I have crossed the US and Canadian border dozens of times over the last several years, and I have learned a thing or two about how to get across the border, without getting yourself into much trouble. The first thing you must be aware of whenever you are crossing the border, is that the border patrol guards are just doing their job, and ultimately have the upper hand. That is why first and foremost the most important thing you can do is to be respectful of them, and answer their questions in a courteous manner. This was the simple advice given to me by several people I talked to before I started crossing the border, and it has served me well over the last few years.

Despite all of this, I have had a couple of incidents while I have been at the border as well, and the best thing you can do in this situation is to keep your cool. The last two examples of the problems I have had, was a routine inspection, and my fianc at the time, mentioning to the border guard that we were just engaged. While there was nothing that could be done about the first instance, as this is just a random thing that can happen to anybody, it would have been best served if my fianc had not mentioned that we were recently engaged in the second instance. This threw up a number of red flags for the guard, and she handed my fianc a slip of paper and we had to go to the security office for further questioning. Once inside, we had to answer a number of questions, basically revolving around if I planned on staying in Canada permanently. We answered the questions as honestly as possible, as it was not in our plans for me to be staying in Canada.

Essentially, even if you are crossing the border for the first time, you may run into problems, including a routine inspection. The best advice I can give you, is as mentioned previously, to be respectful, and always look the guard in the eyes when answering the questions. Also keep your answers short and concise, and never give any further details unless you are asked to expound on them. Other than this, the best thing you can do is to keep yourself calm and collected, because the guards are basically trying to trip you up, to see if you have anything to hide (which hopefully you aren't).