First time heard the words "dual citizens" from a border official!!!

Triple Citizen

Triple Citizen

Registered Users (C)
I entered Canada a few hours ago to visit my mother. I had a very interesting POE experience. I pulled up to the both at the Sarnia/Port Huron crossing that the following dialogue took place:-

Officer: Citizenship?
Me: I am Canadian, the wife is American
Officer: Where do you both live?
Me: Naperville, Illinois
Officer: What is your status in the US?
Me: US citizen
Officer: So you are a dual citizen?
Me: Yes
(I actually wanted to say that I hold triple citizenship, but I have programmed myself to never volunteer any information to any immigration/custom official) :)
Officer: How long will you be staying?
Me: 4 days
Officer: Any alcohol, tobacco or firearms?
Me: None of those
Officer: Welcome home, if you still consider it home ***while smiling***
Me: Canada will always be home to me ***with a bigger smile***
 
In general I think the Canadian border agents are a lot friendlier than the US border agents.

However, as I was flying into Toronto from the US, on a couple of ocassions I was sent for secondary screening by the Canadian immigration agents at Pearson, during the period when I had a US as well as Canadian permanent residence. This was after I declared that my status in the US was green card, my status in Canada was permanent resident, and I would be moving to the USA for good in a few months.

My most interesting border experience was in 2001 when I was driving from Toronto to New Jersey through the Peace Bridge. At that time I was on a H1B in the US and Permanent Resident in Canada.

The conversation went this way:

US Border agent: "Citizenship?"
Me: "Indian, and I work in the USA on a H1-B visa", handing over my passport
US Border agent: "What is your status in Canada?"
Me: "Permanent Resident"
US Border agent: "So you live in Canada to get free healthcare? You are abusing the system, aren't you? That is illegal you know"
Me: "I live in Canada and work in the USA, both legally" Inwardly I wanted to say "If you think I am doing something illegal, shouldn't you be arresting me, you moron?"
After a few more idiotic comments about "wait till you got caught", he let me pass.
 
prithis said:
In general I think the Canadian border agents are a lot friendlier than the US border agents.

However, as I was flying into Toronto from the US, on a couple of ocassions I was sent for secondary screening by the Canadian immigration agents at Pearson, during the period when I had a US as well as Canadian permanent residence. This was after I declared that my status in the US was green card, my status in Canada was permanent resident, and I would be moving to the USA for good in a few months.

My most interesting border experience was in 2001 when I was driving from Toronto to New Jersey through the Peace Bridge. At that time I was on a H1B in the US and Permanent Resident in Canada.

The conversation went this way:

US Border agent: "Citizenship?"
Me: "Indian, and I work in the USA on a H1-B visa", handing over my passport
US Border agent: "What is your status in Canada?"
Me: "Permanent Resident"
US Border agent: "So you live in Canada to get free healthcare? You are abusing the system, aren't you? That is illegal you know"
Me: "I live in Canada and work in the USA, both legally" Inwardly I wanted to say "If you think I am doing something illegal, shouldn't you be arresting me, you moron?"
After a few more idiotic comments about "wait till you got caught", he let me pass.
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You hold both US and Canadian PR at the same time? How is that possible? Do you have a clone? :)
 
No doubt about it. Canadian border officials are far more friendlier than US border officials.
The only time I have ever been sent to Canadian secondary screening is when I invoked my Canadian immigrant visa in 1997. That was at Pearson airport.

prithis said:
In general I think the Canadian border agents are a lot friendlier than the US border agents.
I was sent for secondary screening by the Canadian immigration agents at Pearson
Click to expand...
 
Triple Citizen said:
No doubt about it. Canadian border officials are far more friendlier than US border officials.
The only time I have ever been sent to Canadian secondary screening is when I invoked my Canadian immigrant visa in 1997. That was at Pearson airport.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that's a bit related to the fact that Canada doesn't have as many people attempting to enter it illegally. That changes the mood of the entire administration which translates into poor behavior in the ground. But EU border officials have got the US and Canada beat by far.
 
prithis said:
US Border agent: "Citizenship?"
Me: "Indian, and I work in the USA on a H1-B visa", handing over my passport
US Border agent: "What is your status in Canada?"
Me: "Permanent Resident"
US Border agent: "So you live in Canada to get free healthcare? You are abusing the system, aren't you? That is illegal you know"
Me: "I live in Canada and work in the USA, both legally" Inwardly I wanted to say "If you think I am doing something illegal, shouldn't you be arresting me, you moron?"
After a few more idiotic comments about "wait till you got caught", he let me pass.
Click to expand...

It might have been the same dude I met when crossing the border a few months ago.

He was asking me about my GPA and all...:)
 
I would have told him that it is none of this business why I live in Canada. Are all my papers in order? Yes? Then we have nothing else to talk about. Peopple should not be afraid of assholes.
 
ksam said:
You hold both US and Canadian PR at the same time? How is that possible? Do you have a clone? :)
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Actually the explanation is simple. I used to be a Canadian PR and work in the USA on a H1-B visa, travelling back and forth between the USA and Canada every week. My company processed my US green card. When I got my US green card, I continued to travel between USA and Canada for about 3 months, and finally moved to the USA for good in 2004. So at that time I had both US and Canadian PR. In fact my Canadian PR expired in 2007, and I have not renewed it, having not lived there since 2004.
 
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prithis said:
Actually the explanation is simple. I used to be a Canadian PR and work in the USA on a H1-B visa, travelling back and forth between the USA and Canada every week. My company processed my US green card. When I got my US green card, I continued to travel between USA and Canada for about 3 months, and finally moved to the USA for good in 2004. So at that time I had both US and Canadian PR. In fact my Canadian PR expired in 2007, and I have not renewed it, having not lived there since 2004.
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great journey !!

why didn't you get the Canadian citizenship? Someone told me its easier to meet the residency requirements for their naturalization ... are your kids dual (canada/usa) citizens then?

By the way your postings are well written and easy to understand Thanks!
 
ksam said:
great journey !!

why didn't you get the Canadian citizenship? Someone told me its easier to meet the residency requirements for their naturalization ... are your kids dual (canada/usa) citizens then?
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I would have got Canadian citizenship had I stayed on in Canada for about one more year. However, I just got the US Green Card approved in 2004, and could not maintain both PRs for a year without jeopardizing both. Also, as my only job was in the US, and my family was in Canada, I had to travel every week, and the Canadian immigration officials were starting to give me a closer look by sending me for secondary inspection a couple of times I arrived at Pearson airport, when they noticed that I had both US and Canadian PR. So I had to choose one, and I chose the US.

My daughter was born in Canada and she is a a dual citizen (Canada and USA), and will be OCI soon.

And by the way, I am glad that at least someone likes my posts! :)
 
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Triple Citizen said:
Officer: Welcome home, if you still consider it home ***while smiling***
Me: Canada will always be home to me ***with a bigger smile***
Click to expand...

Great story, would you tell the USA agents the same thing? :)

I have to agree that the Canadians are friendlier. I did a long weekend trip on the Canadian Niagara wine trail a while ago with my spouse (we were only dating at the time). Going through the American side, the border agents were all scowling Rambo-types with submachine guns. On the Canadian side, there were all these Welcome to Canada signs and the agents on site were a bunch of smiling blonde chicks in ponytails directing traffic, visibly unarmed (maybe they had handguns?). Not that they didn't have security, but I have to say I felt happier going in that direction.

On the way back, we were interrogated briefly about our statuses and our respective destinations. Then I declared the wine and beer on board, just a couple cases of beer and less than a dozen bottles of wine, (there were separate ramps for "something to declare and nothing to declare but they both ended up in the same lanes), at which point the guy was practically livid and told me I screwed up bla bla bla never do that again, and then inexplicably waved us through. I guess paying duties at the border is not a routine transaction. This was what actually happened at one point:

Officer: Why do you have so much alcohol?
Me: I drink a lot of beer!
Officer: <stonefaced silence>
Me: Erm, and half of it is hers?

I guess they want to make it impossible for Americans to do Niagara wine trail or bring something home from Ontario's lovely breweries.
 
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Hmm, yes, prithis, good posts...

I've been to and from Canada once via the bridge by Niagara Falls, and the official wasn't that nice. I was on an RTD and GC, and I had 2 friends from France with me, and we were driving my mom's friend's car. They went through the car quite thoroughly. Coming back was slightly easier, and I was asked for a passport going in both directions. I guess it could be because we were a bunch of young guys without jobs...
 
I dont know why people bother with the dual citizen or tripled ...so on. I became US citizen and once I got back from overseas. The guy at custom officer just said ' welcome home ' without bothering asking me any question. I enjoy this much better treat compared with PR...they asked me tons of questions

Regards
the aussie
 
theaussie said:
I dont know why people bother with the dual citizen or tripled ...so on.
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Because it's no work at all - many countries will simply allow you to keep your natural citizenship even if you become a citizen of another country. Why not keep two or three passports if it doesn't hurt?
 
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