Carway, Alberta to Piegan, Montana. September 6, 2013
Approaching the border, Sharon and Erik are a bit worried. They’re going to be visiting the University of Arizona for six months. Usually, you need some sort of working permit visa but the U.S. Port Authority web page said Canadians didn’t need any paperwork so they don’t have any. Ten years ago they worked in the U.S. and then you really did need a visa.
Guard: Citizenship?
Erik: Canadian.
Sharon: [Very quickly] We’re going to be visiting the University of Arizona in Tucson until April. We have invitation letters from the University and home ownership papers to prove we’ll be coming back to Canada. According to the web page, Canadians don’t need visas for visiting a U.S. university. But, about 10 years ago we did have J1 visas when I was working at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee—
Erik: And I was at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign—.
Sharon: I’m a physics professor at the University of Alberta, specializing in neutron stars–.
Guard: [Very slowly] Er, um, why do you have B.C. plates if you’re from Alberta?
Erik: We’re married but I live in Chilliwack. I’m a mathematician.
Sharon: I spend a lot of time writing C code.
Erik: I study distributional integrals.
Guard: Whoa! Do you have any tobacco or liquor?
Sharon and Erik: No!
Guard: Fruits or vegetables?
Erik: I have some tomatoes.
Guard: You’ve been through here before, eh?
Erik: No! It’s my first time. They’re from our yard.
Guard: You can’t bring tomatoes into the United States.
Erik: Oh, I knew about citrus fruit but not about tomatoes.
Guard: There’s a $300 fine for bringing fruit into the United States. When you cross the next time, check the web site. Can you chop them up and put them in a salad?
Sharon and Erik: Er, no, I don’t think so.
Guard: Drop them in that bin.
Erik: Do we need to get our passports stamped? Is there any paperwork we need to do about living in Tucson for half a year? Do we need visas?
Guard: Drop the tomatoes in the bin and then you can go.
eriktalvila 