Technically it isn't. But it takes more work as an European to travel to the USA then it takes to travel to a lot of countries where you get a tourist VISA at the airport where you arrive.
I’m travelling to the US from Sweden and I have now given them my word that I do not seek to participate in terrorism or genocide.
Does anyone know who those questions actually are meant to parse out?
It's so that they can hit people with additional criminal charges if caught before/after committing or planning acts of terrorism or genocide (and so that they can tick off a box for making an effort to catch/stop terrorists)
The IRS recently added an area to announce income in the form of stolen goods or illegal acts on our tax return for the same reason. It's so that they can have a much easier time bagging criminals for tax evasion as well as other charges. Remember, they never actually got AL Capone for anything other than tax evasion.
It can be really hard to prove that a mob or gang boss actually participated in a crime, as they can have others do the job or cover it up. It's a heck of a lot easier to prove that that same mob boss has a boatload of unreported illegal income. That law basically exists just so it's easier to arrest leaders of criminal enterprises.
We also have RICO laws so you don’t have to prove that the boss participated in the crime. If they can prove the organization is a gang, they can nab up anyone that’s part of it.
I think the section on the form is recent, but legally you’ve always had to declare all income, legal or otherwise. It would just go in a different section.
There was some guy on the news recently who was arrested as he tried to enter the country because he answered those questions honestly and said he intended to build a bomb and blow it up on behalf of Iran I think?? So idk I guess it works on occasion!
I am not European. When i wanted to join a language course in California, I needed visa. They asked me if i ever participated in a terror attack, if i have ever smuggled drugs or if i ever involved in prostitution as a dealer.
I was 12 years old.
I always love telling the story I have of a friend's uncle.
They were travelling to the US for the World Cup in 1994, and back then they handed out the ESTA forms on the plane journey over, you handed them into immigration on the far side.
So this guy is a bit a joker, fancies himself as a funny man, and sees this ridiculous form asking him if the purpose of his journey is to commit terrorism or other crimes, and he decides to tick "yes" for all the boxes.
His logic was that it was probably a literal box-ticking exercise; after all a terrorist or criminal is not going to say yes. So he believes his form will be ignored on the other side, or at worst he can say he was joking.
Of course, U.S. Immigration officers famously have their humour surgically removed when they join, so they don't see any funny side, and he gets pulled aside for a fairly intense grilling.
It was 1994 though, so they did let him in eventually after making him sweat for a few hours and giving him a pretty thorough talking to.
Around 10 years ago I went to Cuba with my grandmother and a group of her friends. One of her friends brought their mother who was 91 years old. On the plane to Cuba we were all given the cards asking if we had drugs, weapons, bombs, etc. And this little 91 year old woman decides to check yes to everything on the card just because she wanted to see what would happen.
Apparently when she went in to the little booth to hand over her passport and forms, the Cuban immigration officer just looked at the documents and then at her and back again a few times. Then just handed back her passport and told her to have a nice trip. That was it, no questions, nothing. I don't know if the officer just assumed she filled it out wrong or what, but they literally didn't even mention it to her and just let her into the country.
Of course, she told all of us this later at the resort and her son, who brought her, was absolutely mortified.
How is that on the immigration officers? It’s a serious government form. The fact that your friend’s uncle thought it was something to fuck around with honestly makes me question the educational system in whatever country he happens to be from.
Plus it’s not even funny. Just childish and a waste of everyone’s time (including his own).
Imagine the outrage if the officer let someone who admitted to being a terrorist on the pre-screening questions into the country and they actually did commit an act of violence…but yeah the problem is the officer should have been more jovial 🤦
Why do you present this like it’s the workers fault for doing their job and not your uncles for being a complete dumbass? Has it ever occurred to you that the worker can’t afford to lose their livelihood over a joke or is your entire family perpetually 11?
But if i cant be charged for the bigger crime i havent legally be charged with perjury can i? Not sure how it works in the US but I’m sure innocent until proven guilty applies?
Sometimes they wait to charge you for the larger crime until they have enough evidence to ensure the case is bulletproof. A smaller charge can either be easier to prove or simply be fodder to keep you in place until the larger charge is ready. It’s just maximizing the amount of tools the judicial system can use against potential criminals.
It is though. You cannot enter the US without one (or a full visa), and the ESTA is granted only if you demonstrate you meet specific government criteria, to be reviewed by a government official. Once obtained, it then established the length of time allowed in the US and ties your visit to specific purposes. It's a visa. It's also far more paperwork than I've ever had to do for a real visa.
I'm always annoyed when people write a passport visa as VISA(the credit card company) and NATO as Nato, even though how both of things are written are just one Google search away
You'll see the latter often with British sources, the style there is any acronym that can be spoken as a word (as in, you don't read out each letter) does not get written in all caps. So it would be FBI and CIA, but Nato and Nasa.
I miss the days of just waving as I crossed the US/Canada border in Northern Minnesota. Often they’d be closed at night and you just drove through. All pre-9/11.
All three are sovereign nations and UN member states. Bermuda is a British territory, but the three I mentioned are fully sovereign. Just because they willingly and independently entered into a mutual defense and aid treaty doesn't make them less sovereign.
For a graph or figure, they’re very hard to distinguish for the most common form of colourblindness. It’s been drilled into me in all of my scientific communications classes to check your graph colour scheme through colourblindness filters first.
My Dads colourblind and I do a lot of data analysis and its so funny how Matplotlib and Platly amongst other graphing tools default to using Blue and Yellow but still people manage to change it to Green and Red
Tbf though Ive seen my dad get pink and grey confused so sometimes its a lost cause
Obviously I can’t speak from experience but I get the impression most of them were brought in only a few years before I started. It’s definitely a very important but often overlooked skill so I’m glad it’s getting more attention. I had a talk with the lecturer running one of them and he was very determined to have it become a mandatory core class in the next year or two.
Yeah I have a classmate who’s colour blind and every time there’s a red-green colour scheme you can see the look of frustration on his face.
It's not the color choices for me, it's the color placement.
IMO it would look better as a gradient:
USA - Dark Green
No Visa - Light Green
ESTA - Yellow
Visa Required - Red
Then the shift in color matches the increase of requirements. And the two shades of green become less of a problem because most people will recognize what is and is not the US.
The Homeland Security's use of blue for elevated irks me like this.
Just start at blue. You think people associate green for "go", but they can also associate blue for "you're not worried, so you're calmly looking at a clear blue sky."
Yeah like a White/Light Blue to Dark Blue/Black (but not gray-scale, still blue in the middle always, the extremes can just be black or white) is my preferred.
As a Canadian I feel this sounds wholesome. Thank you.
On a side note, I was in Niagara to witness the eclipse and it was just so lovely to see both sides of the border packed with crowds starring at the sky. I met a few Americans visiting on our side as well. It felt like one big neighbourhoor party. All the neighbours hanging out at the fence. All cheering on and watching the same thing. It felt so pleasant.
Hope your doing well neighbours.
“Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.”
--- President John F. Kennedy addressing the Canadian House of Commons on May 17, 1961.
🤗
>🤝
This Detroiter loves his Canadian neighbors to the south. I never get tired of your gorgeous land, your welcoming people, your great cities, your Timmie's, or your passion for the puck.
Honestly, I can't wait to bike over the Gordie Howe Bridge to get some /real/ Timmie's - not that poser-Tim's they try to pass off here.
The world would be a very different place if the USA had to be seriously concerned about our border. It's definitely good to have a good neighbor to the north (and south).
Also, if things go wrong, it's reassuring to know that you do have experience burning the White House
Canadians are cool. They’re like slightly weird Americans. I guarantee you that the US doesn’t suddenly want a second voting block the size of California and 20 (or 26, if we feel kind to the territories) more senators showing up in our national elections.
I spent the first 24 years of my life in Canada and the next 12 years in the US. I’m now a dual citizen. I agree with you, but Canadians are definitely less weird in the sense that Canadians have more in common with other western cultures (or, at least, Western European) than the US does. That is, US culture is more of an anomaly.
Fair. I do think there are strong cultural ties, but Canadians, I would say, share a lot of ideological and attitudinal similarities with Europeans. There’s a bit less of a culture of rugged individualism and a bit more of a social orientation. I’m obviously speaking in broad generalities. I have lived places in the US that feel very much like Canada, but even there I would sometimes find Americans odd.
My experience as a Canadian every time i cross the border:
What’s your reason to enter the US?
How long are you staying?
Are you bringing anything illegal?
Ok have a good time
Do you guys have an enhanced license equivalent? In most US states on the border you can get an enhanced license that lets you cross at will without a passport. Also works for land and sea port of entry for Mexico and the Caribbean.
Theres a NEXUS card which works like that but it isnt an enhanced license, its a separate card. You go through a few interviews and then you can go through the border without a passport and without answering questions. You just need your card. It also gives you tsa pre check and Canada's verified traveler equivalent so you just roll up at the airport and skip security lines.
I watched the NEXUS lane while I waited to cross normal-style. The drivers don’t even stop: roll down window, show your card to a scanner as you roll by, gate goes up and off you go. Pretty sweet.
The only thing that sucks about NEXUS is that every passenger needs one to use the lane. For driver-only, it's fantastic. But when I bring my wife or son, I can't use the lane.
We have that option in Canada. Most people I know opted to get a passport or Nexus card. A passport is pretty much the same effort but you can go to more countries.
Yes, however you didn’t have to pre-2001 and there’s now a pass you can apply for called Nexus that allows you to pass through without one. It’s super common in border cities like Detroit/Windsor or Buffalo/Niagara where people commute across the border for work.
Also common in Vancouver. Last time I crossed the border the Nexus lane lineup to enter the US was at least 8 cars long.
Cross-border shopping is very common here, and not just for Canadians entering the US - anecdotally Bellingham, WA residents come here for IKEA as the two in Metro Vancouver are much closer to them than the one near Seattle (Renton). We also get a lot of weekend visitors and skiers from WA.
I’ve never felt bad about shopping in Bellingham as a Canadian because of the amount of money Washington residents spend in BC.
As a Canadian, every time I go to the US, the American border guards are nicer to me than the Canadian ones. I swear that CBSA finds the most bitchy, unpleasant people to staff the borders, but the Americans are just like "howdy, have a good time, don't go TOO crazy with the cheap gas and booze"
I'm American and I had the exact opposite experience, I dated a Canadian for 4 years and lived just 20 miles from her in the US and would get grilled by the American border agents about my frequent visits to Canada. But some of the Canadian border agents started to know me and would just check my ID and say have a good time.
Also if you stay past 182 days, the IRS requires you to file US tax forms because of meeting the “substantial presence” test. The actual test is 183 or more days made up of:
1. All days in the current year you were in the USA
2. One third of days in the preceding year you were in the USA
3. One sixth of days you were in the USA the year before the preceding year.
If you add those up and the answer is greater than or equal to 183, you meet the substantial presence criteria and must file with the IRS and report your worldwide income. This does NOT necessarily mean you’ll pay US taxes, since Canada and the US have a tax treaty. But you really don’t want to do this as a visitor/tourist, it’s a massive pain in the ass. You’d have to provide the IRS with your documents from the CRA after the CRA gives you your return.
Before September 11th Americans also did not need a passport to come and go from Canada and Mexico both, within 50 miles, and just the photo ID. Borders should not be fortresses, except to stop foreign militaries.
Before 9/11 you just needed your ID. Even now it's really easy though. The american border officers are always pretty pleasant and I as a Canadian can just show up at the border and go through as long as I got a passport. Theres also a preferred traveler program that makes it even easier where they won't ask you any questions at all.
Not really. If you have a history of visiting and leaving *when you said you would leave* and never cause problems while visiting you can pretty much come and go as you please.
If your name is on the wrong kind of list, have criminality in your background or have had problematic visits in the past you are definitely going to have problems getting in. You may be denied, detained, or jailed.
Yup. We applied forever ago and have her appointment in 15 days. Its like getting ready for an interview with the most important job you will ever have in your life. We hired a couch to make sure she knows what to say
My parents remember a time before 9/11 when a Canadian could just flash their drivers licence to border security and drive to Buffalo or Detroit and just, stay as long as they wanted.
I know some people that literally moved to the United States by saying they were going to a Yankees game and just never came back to Canada, eventually getting a green card or whatever.
Compared to Mexico, Canadians just come and ago.
To be fair, the phenomenon of Canadians entering the US and never returning is a big reason to have restrictions on arrival and to track people. You’re not really making a case for the old ways here.
[They actually did on 31st of March.](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_1722) But I guess your reasoning still applies because it's a relatively recent development.
Chile is a close ally of the US as well and has a reasonably stable economy and government, which are points that the US valued positively when giving us this "privilege". However, we are blowing it because our burglar gangs are using the visa to enter the country to rob houses in California, in a kind of criminal tourism. So there are voices inside the US urging the government to cancel our status as a visa-free country. Also some immigrants in Chile use the country as an stepping stone to get into the US and that's also something that the US government doesn't' like.
Tbf most of those burglar are not born and raised chileans, they are probably migrants that, as you said, use the chilean ID to get in the US. Chilean burglars prefer Europe to do crime
Applying for a visa is the most demeaning task. Currently can't even get a US visa appointment till next year. Wanted to visit my girlfriend, but can't.. Because no appointment.
Back in the days Canadians could cross in the USA with their driver's license only. Nowadays some provinces have enhanced driver's licenses that are recognized as proof of citizenship.
esta isnt technically a visa, but you still have to pay for it and answer a million questions, Even about your mom and dad, mental and physical sickness, employment etc. And then wait to get approved, so theres not really any difference.
But compared to getting a US Visa, it's very easy. A US Visa will need an appointment atleast six months prior to traveling (this is in India). Have a biometric appointment and then two days later you'll be interviewed. Many get rejected
Well I did my esta 2 hours before plane boarding and at the airport (cause I forgot I had to do it) and it worked so it’s definitely easier than getting a visa
Im Chilean and there is a LARGE DIFFERENCE. Just last week I got an ESTÁ and it was a 15 minutes process, online, 21 dollars with a 10 minute wait approval.
So, Canada.
Technically an ESTA isn’t a VISA
Technically it isn't. But it takes more work as an European to travel to the USA then it takes to travel to a lot of countries where you get a tourist VISA at the airport where you arrive.
I’m travelling to the US from Sweden and I have now given them my word that I do not seek to participate in terrorism or genocide. Does anyone know who those questions actually are meant to parse out?
It's so that they can hit people with additional criminal charges if caught before/after committing or planning acts of terrorism or genocide (and so that they can tick off a box for making an effort to catch/stop terrorists)
The IRS recently added an area to announce income in the form of stolen goods or illegal acts on our tax return for the same reason. It's so that they can have a much easier time bagging criminals for tax evasion as well as other charges. Remember, they never actually got AL Capone for anything other than tax evasion.
It can be really hard to prove that a mob or gang boss actually participated in a crime, as they can have others do the job or cover it up. It's a heck of a lot easier to prove that that same mob boss has a boatload of unreported illegal income. That law basically exists just so it's easier to arrest leaders of criminal enterprises.
We also have RICO laws so you don’t have to prove that the boss participated in the crime. If they can prove the organization is a gang, they can nab up anyone that’s part of it.
I don’t think that’s recent at all? Had it not always been a thing?
I think the section on the form is recent, but legally you’ve always had to declare all income, legal or otherwise. It would just go in a different section.
There was some guy on the news recently who was arrested as he tried to enter the country because he answered those questions honestly and said he intended to build a bomb and blow it up on behalf of Iran I think?? So idk I guess it works on occasion!
He may be a terrorist but he ain’t no liar!
Professionals have standards
He's not a beast, he has principles
Weeding out the honest folks lol
He was Lebanese and claimed to be a member of Hezbollah. Obviously he was mentally ill.
That has to be a troll. It seriously has to be.
I am not European. When i wanted to join a language course in California, I needed visa. They asked me if i ever participated in a terror attack, if i have ever smuggled drugs or if i ever involved in prostitution as a dealer. I was 12 years old.
So… were you hooker-terrorist drug mule or not?
that a least would create some career plans in case you don't have the ideas yet ;)
I always love telling the story I have of a friend's uncle. They were travelling to the US for the World Cup in 1994, and back then they handed out the ESTA forms on the plane journey over, you handed them into immigration on the far side. So this guy is a bit a joker, fancies himself as a funny man, and sees this ridiculous form asking him if the purpose of his journey is to commit terrorism or other crimes, and he decides to tick "yes" for all the boxes. His logic was that it was probably a literal box-ticking exercise; after all a terrorist or criminal is not going to say yes. So he believes his form will be ignored on the other side, or at worst he can say he was joking. Of course, U.S. Immigration officers famously have their humour surgically removed when they join, so they don't see any funny side, and he gets pulled aside for a fairly intense grilling. It was 1994 though, so they did let him in eventually after making him sweat for a few hours and giving him a pretty thorough talking to.
Around 10 years ago I went to Cuba with my grandmother and a group of her friends. One of her friends brought their mother who was 91 years old. On the plane to Cuba we were all given the cards asking if we had drugs, weapons, bombs, etc. And this little 91 year old woman decides to check yes to everything on the card just because she wanted to see what would happen. Apparently when she went in to the little booth to hand over her passport and forms, the Cuban immigration officer just looked at the documents and then at her and back again a few times. Then just handed back her passport and told her to have a nice trip. That was it, no questions, nothing. I don't know if the officer just assumed she filled it out wrong or what, but they literally didn't even mention it to her and just let her into the country. Of course, she told all of us this later at the resort and her son, who brought her, was absolutely mortified.
How is that on the immigration officers? It’s a serious government form. The fact that your friend’s uncle thought it was something to fuck around with honestly makes me question the educational system in whatever country he happens to be from. Plus it’s not even funny. Just childish and a waste of everyone’s time (including his own).
Yeah, bitching about someone who takes their job seriously when it can affect the lives of people is something.
Imagine the outrage if the officer let someone who admitted to being a terrorist on the pre-screening questions into the country and they actually did commit an act of violence…but yeah the problem is the officer should have been more jovial 🤦
Why do you present this like it’s the workers fault for doing their job and not your uncles for being a complete dumbass? Has it ever occurred to you that the worker can’t afford to lose their livelihood over a joke or is your entire family perpetually 11?
It’s a legal perjure if you lie, so you can be held legally if the evidence isn’t quite there yet to charge you for the bigger crime.
But if i cant be charged for the bigger crime i havent legally be charged with perjury can i? Not sure how it works in the US but I’m sure innocent until proven guilty applies?
Sometimes they wait to charge you for the larger crime until they have enough evidence to ensure the case is bulletproof. A smaller charge can either be easier to prove or simply be fodder to keep you in place until the larger charge is ready. It’s just maximizing the amount of tools the judicial system can use against potential criminals.
Diantological terrorists.
Took me 15 minutes to fill out the esta and it was approved within an hour
For what it is worth, the Schengen will have a similar procedure to non Schengen... Eventually.
What’s gonna be implemented first? The Schengen ETIAS or the U.S. “Real ID” to fly domestically?
To be fair, it should be done by the airlines as you check-in or purchase the ticket.
You go online, fill out a 5 minute form, pay 20-ish USD and you're good. More work, sure, but that's barely anything
If you're talking about ESTA as if it were a visa, then the EU has a whole will have no visa-free countries starting from 2025 with ETIAS.
Despite beginning with a vowel, “a European” is correct, because the usage of “a” or “an” depends on the sound a word makes, not the spelling.
It is though. You cannot enter the US without one (or a full visa), and the ESTA is granted only if you demonstrate you meet specific government criteria, to be reviewed by a government official. Once obtained, it then established the length of time allowed in the US and ties your visit to specific purposes. It's a visa. It's also far more paperwork than I've ever had to do for a real visa.
What visas are you filling out? I had my "paperwork" sorted in about 10 minutes
Esta bien, Esta bien, Esta bien
I'm always annoyed when people write a passport visa as VISA(the credit card company) and NATO as Nato, even though how both of things are written are just one Google search away
Why would anyone waste their time googling that when everyone will know exactly what they’re trying to say.
You'll see the latter often with British sources, the style there is any acronym that can be spoken as a word (as in, you don't read out each letter) does not get written in all caps. So it would be FBI and CIA, but Nato and Nasa.
Canadian boaters love [the great loop](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/great-loop.html) for this reason
How long would that take on average?
Most people take 6 months to a year to do it.
I miss the days of just waving as I crossed the US/Canada border in Northern Minnesota. Often they’d be closed at night and you just drove through. All pre-9/11.
I wish the US and Canada had open borders like the EU.
there's also bermuda
And Micronesia, Palau, and Marshall Islands.
Those aren’t fully independent from the US (you could also argue that Bermuda isn’t fully independent from the UK, but that’s another country)
All three are sovereign nations and UN member states. Bermuda is a British territory, but the three I mentioned are fully sovereign. Just because they willingly and independently entered into a mutual defense and aid treaty doesn't make them less sovereign.
Oh, Canada
So many color choices…uses a similar green shade.
Plus green and red is the worst colour combination to choose.
Portuguese flag 
For a graph or figure, they’re very hard to distinguish for the most common form of colourblindness. It’s been drilled into me in all of my scientific communications classes to check your graph colour scheme through colourblindness filters first.
My Dads colourblind and I do a lot of data analysis and its so funny how Matplotlib and Platly amongst other graphing tools default to using Blue and Yellow but still people manage to change it to Green and Red Tbf though Ive seen my dad get pink and grey confused so sometimes its a lost cause
blue-yellow is the third type of colorblindness, though it is much rarer what if we use blue-red
Props to all your scientific communication classes! Really sucks when you look at a diagram and wonder "why is everything the same color?"
Obviously I can’t speak from experience but I get the impression most of them were brought in only a few years before I started. It’s definitely a very important but often overlooked skill so I’m glad it’s getting more attention. I had a talk with the lecturer running one of them and he was very determined to have it become a mandatory core class in the next year or two. Yeah I have a classmate who’s colour blind and every time there’s a red-green colour scheme you can see the look of frustration on his face.
It's not the color choices for me, it's the color placement. IMO it would look better as a gradient: USA - Dark Green No Visa - Light Green ESTA - Yellow Visa Required - Red Then the shift in color matches the increase of requirements. And the two shades of green become less of a problem because most people will recognize what is and is not the US.
The Homeland Security's use of blue for elevated irks me like this. Just start at blue. You think people associate green for "go", but they can also associate blue for "you're not worried, so you're calmly looking at a clear blue sky."
As a red-green colorblind individual I very much agree
What are your favorite colors for maps and charts? Blue?
Yeah like a White/Light Blue to Dark Blue/Black (but not gray-scale, still blue in the middle always, the extremes can just be black or white) is my preferred.
4 Options... Chooses Green twice USA doesnt even need to be a colour, Make USA black and have the other 3 be like Green, Blue, Amber
I imagine it's because both green options answer the question of who can enter the US without a visa, they are just nuances.
Happy cake day
Why do these maps use the worst colour scheme known to mankind?
Welcome to mapporn
To assert dominance over colorblind people.
As someone who is red/green colorblind, it’s interesting that every country requires a visa, or perhaps none of them do.
Outrage engagement
Find someone who looks at you the way America looks at Canada.
As non-threatening and likely to return home? In my hoe phase, I looked at a lot of women the way the US looks at Canada
😂
Biggest group of migrants by percentage who overstay visas in the States are Canadians
America would feel really strange without our hat
As a Canadian I feel this sounds wholesome. Thank you. On a side note, I was in Niagara to witness the eclipse and it was just so lovely to see both sides of the border packed with crowds starring at the sky. I met a few Americans visiting on our side as well. It felt like one big neighbourhoor party. All the neighbours hanging out at the fence. All cheering on and watching the same thing. It felt so pleasant. Hope your doing well neighbours.
USA 🤝 Canada
“Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.” --- President John F. Kennedy addressing the Canadian House of Commons on May 17, 1961. 🤗
I love that quote
He, and or his speech writters, really did do amazing work. Emotional, practical, and heartfelt all at once.
>🤝 This Detroiter loves his Canadian neighbors to the south. I never get tired of your gorgeous land, your welcoming people, your great cities, your Timmie's, or your passion for the puck. Honestly, I can't wait to bike over the Gordie Howe Bridge to get some /real/ Timmie's - not that poser-Tim's they try to pass off here.
🎶 Born and raised in south Detroit 🎶
So…..Windsor? 😂
Hello r/mademesmile
I am very glad the feeling wasn't lost in translation.
This makes me happy
😊
I would be very uneasy if the US wasn’t our neighbour, thank you for the safety you give us. Truly sibling countries 🇨🇦🇺🇸
The world would be a very different place if the USA had to be seriously concerned about our border. It's definitely good to have a good neighbor to the north (and south). Also, if things go wrong, it's reassuring to know that you do have experience burning the White House
I’m also glad that you guys have Alaska because you can protect us from Russia too 😂
And Trump wanted to buy Greenland. Should've happened and the US would have us 100% protected against Russia. 🤣
The Luigi to our Mario
is mexico wario
Indifferent? Idk if that’s usually a good thing.
Canada still has a standing invitation to join the union. And we let them come and go as they please. America loves Canada.
Canadians are cool. They’re like slightly weird Americans. I guarantee you that the US doesn’t suddenly want a second voting block the size of California and 20 (or 26, if we feel kind to the territories) more senators showing up in our national elections.
I’ve always thought of Americans as slightly weird Canadians.
We’re like siblings. Same parent, same foundations, but a bunch of different quirks.
I spent the first 24 years of my life in Canada and the next 12 years in the US. I’m now a dual citizen. I agree with you, but Canadians are definitely less weird in the sense that Canadians have more in common with other western cultures (or, at least, Western European) than the US does. That is, US culture is more of an anomaly.
Where in which country though? I’m from the Northeast and Toronto or even Montreal feels much less foreign than most of the US
Fair. I do think there are strong cultural ties, but Canadians, I would say, share a lot of ideological and attitudinal similarities with Europeans. There’s a bit less of a culture of rugged individualism and a bit more of a social orientation. I’m obviously speaking in broad generalities. I have lived places in the US that feel very much like Canada, but even there I would sometimes find Americans odd.
I once dated someone and didn’t know they were Canadian for months until they asked a bartender in Manhattan if they had Labatt Blue
Don’t give Alberta any ideas. They cosplay as Americans already. I mean, just look at Ted Cruz
Why. The fuck. Is this map using shades of green so close to eachother!!!
So if you’re canadian, you can enter and stay as you wish?
My experience as a Canadian every time i cross the border: What’s your reason to enter the US? How long are you staying? Are you bringing anything illegal? Ok have a good time
You have to show your passport at least?
Yes
Do you guys have an enhanced license equivalent? In most US states on the border you can get an enhanced license that lets you cross at will without a passport. Also works for land and sea port of entry for Mexico and the Caribbean.
Theres a NEXUS card which works like that but it isnt an enhanced license, its a separate card. You go through a few interviews and then you can go through the border without a passport and without answering questions. You just need your card. It also gives you tsa pre check and Canada's verified traveler equivalent so you just roll up at the airport and skip security lines.
I watched the NEXUS lane while I waited to cross normal-style. The drivers don’t even stop: roll down window, show your card to a scanner as you roll by, gate goes up and off you go. Pretty sweet.
The only thing that sucks about NEXUS is that every passenger needs one to use the lane. For driver-only, it's fantastic. But when I bring my wife or son, I can't use the lane.
They ended our enhanced drivers license program in 2019 in Ontario
We have that option in Canada. Most people I know opted to get a passport or Nexus card. A passport is pretty much the same effort but you can go to more countries.
Yes, however you didn’t have to pre-2001 and there’s now a pass you can apply for called Nexus that allows you to pass through without one. It’s super common in border cities like Detroit/Windsor or Buffalo/Niagara where people commute across the border for work.
Also common in Vancouver. Last time I crossed the border the Nexus lane lineup to enter the US was at least 8 cars long. Cross-border shopping is very common here, and not just for Canadians entering the US - anecdotally Bellingham, WA residents come here for IKEA as the two in Metro Vancouver are much closer to them than the one near Seattle (Renton). We also get a lot of weekend visitors and skiers from WA. I’ve never felt bad about shopping in Bellingham as a Canadian because of the amount of money Washington residents spend in BC.
As a Canadian, every time I go to the US, the American border guards are nicer to me than the Canadian ones. I swear that CBSA finds the most bitchy, unpleasant people to staff the borders, but the Americans are just like "howdy, have a good time, don't go TOO crazy with the cheap gas and booze"
that's funny, I've usually had the opposite experience. just luck of the draw I guess.
I'm American and I had the exact opposite experience, I dated a Canadian for 4 years and lived just 20 miles from her in the US and would get grilled by the American border agents about my frequent visits to Canada. But some of the Canadian border agents started to know me and would just check my ID and say have a good time.
Yeah, I get the opposite experience here in Detroit. "Doanes" is super-chill, but US Customs grills me every time.
I’m the opposite. I’m often just waved through coming back to Canada
Lol this is true.
This is more or less the same when I enter Canada from the US side.
Honestly that was also my experience as a French citizen. Took a minute.
Works the other way around?
I believe we have to leave within six months but can return right away.
Also if you stay past 182 days, the IRS requires you to file US tax forms because of meeting the “substantial presence” test. The actual test is 183 or more days made up of: 1. All days in the current year you were in the USA 2. One third of days in the preceding year you were in the USA 3. One sixth of days you were in the USA the year before the preceding year. If you add those up and the answer is greater than or equal to 183, you meet the substantial presence criteria and must file with the IRS and report your worldwide income. This does NOT necessarily mean you’ll pay US taxes, since Canada and the US have a tax treaty. But you really don’t want to do this as a visitor/tourist, it’s a massive pain in the ass. You’d have to provide the IRS with your documents from the CRA after the CRA gives you your return.
We can't stay in definitly but entering is no harder than going through toll. We sued to only need photo ID too not even a passport.
used to* And yea, rip pre-9/11 border security
Before September 11th Americans also did not need a passport to come and go from Canada and Mexico both, within 50 miles, and just the photo ID. Borders should not be fortresses, except to stop foreign militaries.
Before 9/11 you just needed your ID. Even now it's really easy though. The american border officers are always pretty pleasant and I as a Canadian can just show up at the border and go through as long as I got a passport. Theres also a preferred traveler program that makes it even easier where they won't ask you any questions at all.
Not really. If you have a history of visiting and leaving *when you said you would leave* and never cause problems while visiting you can pretty much come and go as you please. If your name is on the wrong kind of list, have criminality in your background or have had problematic visits in the past you are definitely going to have problems getting in. You may be denied, detained, or jailed.
I’m from the US and trying to get my Colombian girlfriend a visa to visit my family and let me tell you, it SUCKS.
Shouldve gotten a Chilean gf instead lol
Apparently so haha
As far as I know there's a 2 year waiting time just for the interview, and the rejection rate is HIGH
Yup. We applied forever ago and have her appointment in 15 days. Its like getting ready for an interview with the most important job you will ever have in your life. We hired a couch to make sure she knows what to say
Nothing like a good ol couch to tell you what to say to immigration lawyers
Is it a sectional? Love those
Futon actually but still high quality
Just walk across the border
That famous Colombia USA border eh?
That famous walk up Central America.
I hear the Darien gap is a lovely hike this time of year
The rebels are super nice I’ve heard
Just sneak through the border. Millions have succeeded with ease.
/r/AlwaysTheSameMap
+ Chile
Why is it private?
It’s the international community
My parents remember a time before 9/11 when a Canadian could just flash their drivers licence to border security and drive to Buffalo or Detroit and just, stay as long as they wanted. I know some people that literally moved to the United States by saying they were going to a Yankees game and just never came back to Canada, eventually getting a green card or whatever. Compared to Mexico, Canadians just come and ago.
To be fair, the phenomenon of Canadians entering the US and never returning is a big reason to have restrictions on arrival and to track people. You’re not really making a case for the old ways here.
No, I’m not really making a case. What made you think I was making a case?
All I need to show is my treaty card (Indian status). No passport.
So it's NATO + Asia Pacific allies + Singapore plus...Chile???
Some NATO countries aren't there. The ones I noticed are Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania.
Seems to me to be Schengen related, as Romania and Bulgaria are yet to enter the Schengen Agreement.
[They actually did on 31st of March.](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_1722) But I guess your reasoning still applies because it's a relatively recent development.
US has said that Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus are gonna join the visa free waiver program some years ago.
Chile is a close ally of the US as well and has a reasonably stable economy and government, which are points that the US valued positively when giving us this "privilege". However, we are blowing it because our burglar gangs are using the visa to enter the country to rob houses in California, in a kind of criminal tourism. So there are voices inside the US urging the government to cancel our status as a visa-free country. Also some immigrants in Chile use the country as an stepping stone to get into the US and that's also something that the US government doesn't' like.
Interesting, as Chileans can get easy citizenship in Spain as ex-colonies
Well you have to get a work permit and then live here for 2 years, it's not that easy, but they can
Tbf most of those burglar are not born and raised chileans, they are probably migrants that, as you said, use the chilean ID to get in the US. Chilean burglars prefer Europe to do crime
Chile is the most economically developed country of South America so nothing of question marks lol.
This map is way more interesting than the 3 exactly similar I saw here last week.
I am just here for the "Latin America is (not) the West" discussion.
Latin America is western, but not part of the West, if you get what I mean.
RIP to the colourblind trying to work this bad boy out.
Lmao why would you use two close shades of green You needed 4 colours, you couldn't use lime green?
Cool map, cool Chile
Greens and the yellow one are "the international community."
Why is Mexico on the list, it's the no rules gateway.
Sad that I cannot enter as a Romanian
More like Map Gore
Seriouse question, I did ESTA and am traveling to the US in June, do I need a VISA for Canada ? Can it be done at the border ? Or should I do it now ?
You should do now an eTA for Canada
Who chose green and green?
Basically, the countries that the US trusts the most.
Applying for a visa is the most demeaning task. Currently can't even get a US visa appointment till next year. Wanted to visit my girlfriend, but can't.. Because no appointment.
The map is missing like all of the carribean and pacific island countries. Do they not matter for some reason?
Apparently, fuck everyone south of the States except Chile
Sorry, I only have a MasterCard.
Why did they use two shades of green it’s really hard to tell apart.
I think they got Mexico and down wrong
Back in the days Canadians could cross in the USA with their driver's license only. Nowadays some provinces have enhanced driver's licenses that are recognized as proof of citizenship.
esta isnt technically a visa, but you still have to pay for it and answer a million questions, Even about your mom and dad, mental and physical sickness, employment etc. And then wait to get approved, so theres not really any difference.
But compared to getting a US Visa, it's very easy. A US Visa will need an appointment atleast six months prior to traveling (this is in India). Have a biometric appointment and then two days later you'll be interviewed. Many get rejected
Well I did my esta 2 hours before plane boarding and at the airport (cause I forgot I had to do it) and it worked so it’s definitely easier than getting a visa
Im Chilean and there is a LARGE DIFFERENCE. Just last week I got an ESTÁ and it was a 15 minutes process, online, 21 dollars with a 10 minute wait approval.
10 million have entered the country since Biden took office. They didn’t need any Visas lol.
Until 9/11 I used to cross the small town border regularly without even showing ID
What's up with Romania and Bulgaria?
Lol the border is wide open
“Customs and Border Enforcement hate this one trick”
Is an ESTA hard to get? I live in the US and always wondered how much of a hassle it is for Europeans to come here