In reply to tuna55 :
Kettering?
In reply to tuna55 :
Kettering?
NY Nick said:In reply to tuna55 :
Kettering?
You got it. A nice little town if you like muggers.
Ex Pat Brit living in Suburban Detroit for the last 28 years, I've crossed the boarder hundreds of times. Note I refuse to use the Ambassador Bridge as not one penny of my money is going to the pockets of the scumbag Maroun family, but I have in the past.
I'd been up to the St Thomas assembly plant (Ford Crown Vic, Mercury Grandma) with an Engineer from our Nuevo Larado Mexico plant, this was around 1999ish. I had no idea he actually had duel US/Mexican Citizenship. Back in the pre 9/11 era they rarely checked passports, just asked Citizenship and waved you through. Normal procedure was to have your passport on you lap ready if needed, which I did. I was driving so looking at the US Immigration booth and not the other guy in the passenger seat. We pull up and the guy asks 'Citizenship' (single word, no please, no anything). I say 'One UK and one Mexican'. The immigration guy looks at me and says 'I need to see your passport too'. I'm startled and turn my head to see, too my surprise, that the other Engineer was holding up a US passport (more on that later). So I hand him my passport. He looks at my visa and see's it's expiring in less than a year so says "I see your visa expires soon, I assume you'll be returning to your home country then?". I explain that not only is my Green card application based off skill and employment nearly complete, I am also marrying a US Citizen. His response 'I'm sick of people like you coming here and stealing American jobs'. He then closed his window, lent back in his chair and put his feet up while ignoring us. We're sat there in disbelief looking at each other. We can't move, we haven't been told to, and trying to move without permission even prior 9/11 was a no go, and he had out passports. What felt like 15 mins, but was probably only 4-5, he sits up, opens his booth window and literally throws our passports in the car, gives us a dismissive wave off and looks towards the next vehicle. That was scary and intimidating as hell, and I'm a white guy, I can't imagine what treatment minorities get. Actually I can. I've seen it. When my mother comes to visit she normally comes through Toronto Pearson as a)it's cheap than DTW, and b) her closest airport at home is Manchester which flys direct to Toronto rather than having to change at Heathrow, Charles DeGaulle or Schiphol. This means we come back via Sarnia, and she needs to get her passport checked as we enter the US so we are all very familiar with it. When ever we go in there, everyone is wonderful. An 80 year old British granny with two American Citizens (Wife was born here, I became a Citizen in 08). Cheerful, happy, helpful, kind and considerate, even cracking jokes with her/us. Having said that, I see how many obvious foreigners are treated. You don't see many people of African decent in there, but you do see a lot from obviously middle eastern countries, India, and Asia. Everything about how they are treated is obvious and different. Body language, tone of voice, tolerance for not reacting immediately, crying babies etc. And it's not kind. Barked order, etc. Now, if I'd just seen people treated differently once or twice, you could say it was that group. But we've been doing this at least once a year for seven or eight years now, and it's always the same. Walk in looking white and you're golden, walk in looking different and you get very different treatment.
Counter the thrown passports with a year or so later once I have my green card. I'd just got it before a trip down to our Nuevo Larado plant, this was prior to it becoming a very, very dangerous area. We used to stay on the Texas side and drive over to the plant each day. One evening we'd returned to our hotels, got a lift back over to Mexico to go out to dinner with some of the plant guys, then we walked back over the bridge. At the foot traffic booth I had over my passport with green official green card paperwork, the guy looks at it, smiles at me and says 'Welcome home sir'. That really made my day.
As to the duel Citizenship thing, it was interesting, I asked the guy about it. Apparently he was born in the US to Mexican parents, automatically a US, and therefore a duel citizen. While the US is pretty lenient with duel citizernship (and immigration in general believe it of not), many other countries, especially Mexico and Germany are not. Mexico will allow duel Citizenship with the US as a child, but as an adult you have to choose one or the other, or that's how it was at the time, this is over 20 years ago. So what he, and apparently every other duel Citizen from Mexico did, was to surrender their US Citizenship right before their 18th birthday. They could then show the Mexican authorities they are just a Mexican citizens, so all good. Then as soon as you turned 18, you went back to the US consulate and told them 'I was a minor and my parents forced me to relinquish my US Citizenship against my will. Now I'm adult I want it back'. Sure enough, no problem, a bit of paperwork and they are all set with duel Citizenship. I don't know if this still works.
Here's one I forgot about being here 'illegally'. When I first arrived I was on an E2 visa, before the end of that I had already applied for my Green card. Now, E36 M3 got wierd in the 90's with immigration with INS offices being closed and combined, along with a huge increase in the application for Green Cards and Naturalization due to various refuge groups who'd been here a while being eligible for either a green card or Citizenship about the time I was applying. Another Brit had just got his Green card in 9 months. Mine ended up taking 5-6 years.
Anyway, as I said, my green card application was in, and my company was applying for a new Visa for me, I think it was an H1B second time around, it's been a long time. Although the green card application was in, the company was late sending in my visa application, so I suddenly found myself as an illegal here in the US for about 7-10 days. I was scared E36 M3less, but my immigration attorney told me I was fine, just don't leave the country. When my new Visa arrived, it was dated for the day it was granted, but instead of expiring four years from then, it expired four years from when the first one expired. It may sound like not a big issue, but it actually delayed me applying for Citizenship as I was scared that having that 7-10 days 'illegally' in my past it could affect my Citizenship application. In the end I found a new Attorney who told me I was actually fine, so I did apply. I was then sworn in as a US Citizen on the last day to register to vote for the 2008 General election. Fun day. Get sworn in, then travel to the SS office, then straight to register to vote so I could conduct my civic duty a few weeks later. Happy day.
In reply to tuna55 :
I was making the same trip, just from Utica. I loved it, it was the right school for me. Flint left a little something to be desired but I wouldn't change where I went even if I could.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I'm headed over Wednesday morning- if Thursday's the day I'll take that into account.
ummmmm leaving Berlin to Hamburg crossing the East German border , ,
The DDR Guards took my papers and Vw camper registration and left for an hour or 2 :)
Maybe it was the California plates and registration ........
they thought they were screwing with me , but I had no place that I needed to be at , so I just made some lunch and listened to Armed Forces AFN radio ,
Finally they gave me my papers back and I was off to Hamburg , getting lost in East Germany where I was not allowed until I found the main road again .
But then there was the Greece - Turkey border .....
or lost in the Alps thinking I was going to Switzerland from Austria and ending up at a snowy Border Post to Italy , Oops
and having to turn around and go back down the mountain before it got dark......
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Datsun310Guy said:I travel to Wyandotte, Michigan every month and stop to catch up on emails by a park and look across the Detroit River and think........at dusk I can swim to that little island, hide out and be in Canada tonight hanging out.
It was funnier in my head when Covid had just started.
you will not land at the spot across the river. you will land a mile or more downstream. detroit river current is strong.
HA yes I was going to reply "Luckily you didn't try that plan out!" The detroit river can move very fast (depending on the dam controls and weather) and you have to really strategize how to get across. You can make it with a kayak a little easier but if you swim you might just miss the whole island!!!!
In reply to californiamilleghia :
OK. You win. Only thing missing are the words 'Checkpoint Charlie'
NY Nick said:In reply to tuna55 :
I was making the same trip, just from Utica. I loved it, it was the right school for me. Flint left a little something to be desired but I wouldn't change where I went even if I could.
2000-2005, you?
Loved the school. It was fantastic and the co-op requireemnts were amazingly helpful.
In reply to tuna55 :
94-99, B-section. I have 2 pieces of paper from there (1 degree), one says GMI, one says Kettering.
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Here's one I forgot about being here 'illegally'. When I first arrived I was on an E2 visa, before the end of that I had already applied for my Green card. Now, E36 M3 got wierd in the 90's with immigration with INS offices being closed and combined, along with a huge increase in the application for Green Cards and Naturalization due to various refuge groups who'd been here a while being eligible for either a green card or Citizenship about the time I was applying. Another Brit had just got his Green card in 9 months. Mine ended up taking 5-6 years.
Anyway, as I said, my green card application was in, and my company was applying for a new Visa for me, I think it was an H1B second time around, it's been a long time. Although the green card application was in, the company was late sending in my visa application, so I suddenly found myself as an illegal here in the US for about 7-10 days. I was scared E36 M3less, but my immigration attorney told me I was fine, just don't leave the country. When my new Visa arrived, it was dated for the day it was granted, but instead of expiring four years from then, it expired four years from when the first one expired. It may sound like not a big issue, but it actually delayed me applying for Citizenship as I was scared that having that 7-10 days 'illegally' in my past it could affect my Citizenship application. In the end I found a new Attorney who told me I was actually fine, so I did apply. I was then sworn in as a US Citizen on the last day to register to vote for the 2008 General election. Fun day. Get sworn in, then travel to the SS office, then straight to register to vote so I could conduct my civic duty a few weeks later. Happy day.
I found out at the last moment that my temporary visa would expire as soon as I got married to a US citizen as at that point I was obviously not intending to be temporary anymore. I was in a "do not leave the country" situation from my wedding to the point where I got a green card and had proven to a random official that I did not marry my wife for her citizenship.
Meant she got to visit my family for our Canadian wedding reception but I didn't. I mean, I could have gone. I just couldn't have come back.
NY Nick said:In reply to tuna55 :
94-99, B-section. I have 2 pieces of paper from there (1 degree), one says GMI, one says Kettering.
Nice! I was A section, so I missed you by less than a year. I have two as well, but both say Kettering. Ha! Small world.
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to californiamilleghia :
OK. You win. Only thing missing are the words 'Checkpoint Charlie'
it was not at Checkpoint Charlie , that was in the middle of Berlin where you moved from West Berlin to East Berlin ,
I came into West Berlin on the Autobahn from Wolfsburg , but left on a smaller road from the Northwest part of West Berlin towards Hamburg.
PS: West Berlin was an island then , you had to drive in thru East Germany and drive out into East Germany ,
Family trip to upstate Vermont about 15 years ago. We were close to Canada, and the 5 year old wanted to see where Cailou? was from, so we drove up on our way home. Crossed over, no issue, looked at a few cows, headed back, maybe 15 mins in the country total. Try explaining to a guard why you're "back so soon?" And that you actually did "nothing". It does not go over well. Since we were heading home the back of the Expedition was packed tight, like had to force the door shut, tight, so when they touched the handle I said "I wouldn't open it if I were you....."
It's hard not to laugh when piles of luggage come down on the 5 ft tall guard as she tries to jump out of the way.
As an American living in Canada with a lot of family in the US, I have been crossing the border back and forth since 1973. It used to be fun with a guy wearing a T shirt uniform manning the booths asking what the purpose of the visit was, and an acceptable answer was "Spend time and money". That would get you in deep E36 M3 nowadays. Darth Vader now mans the booth with trick questions and some kind of an agenda. Anymore, unless I HAVE to, I now stay put.
I found out the hard way, TWICE, that even though it only takes them 10 minutes to disassemble the interior of a vehicle, it takes 2 hours to put it back together as they sit and watch you do it. F Canada!
In reply to NOHOME :
Until Covid we were crossing 3-4 times per year and never had any issues. Quite the opposite, we're usually just waved through.
Regarding borders abroad, we've visited a number of Caribbean islands, most of them several times, some of them more frequently. Suzuki's being very popular on a lot of those islands , I've many times brought or left the islands with cams in my luggage, and often had to explain myself when they show up on the x-ray
In the 90's, when I was young and clueless, I worked for a Tier 1 supplier, so I had to visit assembly plants from time to time. On one lovely snowy day about this time of year, I had to visit the Ford plant in Oakville, ON. It was my first trip outside the US. No passport required at that time for visits to Canada. I got a direct flight from Baltimore to Toronto, but it was a slow noisy turboprop. After we landed I was, for a reason I don't remember, the first person off the plane. I followed the pathways and arrows thru the new-to-me airport as one does, and finally ended up in a very large room that was set up for managing large groups of people. But there was absolutely no one there. I was the only person in this very large room. I had no idea what this room was for, but it was obvious that they weren't using it for anything at that time, but I was there to do a job, so I headed for the exit, which was quite a walk away. I was really close to the door when I heard "Excuse me!" from way back at the other end of the room. It was the Canadian customs guy, asking me where I was going. "Well there was no one here, so I thought..." "Come back here!". So I walked back, he checked my paperwork, and I was on my way. So I was about 10 feet away from skipping Canadian customs. I assume nothing else happened to me because it would have been clear that Customs guy wasn't at his station when he was supposed to be.
Toronto in winter: I drove down the QEW to Oakville in about 4" of snow, encountered a completely normal work day at the plant, during which no one commented about the weather, and drove back to the airport in about a foot of the lightest, driest snow I've ever seen, and my flight left on time.
In about 2012, we vacationed in Quebec. We drove. My wife, two small kids, and I in a Mazda 5 (5 speed!) loaded to the roof. We like to take the roads less traveled, so we crossed into QC on a tiny secondary road in VT. We were the only car at the border crossing, and we had to wait for about 3 minutes before the customs woman came out. I think she didn't know we were there. She asked a few questions in a French-Canadian accent, and then "Do you have any guns?" "No." A few more questions and then "Do you have any guns?" "No." A couple more questions and then a lengthy speech about the penalties for bringing guns into Canada. Finally she let us go.
We enjoyed the trip, despite unseasonably cool and wet weather (high 50's in August). After several days, we had had enough of trying to communicate with our very rusty high school French, and it was time to drive to Maine for the second part of our vacation, so we were delighted when we crossed into New Brunswick and the road signs switched to bi-lingual and the speed limit went up to a still-too-slow 110Km/h. We pulled into a McDonalds in Edmunston, NB for dinner, walked inside,... and everyone was speaking French. Noooo! But when we ordered, the counter person switched immediately to English, and didn't even seem to be put out about doing so, so all was well.
The plan had been to drive down Canadian Highway 2, a high speed road, and cross into Maine at Houlton, but our dinner experience put us over the edge, so we decided to cross right here, into Madawaska, ME and take US 1, which is 2 lanes up there and marked at 55. It was 9PM. The line at the border was short. The U.S Customs woman was disarmingly, frighteningly nice. She was really chatty and had lots and lots of questions that weren't the usual questions. She kept going on and on, welcomed us back, marveled at how we were from Maryland, told us about her family, and all we could do was smile and answer and be as nice as we could be. We weren't sure if she was genuinely like that or if she was stalling until backup could arrive. Finally she waved us through, and we left town as fast as we could.
I have two. First was 1988 in Germany. Like californiamilleghia in Germany. I was a college student working in Salzgitter, West Germany for the summer, and a couple German kids and I drove to Berlin. The drive was a bit surreal, knowing that you had to just drive straight through East Germany, and it seemed pretty obvious that the new farm machinery visible from the road wasn't really representative of the DDR. We were there for the weekend, and on Saturday, we took the subway to East Berlin. I was sent to a different line from the German guys, and after a couple hours, I was just a couple people back from the booth when the guy running the booth left for lunch. No replacement, we just sat there for half an hour. Once he came back, the line started moving again, and I was through with no issue other than having to buy DDR Marks which you couldn't convert back upon leaving. I still have some of them. This was less than a year before the wall came down.
The other one is late '90s riding snowmobiles from Drummond Island, Michigan across the ice of Lake Huron to Canada. There was a line of small pine trees, like little Christmas trees, marking the path across the ice. Upon arriving on land in Canada, there was a sign instructing us to use the phone booth to call the local authorities and let them know we were entering Canada. We all lined up with our drivers licenses, insurance, and registration documents to read a bunch of numbers over the phone. When we returned a few days later, there was nothing to do upon entry to the US. I can't imagine that setup still being the way it's done today.
Guy at work went from Chicago to London, Ontario to visit the Electromotive locomotive plant every month. It was the late 90's and he was building a McMansion house and snuck back 3 toilets he bought in Canada cause they weren't the water saving type that flushed ounces? He was blowing 3? 5? gallons a flush?
Coming across the border he was E36 M3ting bricks he told me.
I went up to Tobermory, Ont to solo hike a few days on the Bruce Trail. The trail follows the Niagara Escarpment on the shore of Georgian Bay, pretty rough hiking in places. I got behind schedule and ignored some hot spots on my heels. Blisters. I made to Owens Sound and hitched a ride back to my Jeep.
I head back across the border at Port Huron hoping to avoid issues crossing in Windsor/Detroit. I show up at the border with a weeks worth of beard, Colorado license and Ohio dealer plates on a Jeep I don't know how it is titled.
"Please pull over to the right and wait in the vehicle"
I get invited into the office while three officers tear apart my Cherokee. Camping gear on the ground, interior panels removed. The officer gives me a chance to "come clean" before he runs my license. "If there is anything on your record,we'll find it"
He notices I don't have shoes on and says I can't be in there without shoes. I turn around and show him the raw blisters on my heels the size of quarters. He makes me get my boots and through negotiations he lets me stand on them instead of wearing them.
Two hours later I'm free to go. Border agent says he was surprised I was clean. A lot of red flags I guess.
Coming back after Thursday or maybe Friday practice before the Canadian GP. In my 75 Vette with a friend. No issues crossing from Vermont. Ever.
On the way back we're in line with all the other returnees. Probably 30 minutes in line to get to the booth. The usual where you been, what's the reason for your visit, anything to declare? Nope nothing. US border agent asks me what's behind me in the trunk? I say nothing, our jackets and a small cooler. Guy says he has to check and I need to open the trunk. I tell him I can't. He looks at me stupidly. He now demands I open the trunk. Once again I tell him I can't. There is no "open the trunk" on a stingray. He gets out of the booth and asks me to get out and show him. Vettes have long doors. I'm close to the booth for obvious reasons but I manage to get the door open and stand up. He says show me what's in the trunk so I flip the seat forward and point. He asks what's behind that spot right there (basically pointing at the rear bulkhead behind the seat). I tell him the battery and the rear suspension. It does not open. He asks about the cooler and what's in it. I say left over cold fried chicken. My buddy Jason asks, "you want some?" I wanted to laugh so hard but gave Jason the eye to say no more.
Border agents name was Cheney. What a jackoff. Know your cars!
I was coming back from an EMRA race at Pennfield Ridge N.B. in 1977. Driving a friend's Saab Sonett. The friend was ahead of me with his family in their other car. The agent was pretty reasonable. but he made me get out to look under the seat of the Sonett. There is no "under" the seat, but he wouldn't believe it until I got out and stepped aside.
Some of these Seattle > Vancouver > Seattle stories are interesting, I was planning on making a trip to Mission Raceway Park when COVID stops being a nuisance at the borders but I'm sure I'll get "randomly selected" for a search on my way back into Seattle with 2 wheels on my roof rack and a trunk full of tools.
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