31 replies to this topic

[Cyanide41]

A couple months ago my bother came to visit. As I dropped him off at the Otay crossing, I asked if he had everything, including his passport. His facial expression said it all. I asked if he had atleast a 2nd form of ID. All he had was a costco card. They let him cross with just his DL and didn't even mention anything too him. Your millage may vary.

[Klort]

Otay strikes me as more lenient than Tijuana... since we're doing it tomorrow, I think Tijuana would have a much shorter line at around 2 p.m. on the way back. Hmph....

[bajashrink]

Okay... here it is again... my friend has no passport and this thread's a couple years old... so... what's it like now if I tried to come across with a friend who has no passport? It's a different friend this time

For crossing at the port of entry on foot, there's a special lane now for U.S. citizens without proof of citizenship.

For crossing by vehicle, a trip to secondary for clearance is at the descretion of the primary inspector.

[mrsports]

I'm guessing your friend is a US citizen. If so he only needs a DL, but the line moves very slow for those that have no passport.

[Daniel]

Otay strikes me as more lenient than Tijuana...

My experience is Otay is staffed by "cowboys." I've had more problems with CBP searching the trunk, encountered more petty tyrants, etc. at Otay than at San Ysidro.

[Buen Amigo]

I agree with the above post. I hate going through Otay. They always cop an attitude, and never take jokes kindly.

In San Ysidro, I've never had a problem, even when sent to secondary, and ever wheni joke around with them.

One time i was bringing back a case of Coka Cola (in bottles) for my mom. Cuz she loves that stuff. So anyway, they ask if i had anything to declare. I said "yeah i got a case of Mexican Coke in the trunk". They got a chuckle out of that and just double checked their doubts. That was at Say Ysidro.

I don't think that will fly well at Otay.

[Klort]

Great.. I also realized it would apply to me since my passport is still in the Saudi consulate waiting for the visa... so neither one of us has a pas.. oh, wait... I have that passport card... perfect. Wasn't thinking here.

[falcon04]

Is it really that easy? I used to live in Washington, and my roommate and his best friend crossed the Canadian border without passports a couple of years ago and they were detained for 3 hours or so when they came back into the US. I don't remember how they got released, but they were told not to leave the country again without a passport.

[C-Lo]

I hear a rumor tha the new platstic passports have a GPS tracking chip....

[Cyanide41]

I agree with the above post. I hate going through Otay. They always cop an attitude, and never take jokes kindly.

In San Ysidro, I've never had a problem, even when sent to secondary, and ever wheni joke around with them.

One time i was bringing back a case of Coka Cola (in bottles) for my mom. Cuz she loves that stuff. So anyway, they ask if i had anything to declare. I said "yeah i got a case of Mexican Coke in the trunk". They got a chuckle out of that and just double checked their doubts. That was at Say Ysidro.

I don't think that will fly well at Otay.

At Otay I once told them I was bring 5 beers. The guys says "What happened to the 6th? One for the Road?"

[Cyanide41]

I hear a rumor tha the new platstic passports have a GPS tracking chip....

Are you referring to the cards? They have an RFID chip in them, but so do Sentri cards, military ID's and many state's Driver's licenses.

[C-Lo]

Are you referring to the cards? They have an RFID chip in them, but so do Sentri cards, military ID's and many state's Driver's licenses.

Those are used for a lot of things. Like I said it was something I overheard, it could be completely false. The idea doesn't sit well with me