Travelling South for an extended period of time calls for a little more preparation than you would normally take for a weekend of cross border shopping.
When you pull up at the border crossing your car will likely be loaded to the hilt. Packed with everything from clothes and linens to an ironing board and sewing machine. So when the border guard starts asking you a few extra questions, be prepared for them.
The boarder guard will notice the amount of goods you have in the back seat, you can be sure of that. It will raise questions with him or her as to your purpose of entering the United States. Tell the truth. Let them know that you are going to be down in Arizona for the winter in a great little city called Maricopa, looking for or moving into a new winter home. Let them know how long you will be there.
The next thing he or she is going to want to see is your passport and a few documents to show that you will be returning to Canada like you say. “What?” Yes that’s right. They will want some proof that you have ties to Canada to which you intend to return. There are over 12 million undocumented aliens living in the United States, and they aren’t all from “South” of the border. Documents such as a copy of your property deed, T1 tax return for last year, a couple months worth of utility bills with your name and address on them. These are the types of documents they are looking for.
I usually start early in the summer collecting important papers such as: passports,vaccination papers for the dog and my personal address book and put them in a large manila envelope. This saves scrambling at the last minute.
Make sure you develop a system that gets you through the border quickly and easily. Nobody but nobody wants to get turned back at the border. Be polite, take off those sunglasses, turn your vehicle off, look the officer straight in the eye and relax. They are just there to keep America safe and while you are in the U.S. this means you too.
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