U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Champlain Port of Entry — Local services in Town of Champlain

On Saturday the 27th of July, I attempted to apply for a new TN visa, this being my fourth time doing so, since I’ve been working for the same US employer for the past three years. I was served by officer Bédard who pointed out that I was missing my letter of employment. I agreed that this was my oversight and he told me to get the letter and attempt again. He also added that he could possibly let me pass through and give me the TN visa; however, he may be called into his superior’s office and that I was not worth such trouble. Therefore, my visa request was denied. As such, I contacted my HR office with an urgent email and they expedited said letter of employment and I was able to return to the border to re-apply on Monday the 29th of July. I was served by officer Lago who upon seeing me acquiesced that this was my second attempt, remembering me from my previous interaction with officer Bédard. She immediately asked for my documents, which consisted of my contract extension and my letter of employment. She then asked if I had a copy of my passport(?) and photocopies of my diplomas, which is somewhat absurd albeit a very literal application of the regulations. She then asserted that my application will be denied and that I needed my original diplomas, which are now hanging on my wall in my office in NYC. My heart raced and I had a panic attack, to which my partner stepped in to talk with officer Lago who was now accompanied by officer White. After calming down and returning to the booth, I asked the officers why would they need my diplomas, seeing that I would not be given the job if I did not have the degrees, and that they have already processed these items at least three times before, to which officer White openly declared her intent of malfeasance by stating that she can make things much harder for me if she wanted to if I asked such questions. The rest of the interaction was extremely condescending and dehumanizing. Officer Lago asked me to spell “Seaman” the name of my street saying that it can be spelled differently (the only other possibility would be ‘semen’ and that is extremely unlikely), then proceeded to chastise me for having stapled my documents and then took out a long retractable knife to unstaple the documents, which cannot be but intimidation. The entire interaction has left me deeply disturbed...

I cross US/Canada by this port (highway 87/15) probably once every two months. Never have any issues from either side. Both US and Canadian officers are professional and polite. They may not be friendly like guys/ladies you met in a bar or restaurant, but they keep inspection process short and efficient. Avoid busy time like Saturday morning or early weekend afternoon, or holiday/vacation season. Chances are there will be longer waiting time to cross the border. As a Canadian, I understand how stressful to cross the border and enter US. To make it easy, keep these in mind: bring all documents with you(even if US border control agency may not ask); know your purpose into US and destination, and answer the questions clearly and precisely. If they bring you for second inspection, do not panic, carefully examine what is wrong in your answers and try to correct or explain during second inspection. Bottom line is, if you have nothing to hide and try to enter US legally, you will be fine. On Monday, March 11th, about 8:40am, I arrive this port. Only 2 cars ahead of me, and only one officer was working (you can see only one Green light in the photo). The woman officer checked my passport and asked my license# in a polite and professional way, and let me through in a minute. Although she did not smile but I still feel her professionalism, and the inspection process is a pleasant one for me. I hope all the officers keep up their good work and wish all the travelers have a pleasant experience crossing the borders, either from US or...

My experience was a little different because my friend needed to walk across the border. Instead of drive, so I followed the GPS which took me to the U turn area close to the Canadian gates. But I never went through because I don't have a passport. And I never planned on crossing the border. As I took that U-turn and entered back through the US gates, they told me that I was already in Canada. Which didn't make sense to me because on the map, it didn't say I crossed the border and I never went through the gate but when I came back they told me. The awkward space between the US gate and the Canadian gate is Canada, which doesn't make sense. They were helpful with helping my friend walk through the border. But when I had to wait for her they told me to go drive somewhere else and wait when I could have just stayed in the parking lot to Wait for my friend to walk back over which was weird to me. They didn't give us a hard time at all.But I just think it's weird how I accidentally drove into canada without driving into canada ......... They need to Update the map if that's the case. Or tell people that you can't make a U turn or make An area for it. They had to check and make sure I was American citizen......... because of my u turn Because apparently I was in Canada without going through the...