Crossing Borders

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Each border crossing carries a certain amount of risk. Some borders are riskier than others. It's best to follow some best practices when crossing.

General Best Practices

At any border, you will need a Passport that will not be expiring soon. The general guideline is that your passport should be good for at least 6 months.

If you are entering a foreign country without a work or student or other residence visa, you are assumed to be entering on a tourist visa. The important thing to know is if the border agent suspects that you may not be entering the country as a tourist (i.e. you intend to stay or work for a local company without a visa) they may ask for proof of paid accommodations or flight itinerary back out of the country.

Device Security

Many countries search phones/tablets/laptops of those who are detained at the border, the US has just significantly increased its searches since January 2025.

The most basic precaution you can take is to turn your device off before you cross the border.

Further precautions:

• Use an alphanumeric password or a PIN of at least 6 digits

Crossing Land Borders

When crossing into Canada or Mexico, since you should have your devices off, you will need to rely on paper maps.

1. Know the route from your home or any place(s) you are staying to the nearest border crossing and physically print the map(s). Print back up routes off main roads.
2. If you have people that you can stay with on the other side of the border physically print their address as well as the map to their address.
3. Print your full medical history, or as much as you have available to you. This is in case you need to go from having a temporary home in Canada to a more permanent one.

Canadian Border

If you do not have a work or other residence permit in Canada, as a US citizen you are only legally allowed to enter Canada visa-free for up to 180 days. Having your hotel/accommodation reservations printed out is recommended.

Bringing Pets

You can bring cats and dogs into Canada. If you have other pets, check Canada's documentation on traveling with pets. For dogs and cats, make sure you bring their medical records and in particular anything about their rabies and other vaccinations to show they're up to date.

Birth Certificate

You do not need a birth certificate to travel into Canada.

NEXUS

For awareness: it is worth looking into NEXUS (Canadian web page, US web page) or other preferred traveller programs if you are eligible. A NEXUS card (currently) allows you preferred travel to Canada by land/sea/air. Specifically this means you can take an express lane or queue to enter the country by land at certain ports of entry, and there are also reports that NEXUS cardholders have had much better encounters with CBSA (Canadian Border Services Administration) upon entry into Canada by land than people entering with another document or set of documents. You can also enter Canada by sea and air with a NEXUS card alone, no passport is required. The main caveat for NEXUS is that, historically and as of the writing of this page, you need to be interviewed by both US and Canada border guards and have a background check. Note that you can only cross the border via the NEXUS lane if all passengers in the vehicle have NEXUS. If you plan on making use of this, make sure that anyone you may need to cross the border with also has a NEXUS pass.

If you already have a NEXUS pass, it is worth making sure it is up to date and making sure you know when it expires.

There are currently conflicting reports as to whether the Trump administration is actually adhering to the AGAB policy for new TTP (Trusted Traveller Program) cards at the moment, such as Global Entry and SENTRI, and including NEXUS cards. This should not dissuade you however from getting a NEXUS card if that option is available to you however.