Canada, Greenland, Mexico, etc - USA Tariffs / Trade War commencing March 2025 #5

[MelmothTheLost]

The US does ask where you will be staying. Not every place, but the main place. I have always had to say where I was staying for the bulk of the visit.

That's fine if you have a main place to stay but would appear to create a problem if you're on a road trip. "Somewhere along Route 66" probably wouldn't wash.

 

[Warwick1991]

Wish he'd close the embassies here in Canada jmvho

You have one embassy in Ottawa and consulates elsewhere.

 

[SouthAussie]

That's fine if you have a main place to stay but would appear to create a problem if you're on a road trip. "Somewhere along Route 66" probably wouldn't wash.

Sure. They are pretty intense in their questioning. I realise I have more history there, and that has made it easier for me in the past.

Not many foreigners get through US Customs and Immigration quickly. That is why the lines are so freakin' long.

My DD and her hubby, who have travelled all over the place on their US holidays, always printed up their own itinerary with places, hotels, dates, and phone numbers ... they would give a copy of that to the border agents to get through the line a little quicker.

 

[Trino]

Heh, just yesterday my kids said that they would never go to the US, unless it was maybe to Hawaii. I guess that is off the table now too.

Giving accommodations is a problem with Canadian RV's because they travel to different destinations. Or maybe this WAS a problem because many are staying home. We are US RV travelers, and probably have destinations nightly but not always. Think truck stops. Think interstate pull-offs.

 

[Trino]

I would imagine that the immigration person asked casual questions designed to elicit information about the women and their stay such as "how long are you staying in Hawaii?", "what are your plans while here?", or "where are you staying?", and the women blithely said something along the lines of "Oh, no fixed plans. We haven't booked accommodation yet".

Okay. It's been years, but I went to Hawaii with no thought of where I would stay. Two years later my brother did the same. We both found places to stay; both stayed for about a year. US citizens, however.

Maybe I'm just not a mainstream traveler, but I once solo bicycled halfway across the US with "sort of" places to camp.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

That's fine if you have a main place to stay but would appear to create a problem if you're on a road trip. "Somewhere along Route 66" probably wouldn't wash.

That's essentially what they had a problem with in my case, even though I had paperwork for everything else. Route 66 was part of the trip and we didn't know how long we would spend in each place. We had plans to camp in national parks too, which we just booked from day to day. I was also flying out of a different state from the one I flew into, which they didn't like. I'm not sure I would be granted entry today on a freewheeling trip like that given it seems even stricter now.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

How did Customs become aware of their lack of accommodations? Did they hack their phones? If they asked them, why did they pull them aside for questioning? Has anyone ever had to provide information about their accommodations when traveling to a foreign country? I haven't, have you?

This sounds very unusual.

Where people are going to stay, ie booked a hotel or stay with a friend or family and whether they have enough money to support themselves on their holiday are questions that I've seen asked on Australian Border Security programmes on Youtube.

If they say they're staying with a friend or family, they phone the friend or family member or talk with them if they're at the airport.

I remember one young man from the US who said he was going to wing it and maybe meet random strangers who might let him stay with them.
He seemed nice. He had a guitar with him and I think they got him to admit he might do some busking to support himself.
That was a gotcha moment because the tourist visa didn't allow you to do any kind of work.
I felt really sorry for him when they sent him back on the next flight.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

In an interesting reversal, and a propos of discussions much earlier in this thread, an American couple have been refused entry to the UK and blacklisted from future entry because they were booked to house-sit - which is classed as work in the UK (and some other places) and therefore they needed a work visa.

Americans banned from travelling after using petsitting 'hack'

A so-called travel 'hack' has turned into a nightmare for some Americans at international borders.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It seems they are not the only Americans who have fallen foul of this sort of visa issue.

 

[otto]

How did Customs become aware of their lack of accommodations? Did they hack their phones? If they asked them, why did they pull them aside for questioning? Has anyone ever had to provide information about their accommodations when traveling to a foreign country? I haven't, have you?

This sounds very unusual.

I have. I arrived in the UK from the Netherlands in 1979 and was almost turned away at the border because I didn't have a place to stay. I had a plane ticket flying out of London 3 days later, money to cover my stay, but no reservations. A group of men started harassing the border guard, telling him to leave me alone, so they let me into the country. Lucky break.

I recall many times being asked where I'm staying prior to landing in a foreign country, even during the last 10 years passing through fast-track eye-reading customs when arriving in the USA for conferences. In Mexico it's common too.

I don't think it's unusual.

Anyone who watched the Serpent may recall that when a Dutch couple disappeared, investigators searched their customs cards to find out where they were staying. They had planned to stay at a hostel, and wrote that on the card, but a last minute change meant their last known location was harder to locate.

 

[Herat]

For tourism, the intent of the DHS system has always been to assure that visitors allowed entry for tourism purposes are not working illegally, or trying in some other means to defraud the US government by applying for public assistance.

So they have always had the ability to require proof of tourist plans, to include hotels, itineraries, and proof of funds to sustain themselves in the US without working.

They also target people who would be most likely to violate the rules, such as younger visitors, those who might be targets of human trafficking, those looking for an educational or work role, those with relatives in the US, or those with prior long stays in the US not explained by a verified tourism agenda.

After 911, modifications began to also screen for potential terrorist intent, by heavier screening by passport nationality, ethnic origin, or history.

With the widespread use of cell phones, now they can check to see there are, indeed, valid hotel bookings, valid tourism plans and such.

 

[Cedars]

And the last day of his life he had to deal with Vance.

MOO

I see it differently.

On the last day of his life he continued to try to make a difference in the world, by speaking a message of peace and love to a powerful person.

 

[Cedars]

How did Customs become aware of their lack of accommodations? Did they hack their phones? If they asked them, why did they pull them aside for questioning? Has anyone ever had to provide information about their accommodations when traveling to a foreign country? I haven't, have you?

This sounds very unusual.

I have, when travelling to San Diego for a conference! However, the interrogation was by the airline staff at check-in in Calgary, I don't recall it coming up when I landed in the US...

 

[Cedars]

That's fine if you have a main place to stay but would appear to create a problem if you're on a road trip. "Somewhere along Route 66" probably wouldn't wash.

I heard many years ago (pre-smart phones) about Canadians who cross regularly in RVs, bringing a literal binder of documents/photos showing they have a permanent home in Canada, pay taxes, have medical insurance paid up, proving they have a job to go back to, or are retired, the planned itinerary of RV parks, etc.

There was a reality TV show about the border I watched once - a dumb Canadian guy with his car full of clothes and TV, etc, wanting to drive down to stay with his girlfriend for a few months...nope, turned back.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

I heard many years ago (pre-smart phones) about Canadians who cross regularly in RVs for the winter, bringing a literal binder of documents/photos showing they have a permanent home in Canada, pay taxes, have medical insurance paid up, proving they have a job to go back to, or are retired, the planned itinerary of RV parks, etc.

There was a reality TV show about the border I watched once - a dumb Canadian guy with his car full of clothes and TV, etc, wanting to drive down to stay with his girlfriend for a few months...nope, turned back.

Oh yes. I also had to show proof of employment back home as part of my document blitz.

 

[indicolite22]

My only memorable experience with the US immigration was not a pleasant one. Many years ago I was traveling from Canada to the US via land border. I was in Canada on business but wanted to extend the stay on the continent with a short visit to the US before my return home. My flights were booked and so were hotels. First the US border agent insisted that I needed a visa to enter the country, which wasn't true. Then he misspelled the country name on the official document. Finally, I was interrogated about wanting to stay in the US. It all seemed ludicrous to me, although that was probably a policy. A couple of other travelers who were there also came from faraway places but did not take as long to cross. I remember thinking at the time: who would want to live in a country where they aren't welcome?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Oh yes. I also had to show proof of employment back home as part of my document blitz.

I imagine that would pose a problem if one were retired.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

I imagine that would pose a problem if one were retired.

They were more worried about people of working age disappearing off in the US and working illegally. Retired people going on a longer trip/travelling about could probably be asked to provide proof of regular pension payments into their bank account.

 

[Betty P]

I heard many years ago (pre-smart phones) about Canadians who cross regularly in RVs, bringing a literal binder of documents/photos showing they have a permanent home in Canada, pay taxes, have medical insurance paid up, proving they have a job to go back to, or are retired, the planned itinerary of RV parks, etc.

There was a reality TV show about the border I watched once - a dumb Canadian guy with his car full of clothes and TV, etc, wanting to drive down to stay with his girlfriend for a few months...nope, turned back.

It seems strange that we spend so much time and effort screening people who aren’t a risk vs paying little or no attention to those who aren’t a higher risk and seeking to come into the US en masse, undocumented and often illegally.

Sounds like we need smarter, more updated and evidence-based methods for screening people coming into the US.

 

[LovesPeace2]

Trump’s steel, aluminum tariff impacts start to build 1 month in - National | Globalnews.ca

It's still not clear how much higher the tariffs will push consumer prices and translate into reduced demand, but industry insiders say the risks are building.

globalnews.ca

The aluminum tariffs alone add about $3,000 to the cost of an F150 truck, Aluminum Association of Canada CEO Jean Simard said. Add in the steel tariffs, and auto tariffs, and it means about $12,000 more in input costs.

 

[LovesPeace2]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/trump-tariffs-walmart-home-depot-lowes-target.html