The snowbirds knew they’d have to comply with a new registration requirement for travellers staying in the United States longer than 29 days. So when a CBP officer said they could complete the process at the border, the couple agreed, unaware of what lay ahead.
Jacquie Ree said they were sent to secondary inspection where their motorhome was searched.
“I’m watching them open all our hatches, and we’re thinking, ‘Oh my god,’” she said. “They went through our whole RV.”
Ree says she and her husband waited in line for 1.5 hours, only to be told by a second CBP officer they couldn’t register at the border. But when they were about to leave, a third officer said he could register the couple, and proceeded to photograph and fingerprint them for data collection purposes.
Not sure what they expected
The requirement has been in effect since April. However, as the new snowbird season kicks off, this is the first time many Canadian snowbirds are dealing with the rules — resulting in some uncertainty and frustration.
Air travellers are typically exempt from the registration requirement, because they’re issued an electronic arrival record (I-94) when entering the U.S. However, land travellers often don’t receive one.
If they’re dumb enough to still go there…
I just go for the cavity searches now.
Maybe they are trying to get a free flight to El Salvador?
Gotta love these new flight hacks!
Meanwhile here in Florida business owners are wondering why there is less Canadian snowbirds here to spend gobs of cash as usual, have the day you voted for.
Do they not realize that they may have just signed up for a tour of a foreign jail cell?
@can It’s not like we’re all keeping up on US news. I’m sure a lot more people are in for a surprise as we get closer to
December. Anyway, I’m avoiding the US like it’s a plague quarentine zone.That isn’t just US news at this point. I would expect they’d understand even in passing.
Snowbirds are white and right wing. They are confident about living in Florida because they are white, and that’s why they like Florida. They would vote Trump if they could.
Europe will also require face scanning shortly if it isn’t already there.
They changed the travel deal: they get more data, we get nothing more. And we didn’t get a say.
If you want to snowbird, you can drive to Mexico in much fewer than 29 days.
Go see the monarch butterfly migration!
Mexico has regional travel advisories. Tourists are killed there frequently.
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories)
I would not drive down there.
If you want to snowbird, you can drive to Mexico
They would still have to spend a couple of days in the USA.
That alone is a hard no in the current condition of the USA.
