What Rights Do You Have While Crossing From Canada Into The U.S.?

What rights do you have while crossing from Canada and the United States? So, let’s say you’re, I don’t know, you’re at the Sarnia border, or you’re at the Windsor border, you’re a Canadian Citizen, and you’re traveling the states. Well, first of all, many of us have done this, and it’s kind of to be a nerve-wracking situation, but as you know, when you arrive at primary inspection, that’s the first booth you arrive at. They’re going to ask you certain questions. You know, what’s your purpose your visit? Are you bringing in more than $10,000 money? They’re going to ask you if you have a criminal record potentially. So, they’re allowed to ask you questions related to your entry the states, they’re not allowed to ask all sorts of questions about your life history, but those are basic questions that you should be prepared for, and you should answer those questions truthfully, and you should rethink before you arrive. Like they’re looking for lack of eye contact, they’re looking for hesitation, they’re looking for untruthful answers. If they know you’re answering untruthfully, let’s say you have a minor criminal record, that you’re still admissible to states. Let’s say it’s just a cause disturbance, but you lie, they’re going to deny you entry. So, you have to be very comfortable. Make sure you plan for these questions. Try not be nervous. Make eye contact, be serious, but at least semi friendly. It’s a fine line, and you should have no problem. I mean, we all don’t want to get referred to secondary inspection, but if you’re giving them red flags, or you lie or anything, or there’s suspicious activity in the car, or you’re really nervous and they not looking at them, they’re often going to refer you to secondary inspection, and you could be subject to further searches there of your vehicle, your electronic devices, etc. It’s a very low standard of search of the border. They can do just a mere reasonable suspicion. In some cases, they’ll do random searches. And you want to be polite. You want to be cooperative. Stay calm, don’t freak out. Say little as possible. Just answer their questions, but be friendly and polite. Okay, now sometimes it’s daunting and secondary, you may be there for a while, but bear in mind, if they have some grounds to search your electronic devices, they’ll ask for your password. If you don’t give it, they’re going to keep your device. So, I mean, I suppose if you know that there’s criminal activity on your device, you might not want to give your password, but if there’s not hey, just get the password, because you’re losing that device, or they’re going to investigate further. You may never get it back, or you may get it back later, but it’s going to be pretty inconvenient to lose your laptop on a business trip or your cell phone. Now, Canadian citizens who have certain criminal convictions, you’re not admissible at the border the US, the Immigration Act in the US, they divide crimes into crimes of moral turpitude. Think serious crimes like crimes of dishonesty, drug trafficking, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, these are serious crimes of morality, moral turpitude, where the person has committed something bad in the fact all those crimes, you’re not admissible. So, I wouldn’t even try and cross, if you’ve been convicted of those crimes, you should see a lawyer to try and get a waiver Canadian or immigration before you cross. Now there’s also crimes of non-moral turpitude. Those make you admissible. One example is impaired driving. They don’t consider that a crime of moral turpitude. We do, by the way, we refuse entry for US citizens, which is kind of fair, but a minor assault charge, you should be able to get across, you know, a minor cause disturbance. So these type of lower end charges, but I wouldn’t even bother crossing if you have a moral turpitude charge, like sexual assault, murder, you name it, dishonesty, theft, fraud, you should know, if you look online or you talk to lawyer, you’ll be able to figure out which crimes are which, but tell the truth, plan your answers, hopefully, you don’t get referred to secondary inspections and but bear in mind, a Canadian citizen is not absolutely  admissible of the states. They can refuse you entry if you’re lying to them or not being cooperative, etc, or they find contraband, you’re going to set charge for their offence or a Customs Act offence. So that’s a Canadian citizen. Now, US citizen, even if you’re a US citizen, even if you’ve got a serious criminal record, they absolutely have to admit you in but having said that, make sure you answer the questions properly. They’re going to ask you how long you’ve been away, whether you’re bringing money in or over $10,000.00 what was the purpose of your visit? These types of questions, plan for them and answer. Make eye contact be serious but somewhat friendly, fine line, because you don’t want to cause consternation or suspicion, and refer you to secondary inspection, because that’s a daunting process and as you know, once you’re in secondary inspection, it’s a low-level test for search. They may search your vehicle on reasonable suspicion. You’ve raised a bunch of red flags; you’re and you can be charged for criminal offences to like if you’re impaired driving. Obviously, they have both the Canadian and US border guards can charge you with those type of business so doesn’t drink and drive across the border, but plan your questions at quarterly. Try not to be nervous. Try make on contact. You’ll avoid all these problems. But ultimately, as a US citizen, they have to let you in, so don’t worry about that. So, there’s a little primer at the border for both Canadian and US citizens, I think the bottom line, takeaway message that I will give is, think about the questions they’re asked. Think about your answer. And let me give you one example. Do you have a criminal record? Admit it. Yes. You’re crossing as a Canadian citizen. You know, it’s a type of criminal charge that allows entry. For example, impaired driving, just admit it. Have you ever been charged with a criminal offence? That’s a trick question, because your charge may have been dropped or withdrawn, but you were charged, so make sure you tell the truth. That’s a bit of a trick question. And people think a charge is a conviction. It’s not. Then that’s a tricky area. So, the bottom line is, I really think you should just relax, tell the truth and try not to be too nervous so you avoid getting to secondary inspection. 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