in Vancouver create any different requirements than a cruise that returns to Seattle?
Did your cruise line require documentation or clearance before boarding?
I’d especially appreciate firsthand experiences or guidance on what to ask a Canadian immigration lawyer. I want to handle this properly before the trip.

To anyone that has flown from Canada to USA recently how has your experience been? Any issues?

Hey a week ago I was selected for a secondary inspection crossing from Canada into the US. I'm a citizen of the US. Conversation at the border was very brief, the thing I'm really curious about is that on the orange slip he circled the whole category that had "FTD, BAG CHK, K-9, F&W, ATS, DUTY U/F, APV in it." He also wrote SPO NVL. When looking at a few of the other people in the us citizen line pretty much all of them were there for food and agriculture.

I assumed I was chosen because I was crossing at the peace arch and my car had an out of state US license plate (FAR away from Washington, I'm a student in Canada). After an hour of waiting they let me go with little questioning (and checking my car briefly), funny they didn't even ask me why I was going back into the US after all that.

I just wanna know if yall have any insights. I'd prefer not to spend an hour at border control when I go back into the US again.

edited: I wrote ARV rather than APV

I ordered a necklace from a popular YouTuber and when it went through customs at the Montreal airport it was cut open and removed and a duties sticker was placed over where they had cut the envelope open. Any advice on what I can do 😭

Crossed at 1000 islands on Friday by car, and asked the duty free store what was permissible. They had just restored Canadian alcohol to their shelves and had signs indicating we were allowed 1L per person aged 21yo+.

Bought 2 bottles and declared them to CBP who confirmed the personal exemption.

Not me, actually, my dad.

The gist:

-2002(ish) - misdemeanor DV conviction

-Clean record ever since

-does not show up on public record anymore

-wants to travel to Winnipeg as a tourist

Can he get in to CA? There is so much information online, I don't know how to help him follow the right process so he isn't turned away at the border by surprise. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone! I (24F American) and my girlfriend (23F Canadian) have been together since April of 2025. We’ve been alternating visiting every few months. I was there 5 days in July 2025, a month in February 2026, 9 days in June 2026, and 13 days in October 2026.

The past two times I have crossed I’ve been asked a plethora of questions about my relationship including what both of us do for work, where we live, what we plan on doing together during our visit, how we met (including what social media platform), and what my previous visits and lengths were. These make me very anxious as I’m worried of being seen as suspicious, turned away, or having future plans disrupted. I have never been taken into secondary and I am always allowed through without any comments about my frequent travel or anything seeming suspicious.

I recently found an advisor who invited me to apply to her research group at a Canadian University. I’ve made contacts there in my career field while visiting as I have been interested in perusing a graduate program.

I’m worried that my frequent travels or their knowledge of my girlfriend living in Canada will pose a risk of not being able to obtain a student visa or not being allowed through the port of entry once I am ready to move for school.

I am able to justify my desire to peruse this program in a Canadian university, but obviously being closer to my (currently 3500mi away) girlfriend is a plus. The graduate program is in geochemistry/earth history and my undergrad is in environmental science, so the line of progression of study makes sense. Funding in the US is also currently notoriously bad right now for this field of study.

I know I meet all requirements for a student visa and have not overstayed my visitor status (my combined time in Canada in 1.5 years is around 2 months cumulative).

Does this line of questioning seem concerning? Will it impact how they see my motives for going to school in Canada? Any advice is welcome.

Thank you in advance!

I'm sure this is a stupid question and I apologize, I am just a very anxious person and want to make sure everything goes smoothly -

Next week I am driving to Michigan to stay 7 nights with my friend for his birthday. I am bringing a box of birthday gifts for him , how exactly do I declare it?

Should I just say " I have a box of gifts, worth around 60$ USD in total ", or do should I list out each item that's in the box?

I have some food for him as well but its just candy and a bag of chips in their original packaging, so I'm not as concerned about how to go about declaring those.

I'm visiting Michigan from Ontario tomorrow for a family event and will be staying with a friend for a few days while there. The friend is of Serbian background, so I bought a bottle of Serbian brandy for us to drink as a thank you for letting me stay free of charge in his house. Initial Google search told me it was fine to bring in, but I had a weird feeling about it so I did another search and found out that the president has put into place a new regulation banning any alcohol made in Canada from entering the country. But while bought in Canada, this brandy was made and bottled in Serbia. Should I leave it at home still or will this pass while bussing across the border? I don't mind having to skip my gift if it's a complication but would prefer to ne able to bring it.

I'm burnt out in my career field and have family close by. Some family said I should apply to be a guard. What is it like?

My husband and I will be heading south shortly and had planned to take two bottles of Canadian liquor as gifts for friends. Typically this would be within the rules.
We are now reading that there is an outright ban on Canadian spirits and they’re likely to be confiscated. Smuggling is out of the question, we enjoy our NEXUS cards.
Has anyone declared alcohol and been permitted to go ahead?

Came from Canada to US through the Nexus lane last night and the border guard went to the back of the car and wrote down our license plate, then took our picture using his low resolution web cam then sent us on our way.

I've never had them do that before. They already have the license plate and pictures through the cameras and sensors when you approach the booth so I'm not sure what policy is driving this new behavior.

Hello!

So I am currently a permanent resident of Canada (Polish Citizen), and I am planning to travel to Detroit, Michigan, by car in February 2027 for a weekend trip. This will be my first time entering the United States. I also do have a valid R B1/B2 US Visa.

Am I required to apply for an I-94 or not?

Would I be able to borrow a family member's vehicle for travel into the US?

Is there anything else I am required to obtain to cross the border?

Currently living in Canada and going to school. Having some health issues, and living with my parents in the states would be immensely helpful. I am a dual citizen, and living in Canada as such (not on a student visa). Would there be issues with me commuting M-F from the states?

Need some advice or maybe reassurance about frequent visits to the U.S.

I'm a Canadian citizen and I planned to take some time to visit some friends between September to December, since I quit work on September 1st and plan to resume back after the Christmas holidays.

I visited September 10-18, and have two remaining visits (Oct 15-23) and (Dec 4-14) and don't have any plans to visit the U.S. for another three or four months.

I have no intention of working remotely/looking for work or marriage while I'm there.

Does this count as visiting way too often, and will I risk of being sent to secondary as I don't have current employment?

I am a US Citizen residing in the United States, I purchased a leather jacket valued at $250 CAD in Canada, I decided I wanted a different size but the shop was closed all the days before my travel back to the states. My family member is going to exchange it for me and bring it down next month when they come to visit. How does this work with them bringing it to me? What is their allowance? I am a US citizen, this is technically not a gift so it wouldn’t fit under the $100 CAD anytime gift exemption. I can’t find any information on this online. Any help would be appreciated.

I am a US citizen crossing the land border a few times per year. Since February, I have been sent inside to secondary inspection every time.

My referral slips say N.H. (name hit) followed by numbers. The first time this happened the officers inside told me (after a lot of answering questions and waiting) someone else shares my name and birthday and is barred from Canada. My passport number and photo are obviously different. It’s gotten faster inside now that I know what to tell them, but I am still flagged every time which is a pain.

Does anyone else have experience with this? Is there a way to fix this permanently, or will I always be stuck going inside at border patrol?

Appreciate any advice! Thank you in advance.

Hai all
Curious to hear from any trans individuals that have crossed into the us via ground recently? I’m a Canadian citizen, transwoman with an F as my gender marker and Im supposed to go to Buffalo for a hockey game in early November and wondered if Trans individuals are under any heightened scrutiny? The last time I crossed was April of
2025 to Detroit with no issues…

So, my husband is a Canadian and I am an American. I have repeatedly visited him through land crossing over the past year and have always come back when I said I would. Well, yesterday I packed my car for a 3 week trip for his birthday and arrived at the border, only to be sent to secondary inspection.

As soon as I arrived there, the officer was very standoffish and I felt like she was individually targeting me and being very inappropriate. I compiled a list of what happened below. I am very shaken up by her repeated power tripping and leading interrogations.

The officer completely refused to look at standard digital bank statements or screenshots. Instead, she demanded that I hand over my unlocked personal mobile device with active, open access to my live banking application so she could manually scroll through my accounts.

When I explained that my savings were from a lottery win that I used to help escape from my abuser (who used to financially trap and abuse me, thus explaining my transitional life phase and why my foundation is shaky rn), she kept asking why I didnt file charges against him. In trumps america? File a charge against a man as a woman?!

The officer repeatedly used leading, open-ended psychological phrasing (e.g., stating, "So you told me XYZ, do you see how...?" and trailing off into silence) to intentionally induce panic, disorientation, and emotional distress while I was trying to provide an accurate narrative. She also said "maybe if your husband was with you..." implying that she would've let me in if he was there????? What the f is wrong with her?

When I explicitly asked for clarity, stating that I did not understand how a temporary transition phase made me a flight risk, she refused to explain the regulations. Instead, she shrugged and repeatedly snapped, "Look it up, look it up"

I clearly articulated my legal long-term plan to file an Outland Spousal Sponsorship Application. The examining officer explicitly stated on the record that she "didnt know what an outland sponsorship application was" ??????

The officer questioned the legitimacy of my marriage as one of the first questions, asking for my marriage certificate. I informed her that my certificate was in my car outside and offered to retrieve it. She actively instructed me not to get it. Later in the interrogation, she used the lack of physical proof regarding the relationship as one of the many convulted reasons to justify turning me away.

When asked what was left of my assets in the United States, I explicitly stated that my furniture, bed, heavy pet trees, and my entire professional music recording studio equipment remained at my U.S. residence. Shrugging, she dismissed these ties entirely and stated, "its not enough, its just a bed and furniture" when i explicitly told her my entire STUDIO EQUIPTMENT is left in the usa and i cannot work without it.

I offered to immediately pre-pay my entire U.S. rent for November and December right in front of her to prove my binding obligation to return. The officer dismissed this compromise entirely, stating that since I had savings, I could "just send the rent and still never return," completely ignoring my expressed distress over losing a massive, non-refundable temporary booking.

The officer falsely implied that my vehicle was full of my entire life's belongings to claim immigrant intent. She completely refused to physically inspect the car or verify my explicit explanation that the vehicle only appeared full due to bulky medical supplies for my pet and a specialized allergy kitchen setup that CBSA has a regular record of me traveling with.

She then issued an allowed to leave and highlighted that I must show proof of residence and financial support next time I come. But the thing is, I literally showed her a weekly lease that I rent and offered to pay the rest of the rent for the rest of the year. And I obviously showed her by entire banking app, which is a violation of privacy. And that banking app shows that I have plenty of savings from the lottery as my support as i figure my life out. I was crying and explaining that the airbnb was only until the end of october and that it was non refundable. And all she said, was, " I can't help you with that. I can't help you with that." All while shaking her head and scoffing as if I was a nuisance. None of her logic made sense, because she told me that until I paid more rent receipts for my current place that I didn't have proper proof of residency. And that until I made more money for my business, that I'd be denied from canada, because I don't have a proof of consistent income. So basically i'm functionally banned from canada until my life gets better?!?!? Which doesn't make any sense. Because no matter what I say next time, they're going to aggressively question me, since me and him just got married. And now I just incurred 1,800 dollars in losses for the airbnb. The lottery isn't a lot. It's only enough to sustain me for a few months. I hate her so much I hate her with all my heart and I dont understand what im supoosed to do to get into canada again because we aren't filing for Residency yet and now I cant make the airbnb and had to cancel it. Im so mad.

Hi everyone,

I’m a US/Canadian dual citizen, and I live full-time in the US. I own a car that’s registered and insured in Ontario. Can I drive it across the border and use it for a cross-country road trip in the US? I tried AI, but it seems like there is no official documentation on US residents using their Canadian car in the US; the documentation covers Canadian residents visiting the US (which is allowed).

Clarification: I have two homes/cars, one in Canada and one in the USA. I keep one car in the US and the other in Ontario (the one in question).

Thanks in advance!