andy_sheila

Canada into the US

You cannot take any type of beef product, or oranges and as strange as it may seem, no painkillers containing codeine. 1 carton of duty free smokes is allowed, absolutely no alchohol as alchohol is not permitted in any commercial vehicle in the US, not even unopened bottles/cans (in a trailer as part of the manifest is obviously ok)

A typical crossing would go like this:
1, Pick up load
2, Fax paperwork to the customs broker at the appropriate border (you will have a list of brokers given to you by your company and you will be told which broker to use) you have to fax a copy of the ICM (inward cargo manifest) and the customs invoice with a PAPS sticker attached (a barcode) (PAPS = pre approved processing service) The fax should be sent at least 2 hours before your time of arrival at the border, you have to call the broker to confirm load has cleared. On the ICM you have to put your crossing point, date and ETA (i also put my truck, trailer and cell phone number on it)
3, If ACE clearance wasn't done at time of shipment pick-up then your dispatch should fax it to a pre arranged truck stop en route
4, call broker, confirm load has cleared and proceed to the border if it has. (99% of the time it will have)
5, At the border, proceed to the custom officers window, turn engine off, and the reefer if you have one. DO NOT set the parking brakes.
6, Hand the officer the ACE manifest only (before ACE, you had to hand over 2 copies of the ICM and Invoice) and your passport.
7, do as the officer directs you, usually it's have a nice day your'e good to go but sometimes you are sent to the scanner and/or further inspection.

Thats it simplified..... Don't forget you need to get you I94 if you don't already have it. (and every 3 months)

Gremmie

Andy their's some thing wrong with that Bison Link, its fried my computer twice

andy_sheila

Sorry mate, it works for me. do you have Adobe acrobat reader installed?

Gremmie

have every thing,it fried me 2 times,couldnt do a thing for 5mins or so

andy_sheila

I don't know what could be wrong mate, it works ok for me

RodRos&Co.

Cheers Andy, sometimes having a little bit of an insight before you land helps.

Gremmie

Thats it simplified..... Don't forget you need to get you I94 if you don't already have it. (and every 3 months)
Whats a I94 and from where

andy_sheila

The I 94 is a temporary visa/visa waiver to enter the states. if you are a Canadian citizen you don't need one but if you only have a British passport then you have to get one to enter.
It's pretty easy and straightforward to get it as long as they aren't busy (i waited 6 hrs once) you just tell the CBP officer at the border that you need to get your I94, he will tell you to park up and where to go. You fill out a very short form and you need an address in the states "where you will be staying" i put the address of the customer i am on my way to.
You then have your 2 index fingerprints taken (by machine, no messy ink) hand over $6 and they tear off a small part of the form you previously filled out and staple it in your passport.
It's good for 3 months then you have to do it all over again. You can apply for a "proper" visa waiver that lasts for 6 months but it's not worth the hassle.
hth mate
Andy

andy_sheila

Your'e most welcome, there are other systems/schemes for entering but 99% of the time you will use this way.

There are several ways of coming from the US back into Canada which i will try to cover later when i have time, generally it is easier coming back than going out.

andy_sheila

US back into Canada

Basically the same as for Canada into the US except that you use 1 PARS sticker on the manifest. All the same Faxing and clearance details and at the customs window, same procedure. you can bring almost anything back into Canada but you must declare it.
If you have a FIRST load, you don't have to fax anything in advance and can cross at any border without prior notice. I'm not sure what FIRST stands for but the FI = frequent importer.
A Y28 load is similar but you have to park up and go to the brokers office to get it cleared. Y28 loads are to a specific crossing.

andy_sheila

Which crossing you use/prefer depends on the shipper/route or personal choice. personally my 3 favourites are Woodstock, NB - Houlton, ME. Niagra Falls (Queenston/Lewiston) and Windsor, ON - Detroit, MI.

I hate Sarnia, ON - Port Huron, MI and avoid it like the plague. Sometimes it has to be used though as it's a designated hazmat crossing.