International border crxings & passports

[deeaimond]

Having a Singapore passport actually means that we get very little trouble wherever we go. My friends from other countries are also really envious when they learn that I don't need visas for a host of places, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, US or Canada just to name a few.

Recently it was in the news that some west african drug syndicates were targetting Singaporean women to carry drugs for them because the Singapore passport is seen a quite 'safe' as in we don't get checked as much as other Asian countries or African countries for that matter. Seems the men would promise love and money... silly women.

When I cross land borders in South east asia, i tend to get smiles and such from border guards, coz everyone's heard of us. hehe.

I've never had passport trouble before, but my boyfriend who is african american was pulled to some immigration office for an interrogation when he was LEAVING China. silly. fortunately he speaks Mandarin so it wasn't so bad coz he could talk himself out of the room. He gets very agitated about the bias against black pple entering asian countries. (It's true though)

[badgercat]

Granted, my border crossings are extremely limited, so I've never had any trouble. However, my boyfriend and our friend were hassled on the way back into the US from Canada once. Our friend happened to have a full dark beard at the time, and had Egyptian stamps in his passport from having done a study abroad thing a couple of years before. They held them for like 20 minutes while they searched all his bags, but didn't even touch my boyfriend's stuff, and took my boyfriend's word for it which bags were his and which were our friend's. I understand that border crossing guards have a job to do and it can't be a fun one, but sometimes the way things are handled certainly seem a bit fishy.

[Possegal]

My mother was Canadian, my father a US citizen who flew for the Canadian air force. They had one kid in Canada. Moved to the US, had two more. Moved back to Canada, had another.

One day in the 50s they were moving back to the US. They were told at the border that dad and the two brothers could cross, Mum and the sister and the baby brother could not. They tried again the next day, same thing. Third day, Dad left behind his wife and 4 kids and moved back home where his job was waiting. Long story somewhat short, Mum and my 4 siblings spent several years living with her parents in Canada while Dad lived with his parents and worked to pay an immigration lawyer to get the rest of them into the country. It was not very easy on any of them.

I always laugh when people assume crossing the US/Canada border is a piece of cake. Not always, has been the experience in my family, and we have made many many many a US/Canada crossing.

Once I was around, Mum had her green card to present to them. And if the guards at the border (both countries) asked the questions incorrectly, my Dad lied. They should ask you for your citizenship (this was pre-the need for a passport, which we all have now so no big deal). But growing up, guards on both sides would often ask where were you born. Well that doesn't work for my 2 sibs, who were born in Canada but US citizens due to Dad. That is why he would lie. He'd say - the kids and I are all born in the US, my wife was born in Canada, and hand over her card. We kids learned early to not say a word when Dad was talking to the border guards. We also learned early how to feign being asleep on top of the cases of beer we were smuggling.

My uncle worked for the Canadian customs and he would always get so mad when my Dad would tell him that yet again, we were asked where we were born.

I laughed out loud the first time the Canadian guard asked me if I had with me any guns, knives, or pepper spray. She didn't look too happy but I told her that it was the first time in many crossings that I was asked that. Another time the Canadian guards were totally baffled how I could be a US citizen, with a US passport, and my reason for travel was "family wedding". I thought it odd that he was so baffled by that. Another time I was crossing for the above Uncle's funeral and it was so funny that the conversation was
destination? - Hamilton
reason for travel? - funeral
Hey, I just had a guy come through here heading for a funeral in Hamilton!!
I told him - well keep your eyes open, there are at least two more on the road somewhere behind me also heading to that funeral.

My brother crossed during the Viet Nam war, to go to a suprise party for my Aunt and Uncle, in his US Navy uniform. He was held up for hours. He asked the guy - if I was trying to go AWOL, would I do it in my uniform? He told him that surprisingly yes, most of them do that assuming that the guards won't think they are fleeing. So it took hours to get his post commander on the phone in Virginia who could then verify that he had approved leave, that they knew he was going to Canada and in fact yes he did have family there and they had the addresses in case he didn't come back.