Not necessarily... even if they don't record and share the details of the reason you were down there, doesn't mean they don't record and share the details of when you went down there...

It's not like they ask you a set of questions (ok, "where are you going" and "for how long" is a given) and enter this info into a computer, and I doubt the conversations are recorded.

The only consistent thing they do is scan your passports when crossing the border. So the one thing they know for sure is when you crossed. It wouldn't be hard for them to share that info...

If you've been busted for something, then I'm sure they'll share this info between US & Canada.

I've never been razzed by US border patrol any of the times I've been. I was questioned about a bag of rice I was bringing down to my family near Seattle (they prefer the rooster rice sold at Superstore), but even then the guy questioning me joked about it. I always tell them I'm visiting family, and they don't give me a hard time.

Coming back, the CBSA is a lot smoother. The basic who, where, and how long, and I'm out.

i have had the most issues with the CBSA than the CBP
i have only been asked to go in to secondary screening twice. Once was when it was "random" and i had been searched while in the line up to get to the booths and then it was "randomly selected" to be sent in where they did the secondary inspection.

and the last time i was shipping out a crash bar and had to pay 10$ "user fee" and i was informed i also had to create a manifest and fill out a form inorder for me to ship an item that i had sold...

now with the CBSA usually its really smooth, but on occasion i have been sent in for secondary screening.
They don't find anything other than trace amounts of marijuana on the center console(they asked i said yeah, my buddy rolled a joint in my car yesterday) and they did not care about it and just told me to vacuum out the car before i try to cross. The worst secondary was when i bought some wide body fiberglass fenders from some dude in seattle and i drove there 6pm on a wednesday and got back around 12 am. i think it was mostly due to the fact that my trunk had a 5 gallon air tank bolted to the rear support and in the spare tire well i had a shit load of wires, hoses, valves and a compressor. The werid part was that apparently my phone had "traces of heroin" and i had NO idea on how the hell heroin got on my phone. after asking me about it, it took about another 20-30 minutes and they let me go on my way.. the shitty part was that they had unbolted all my valves, compressor and hoses and kept all the freaking hardware... and it took them about 2 hours to finally "clear" me and let me go

That's funny because I regularly tell the USA border gaurds I am shipping some stuff I sold online and they NEVER make me go inside. If it's for personal use/profit they don't care. If it's for work, they do.

Hell, I went down today to ship an intercooler kit and had no issues. I was sitting in my passenger seat all boxed up and he didn't care.

the one time i was sending an item TO the states, the CBP made me pay the $10 fee. :(

most of the time, the CBSA guys are pretty cool. only once when i brought back about $500-600 worth of stuff did they make me pay HST.

this is at the point roberts crossing. the other thing is that the CBP officer called me by my name before i had given her my passport. :o

but, with point roberts they know everyone ships or receives from there so they usually get you with tax. it's rare that they let you go through. as they have nothing better to do than fill out that paperwork. at blaine it's a different story. i've never had to pay tax coming back.

ive been sent into Canadian customs multiple times

I guess going to Walmart at bellingham at 11pm and returning to Canada at 1:30am is a bit sketchy lol

usually if there's a sports event, guards from both sides wont be a bitch.

when i drove down to seattle to watch canada vs. brazil soccer game some years ago,
the us guard asked me about the time, the venue, and the place of the game.

when i came back,
the canadian guard just simply asked me what is the score, and let me go in 10 seconds.

that was the first/only time i had to pay that fee...

i got off on bringing 3k worth of parts that came fresh off the boat from taiwan and they didn't send me to secondary just looked at receipt talked about it, he thought it was coilovers i corrected him, and he waved me on by haha

if you're going to USA regularly to ship out parcels they may flag you as a commercial and make you pay $10.75 fee or you can pay the yearly $225 fee and cross as many times as you like.

AND CPB sometimes check that you paid for such fee on the way back by either showing said receipt or your commercial transponder... or else it's a $500 fine.

CBSA knows when I come back to Canada since they scan my passport.
What if I show them my citizenship and don't show my passport when returning from the U.S.? (I'm not sure if just showing my citizenship card is valid anymore...I know it was in the past though)

^require passport to enter

if you have a Nexus pass, are they more inclined to search you? That's what I've heard from nexus owners...

I believe that for sure. I've had to pay tax and have my vehicle searched every one of the dozen times I've picked stuff up in Point Roberts over the last 3 years. I've never been asked to pull over or pay anything at any of of the major crossings like Peace Arch or the truck crossing.

what would you say if you return to canada a year later?
can you say you were looking for work? would they keep asking you about the $ you had outside canada? does that looking for employment excuse work in customs?

visiting family?

but i thought after 6 months you are considered a late stay?

IMO looking for work is a big NO NO

lol, i remember the border guard asked me if i was bringing my boots/hardhat/vest/tools to look for work...
when i was just going to get gas after work lol...

CBP are brutal. They use zero common sense, if you fit their parameters for being suspicious you will be harassed without cause every single time. I can only imagine how they treat real criminals if they interrogate people like me with not even as much as a DUI.

lol, i find its the opposite the canadians are the ones with a bone to pick with me at least..

but then again, young indo-canadian in a nice car is more than enough profiling for the canadians...

visiting family does that work? why not saying you are looking for employment?
what do those people think of you?

I think the 6 month period still applies though. And I'm not sure if they will scrutinize you even more if you are planning to work there (like asking for work visas although you haven't landed a job yet).

Ive used my nexus pass MANY times before, and Ive only been harassed once. They sent us in for a vegetable screening because i had a bag of food on the back seat. Id say over half the time, i dont even have to say anything to the border guards, and just drive right through. Mind you i usually dont go at peak times.

you NEED a visa in order to be employed in USA.

no VISA = illegal alien.