Crossing the US/Canada Border

[markopolo]

Maybe we can share our border crossing experiences and tips here.

I have one

On my recent trip crossing from Canada to the US. I mistakenly took oranges with me. That's a no no. I had a "Agricultural Inspection" done.

So don't try and take citrus to the US.

The US Customs Officers were very polite and very helpful. I knew that I couldn't take Canadian beef etc.

They also confiscated my apples because when we washed them we removed the stickers. As they didn't know the origin of the apples they couldn't let them in.

Not a problem - I now know for next time!

[renrut]

I remember reading about a doctor who got stopped at the border for taking drugs across. Believe it or not, it was for over the counter drugs like Advil, Tylenol or something like that not illegal drugs. Customs confiscated them and let the doctor go. If you have drugs, make sure they are prescription and in the original bottle. I think the doctor was just having a bad day and so was the Customs officer.

Another one is about a friend of mine. He came out to visit me but was unemployed at the time. When Customs asked him where he worked, he told them the truth and said he was unemployed. Customs had him pull his car over and they inspected it. My friend left his bankbook in his glove compartment and the officer found it. My friend never spent money and had a good paying job for quite a while. When the Customs officer saw the balance, they called in the K-9 team and started ripping his car apart. They thought he was a drug dealer and wanted to know where the drugs were hidden. After over 4 hours at the border, they let my friend go. He didn't have too much to put back together on his car.

[markopolo]

I found this info on the US Customs & Border Protection website:

Question:
What food can I bring into the U.S. (fruit, cheese, meat, etc)?

Answer:
http://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg ... p_faqid=82