ADHD notes:
- You DO NOT need to apply for any other visas before you enter the country, as long as your an Australian in Good Standing, aka, you've never been chucked out of the US before, and you haven't got a serious criminal record.
- YOU WILL need to fill out the US Government form here (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/) prior to leaving home. This will cover you for 12 months.
- All you need is your passport, the work permit stapled inside and good knowledge of where you are going and where you’ve come from. In particular, you’ll need the address you are staying at in the US.
- You’ll have to stop and fill out a visa waiver form which is on a green sheet, the bottom of which they’ll staple into your passport.
- By air you’ll have to fill out the usual customs form as well where you can declare what you’ve brought in and out, if anything.
- There are dollar limits on the amount of purchases you are allowed to bring back from the US. These change depending on how long you’ve been there. Current amounts are at the bottom of this post.
- If you are going to the US regularly, it's all good! Same process applies.
So you gotta head down to the US for something – shopping, seeing the sites, continuing your travels – but you’re on a work permit. Don’t sweat, it’s easy!
All you have to do is make sure you have your passport (duh), the work permit stapled inside, plus good knowledge of where you are going and where you’ve come from. They’ll question you on that, particularly if you are crossing on a ground border. We’ll work through both though.
Remember that you DO NOT need to get a full fledged visa! I have come across some Aussies who had been told that they would need it, even by some fairly well respected companies that offer the full service package (get you the Canadian VWP, help you look for work, first week of accommodation). When you are entering the US, you are a tourist, same as 90% of other Aussies, so standard laws apply. Nothing special, so it's all good!
Prior to leaving home YOU WILL need to fill in the US government online form, which is very similar to the green visa waiver permit that you will do at the border, however if you are flying they will not let you past the checkin counter unless you have done it. You'll find the form here: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/. This was originally intended to replace the visa waiver permit, however has just been slotted alongside. Woo hoo, more paperwork.
Ground border
You’re heading south, most likely in a line up, and you’ve got your passport window. You’ll get waved up to the booth, and everyone in the car will hand over their passports. They’ll ask you a couple of questions like “what are you entering the US for, work or pleasure” and perhaps ask you where you are heading. This is just the regular questioning that everyone gets on the way down there. If you’re not from Canada, and you haven’t entered the US yet, then the driver will get given an orange sticky note and asked to pull over into the carpark, then you will all have to head inside the building. I’m basing this on the Peace Arch and truck crossing south of Vancouver btw, but it should be the same anywhere.
Once you are inside the building, you’ll get asked a few more questions (sometimes they’ll get a bit full o if you are going down there for work, but it should be all good if you are just travelling), then you’ll have to fill out a green form. This green form is your visa waiver, and you’ll have to fill out your Canadian address, the address you will be staying at in the US (for the most part anyway – they just want to know a bit about where you are going. If you are heading to a few places, pick one, and hotel addresses are fine), plus a bit of other information like your country of origin and details about you.
When you are filling out the form, they’ll also ask to get the finger prints from the index finger on both hands – you’ll put it on a little red glowing piece of glass, very techy stuff. Following filling out the form, they’ll ask you to pay US$6 (they don’t charge you this when you are flying btw), which is probably easiest by credit card unless you’ve been thinking ahead and got some US cash ahead of time. They don’t take debit/Eftpos/Interac btw, or at least not at the borders I’ve been across. Once you are paid up, they’ll tear off the bottom stub of the waiver and then staple it into your passport, then you are free to go.
Just a note, don’t crack jokes! It’s not the time or place, unless they’ve taken the lead. Last time I went through and did this the guy on the counter was quite nice and we had a bit of a conversation. I questioned him as to whether there was a method of getting a longer access permit to the US (I travel there a bit for work), but he said the only other method is to apply for a visa which costs cash and takes time. The little green visa waiver gives you 90 days inside the US, and that’s probably long enough for most.
Now, I have heard (and seen occasionally) that sometimes when crossing the border people can be randomly searched. This involves them going through the car and checking for any contraband or anything suspicious, so it pays to make sure you’ve got no bulk amounts of stuff you haven’t claimed going through, or any *other* stuff that is fairly regular in Canada, but a big no no in the US. Pot heads, I’m looking at you here. I usually find that if you are friendly enough and answer their questions directly then you’ll have no problems. If you want to take bulk stuff across (for example the other day I wanted to get 20 new work shirts down to the US) then you are better off sending it by mail. Much easier to deal with customs over the phone than be hassled in person.
By Air
By air is pretty much the same as on the ground, except that you’ll have to go through the usual security checks and carry your luggage with you. I usually try to arrive for a flight to the US at least a couple of hours before hand – security sucks for wait times these days.
When you check in and get your boarding pass, you’ll either be given a customs form, or grab one at the counter behind where you check in, or at the next line up point, which is customs. This form is just the basic usual customs form that everyone has to fill out declaring what they’ve got and what they’re up to. Fill this out then join the lineup. Once you get to the booth, they’ll realize you’re not a Canadian and give you the same green form that you get by ground – this is your visa waiver. Fill it out, front and back, then they’ll stamp it and staple the bottom portion into your passport. I’ve never actually been charged for this by air, so I assume you won’t either. Following that, you’re done, head through to the next point and drop your luggage off. You can then find your gate and hang out.
Reentering Canada
When you want to come back into Canada, the process starts off the same way – you roll up to the booth, give them your passports, tell them a little about what you’ve been up to, then usually head straight on your way. If you aren’t planning on re-entering the US within the 90 day period allowed to you on your little green pass, then you should hand that back in. Apparently this is filed into their system and means that you won’t have any issues when re-entering next time. I’ve actually forgotten to hand it back in, and ended up with a couple of green forms in my passport, but haven’t had any issues, but I guess you are better off erring on the safe side.
If you’ve had a bit of a spending spree in the US (the outlet malls are awesome, and cheap compared to Canada), then you’ve got to pay attention to some limits. If you are here on the work permit program, you are classified as a temporary resident, and hence have the same limits as the real canucks. At the time of writing you can bring back in:
- After 24 hours or more, you can bring back in up to $50 worth of stuff
- After 48 hours or more, you can bring back in up to $400 worth of stuff
- After 7 days or more, you can bring back in up to $750 worth of stuff
Check out the full list and detail here. None of the above includes your cigarettes and alcohol limits, so you can find that information here.
So if you’ve got stuff, make sure you declare it. If you have more than the above amounts, then you’ll have to go to a special section and pay the duties. The duties are pretty damn cheap compared to what you would have paid in Canada for the goods themselves, so it’s not worth trying to get out of declaring stuff.
For more information on getting in and out, plus what you can bring and what to expect, check out the Canadian Border Services Agency website.
Entering and leaving the US regularly
If you're going to be entering and leaving the US a lot for work or travel, don't sweat! Up until recently, I had my head office down near Kirkland, Seattle, so was heading down there quite regularly. I never really had a problem, but just stipulate that you are going down there for meetings, not work. They'll ask you what you do, so have a good answer ready for that, as they're a bit touchy if it even remotely sounds like you'll be doing any sort of physical work in the US. If you're just meeting up with some folks to go over stuff, you should be all good.
With Visa Waivers, it all depends on which border guard you get. If you're at the land border, most of them will let you keep your VWP for next time, as long as you are intending on coming back within a reasonable time. At an air border, they'll just take it off you. I've even had up to three in my passport at once, a couple of out of date ones and a current one. When a border guard saw that he had a bit of a joke and just took them out.
I had a look into getting a longer visa at one stage (asked a border guard while I was inside at the land border getting another green waiver) but the only other option is a visa that lasts for 6 months or something, and you have to go through a bunch of interviews and pay cash for it, so you may as well keep getting the 90 day ones... pain in the ass, but I guess it works.
Also, in all the times I've headed across the land border, I've only ever been picked for a "random" search once, where they made me head inside while they gave my car a good going over. It was a rental, and I only had my SLR and laptop with me, but they questioned me on both... well, "Nice camera" and "I guess you take your laptop with you everywhere?"
Note: Since writing this article, I’ve had the customs guys at LAX airport tell me (not very nicely) that the little green form only allows entry once. While I’ve been able to enter and exit several times on the one little green card, it’s probably worth keeping in mind that if you find an officious border guard then you will probably have to fill out another form.
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