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Blaine Harbor is a great provisioning stop and departure point for the San Juan and Gulf Islands. |
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Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, is a favorite stop for many boaters and tourists. |
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This U.S. Coast Guard ship is based in Port Angeles. |
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A sunny day at Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend. |
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A U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat at Elliot Bay Marina, Seattle. |
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U.S. CUSTOMS UPDATES:
The Latest Information to Help Speed your Trip
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Crossing the Border, Both Ways
General. Border crossing requirements have been changing and tightening since September 11, 2001, although the U.S. requirements are more stringent than the Canadian requirements. The Waggoner recommends that any boater crossing the border, either direction, be able to meet U.S. requirements. Basically, the U.S. wants to know who you are, where you live, and your citizenship or residency status. The best single document for that purpose is a valid passport, even for children. We have ours, and our grandchildren have theirs. Passports are expensive and a nuisance to apply for, but that’s the world we live in. One big benefit is that the passport is good for all travel—land, sea or air.
U.S. residents who might be flying home from B.C. must have passports.
For Pacific Northwest boat traffic other acceptable documentation includes:
U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Card or other valid evidence of permanent resident status.
U.S. Passport Card, that fits in a wallet. It costs less than a passport, and it’s good for travel by land or sea, but not by air. It won’t work if you’re flying home to Seattle from B.C.
Enhanced Driver License, issued by the state of Washington, which shows identity and citizenship (applies only to U.S. residents).
Nexus Card, also called the Trusted Traveler program. It allows pre-screened, low-risk travelers an expedited process to enter the U.S. and Canada. Every person aboard must have a Nexus card or I-68, or the entry will be treated as if no one has a card. If entry is into the U.S., a combination of Nexus and I-68 will suffice. I-68 is not valid for entry into Canada. The Nexus card is good for five years, and now is valid for crossings by pleasure craft, by car at highway crossings, and by air from principal airports. U.S. and Canadian customs officials must interview applicants as part of the process. The cost is $50 per applicant.
If they have nothing to declare, once inside the U.S. Nexus and I-68 holders entering the U.S. can call 1-800-562-5943 to enter by phone. If something is to be declared, a standard stop at a customs port of entry will be required.
Nexus holders entering Canada can call 1-888-226-7277 to arrange clearance. You will be directed to a reporting location. If no agent appears for inspection at the appointed time, you are free to proceed.
I-68, for entry to the U.S. only. Issued by appointment at a U.S. Customs office in the Puget Sound region, and similar to a vehicle registration It is valid for one year only. It is not an identity document or travel document, and use is limited to entry by pleasure boat in the Puget Sound area only. Cost is $16 per person, $32 for families. Families do not include grandchildren. Our 13-year-old grandson Zachary travels with us to Canada for a week each year, and has his own I-68 in addition to his passport.
CANPASS, for expedited clearance for low-risk pre-screened persons entering Canada by private pleasure boat from the U.S. Annual, $40 Cdn. per year. As with Nexus or I-68 into the U.S., all on board must have CANPASS or Nexus pre-clearance.
Boater Registration Number, for Nexus or I-68 entry into the U.S. If you’re going to be on your own boat and don’t have a BR number, call a Puget Sound U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office to get one. You will be asked questions about your boat, and the answers will be assigned to your number. Otherwise, you’ll have to answer the questions when you call to clear. Our grandson Zachary’s I-68 includes our BR number.
Helpful web sites
U.S. Customs and Border Protection www.cbp.gov
Canada Border Services Agency www.cbsa.gc.ca
Our advice
Don’t be sloppy about entering another country. Go directly to a customs port of entry and clear customs before doing anything else. Don’t smuggle anything in. Except for docking and tying up the lines, no one but the vessel’s master is permitted ashore, and then only to meet with customs officers or call in. Customs officers are trained in professionalism and politeness, but if you get cute with them they have a rule book that can make your life miserable.
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Food Restrictions from Canada to the U.S.
January 6, 2009. We couldn't answer this question by e-mail because Richard's mailbox blocked our reply.
Bob,
The customs restrictions on food when crossing into Canada and back to the US seem to have changed from time to time lately, and it's a crap shoot deciding what we can bring across. Do you know an authoritative web site where we can see what the current rules are? I don't have so much trouble with alcohol rules, but food rules seem kinda nuts.
Richard Cook
New Moon (Bounty 257)
Response
Hi, Richard,
Unfortunately, the list of food restrictions into the U.S. is a moving target, depending on whatever disease or unwanted critter they want to keep out.
The closest web site information we know of is the Customs & Border Protection site www.cbp.gov. Click on Travel, then enter "food restrictions" in the search box. Then have fun nailing anything down.
You might have more luck calling one of the pleasure craft reporting offices, such as Friday Harbor or Anacortes, and asking what they are concerned about these days.
Bob Hale
Comment
I'd like to pass on that we have found it easy to just call the customs reporting number for either country a few days prior to crossing. It's quicker than trying to make sense of either country's web pages.
Last summer we were happy to learn that we could bring just about any meat into the U. S. but absolutely no citrus was allowed. The meat change was certainly welcome from the previous year’s rules.
Bruce Evertz, M/V Tapawingo
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Nexus Cards Easy & Convenient
February 26, 2008. Hi Bob,
I just got NEXUS cards for my family. Here's the story. Feel free to post it in your website.
Regards,
Raul Biascoechea
M/V Moondance
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NEXUS Membership -- Easy and Convenient
After having I-68s and experiencing the convenience of calling in, rather than stopping at a port of entry, my wife and I decided to get NEXUS cards for our family before the start of this year’s cruising season.
The process turned out to be quick and painless:
1- We went to the US Customs Global Enrollment System (GOES) site (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/goes). Followed the instructions, filled the NEXUS applications, and paid with a credit card. The cost was $55 per card. Please note that each person must apply and pay separately.
2- A few days later we each logged into the GOES site and saw that we had conditional approval. This means that we were ready to schedule an interview with the US and Canada Customs people.
3- The system allows on-line appointment scheduling. When we tried this we found out that the dates available were too late for our purposes. Instead, I called and was able to get appointments for the three of us at the Boeing Field Customs office just a few days later. In WA the interviews can be done in Blaine, or Seattle (Boeing Field). BC has a number of other locations.
4- Even though our appointments were spaced out over the period of three hours we were advised to show up together and let the agent know we were a family. We were also advised to ensure that we brought all the necessary documentation with us: passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, Etc. We did this and walked out with NEXUS cards 45 minutes later.
All in all, getting the cards was extremely easy. We are looking forward to clearing at CANPASS docks in Canada, as well as clearing by calling-in when returning to the US. In addition we will be able to use the NEXUS lane when driving to and from Canada, something we do a few times a year.
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Nexus Border Crossing Phone-in Pre-clearance Changes
May 21, 2007. Effective April 30, 2007 Nexus border pre-clearance can be used in place of Canpass for telephone check-in into Canada. After phone-in, Nexus card holders still must land at a designated landing site at an agreed-upon time, although as with Canpass they may depart without penalty if a Canada Customs officer does not show up to inspect the vessel. Call 1-866-996-3987 (1-866-99-Nexus) for clearance.
Canpass pre-clearance card holders may continue to use their Canpass program as before. Call 1-888-226-7277 (1-888-Canpass) for clearance.
For boats entering the U.S., telephone clearance using Nexus or the annual I-68 telephone pre-clearance will work as described in the 2007 Waggoner.
Nexus application information: The Nexus application form has been updated, and older forms should not be used. Get Form BSF658E from Canada or U.S. Customs offices. The Nexus process consists of three elements: (1) the application; (2) the review; (3) the interview. The review time has been shortened, but for Seattle-area applicants the wait-time is as long as 3 months now. For telephone clearance into the U.S., boats planning to go north for the 2007 summer season should get I-68s this year and join the line for Nexus next year. Seattle interviews are held only two days each week, so for a shorter wait-time try Blaine, which holds interviews six days a week.
Remember that all persons on board will need Nexus or Canpass for telephone entry into Canada, or Nexus and I-68 for telephone entry into the U.S. If only one person on board lacks pre-clearance, the boat must touch at a designated Customs port of entry to clear.
Nexus cards are good for five years, which will create a new problem beginning in 2008. The first batch (2002) will expire before the 2008 boating season, and will be up for re-application, review and interview. This will add a number of renewals to the growing body of new applicants, straining a system that already must wait months for an interview appointment. What a fun time to be a Customs administrator.
Caution: If you have a felony conviction, no matter how long ago and how young you were, Canada won’t let you in if they know about it. The Nexus application is how they will find out. Note that DUI or DWI convictions are felonies in Canada. If you have a felony conviction, including DUI or DWI, I-68, which doesn’t check for felonies, is the way to go. The same is true of fines for border infractions, such as failure to declare something that should be declared. In any of these situations, don’t apply for Nexus; get an annual I-68.
Last, GET YOUR PASSPORT. A passport is not required to enter or re-enter the U.S. by private boat in 2007, but in all likelihood it’ll be needed in 2008. Thank you, Osama Bin Laden.
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For more updates:
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• U.S. Customs Updates
• Canada Customs Updates
• General Updates
• Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
• Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia, including B.C.'s Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound to top of Vancouver Island
• Central & Northern B.C. Coast
• West Coast of Vancouver Island
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