Re: [81attendees] New Requirement for US Employees traveling to Canada

[Christian Martin <[e-mail]>]

I'm a US citizen and I've traveled to Canada from the US perhaps 20 times.  I was doing technical training on 18 of those occasions for a US company with Canadian customers.  I was a contractor.  I always said I had business meetings and that my company had offices in Canada.  On one of the occasions, I was questioned if we offered a warranty on the technology I was teaching.  Then she asked, "Do they offer an EXTENDED warranty?"

Huh?  Needless to say, I eventually got through.

On the one occasion that I was there for skiing, I said "Going skiing."  She asked, do you always ski alone?  "The way I do, yes."  She: "Enjoy."

From what I am told by many visa waiver friends and colleagues that have come to the US from Europe, I tend to believe, in all seriousness, that Americans going to Canada face as much scrutiny – if not more.  And I also gather that other western citizens face less.  Not sure about non-western folks.

The key is, be honest.  You're going to the 81st IETF, an international standards meeting that draws between 1000-3000 people from all over to each event.  The goal is to improve the Internet.  You're not there for consulting, you aren't teaching, you aren't working.  You are going to attend a conference.  You have nothing to hide or fear and the Canadian immigration folks aren't going to stop you unless you act like you have.

I'd bring a print-out of itinerary, conference details and agenda, and perhaps the IETF mission statement if I wanted to be extra cautious.

Cheers,
Chris'

PS
I'll be driving across....


On Jul 11, 2011, at 9:03 PM, Sarah Banks wrote:

> So I just came through the border 4 days ago and granted, I have a Canadian passport, but I did inquire about this of the canadian officer in Quebec and he was perplexed. For fun, I asked in French - and he was still perplexed. Presumably by the question, not my crappy americanized accented french. :)
> 
> I suppose that doesn't mean this email is wrong - but it gives another data point.
> 
> HTH,
> /S
> 
> On Jul 9, 2011, at 10:18 AM, Scott Brim wrote:
> 
>> 
>> On Jul 9, 2011 1:14 PM, "Dave CROCKER" <[e-mail]> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On 7/9/2011 10:13 AM, Scott Brim wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I say "conference of people from all over the world...  You should see a lot
>> >> more like me coming through. We're all here to try to make the Internet better".
>> >
>> >
>> > Well, besides the warm fuzzies of your full statement, saying 'conference' rather than 'meeting' does seem more likely to convey the right meaning, with respect to the concerns of Canadian immigration.
>> 
>> Call it whatever names you will, it lowers the probability of the follow up grilling about who is paying you and for what.
>> 
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