Everytime Mark and I go to Canada, we get stopped for a car search. We always figured that we just had bad luck and were always the car chosen for a random search. Turns out it wasn't random. We were flagged.
When we excited the Cat in Yarmouth, we were told to go park in a special section for a car search. By now, it is almost routine. However, this time they started taking swab samples of our car and looking in unusual places (visors, glove box, etc.). Then they asked which luggage was Mark's, and they x-rayed ALL of our luggage. At this point, it was getting weird. Then, the officer told us that we needed to go to immigration and customs, and he walked us over there. He asked Mark if he had ever been arrested (no), especially anything with drugs (again, no!). Mark asked him if something were wrong, but he just gave us a vague answer and told us to talk to the people in the office.
In immigration, a lady asked to see all of Mark's/our id, and she made copies of it. She also asked us a few questions. Finally, Mark asked what was up, and we were surprised by what we heard!
Apparently, there is another Mark C. born on the same day who "specializes" in narcotics. That Mark is on an FBI list. When the Cat left Bar Harbor, they sent a list of all passengers and birthdays, so he was flagged long before we got to Yarmouth. The lady working said that she knew he wasn't the one they were looking for just by looking at him (they had a description).
As she and Mark were talking, Mark showed her a Canadian certificate that had been sent to his parents' house and asked her what exactly it meant. Apparently, Mark is still a Canadian citizen. We thought that his dual citizenship ended when he was 18, but they changed the law. The lady suggested that Mark visit a Canadian consulate, and when we looked at the list, there was one in Detroit. She suggested that Mark get a Canadian passport and enter Canada as a Canadian citizen. He could then leave as an American citizen with an American passport. This SHOULD eliminate being stopped at the border each time, and we are definitely looking into it.
What an adventure!
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2 comments:
Mark, we always knew there was something SHADY about you! :) That's a funny story! I just checked again and was delighted to find that you had posted about your vacation....I LOVED looking at those pictures and was eaten up with jealousy in a very un-Christian manner! I am so glad you guys got a break for a while and that you had a great time!!!!
I had to laugh. Mark on the FBI list. That is just so funny, knowing Mark. At least you figured out what all the fuss was about. That is cool about having duel citizenship. Hopefully it will make things easier.
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