Moving.......

Well... let me say a few qualifiers first. Immigration is a very politically charged arena and I really don't want to bring in the politics of this, just the human element. Second... each country has their own faults in this process so this is neither pro USA or pro Canada.
OK.. First thought., moving to a new country is not like moving to a new state. I have done that a few times and it had its bumps, but nothing really prepared me for the complexity of this journey.  Immigration is a bitch, no other way to say it. Sorry. Keep in mind, I am Masters Educated, know how to read and speak English and we had corporate support. I cannot imagine doing this without these things. Its amazing the strength and courage all of these people who came before me and mine, and will come after. All to go somewhere where they wanted it to be better.
The Process: First of all, no one out there has all the answers about how to get through customs, immigrate etc. Everyone from the border agent, to the relocation company, to the lawyers to the everyday people have different information, and different how to's.  So, I learned to educate myself, dig, read, filter etc. Still got things wrong, wished I had a guru to fall back on, but kept on.  Keep in mind when you call customs they are not taught good customer service techniques, nor do they practice it. Here is where you really see the guts of it all. Border agents are very difficult, tough to manuver through individuals. A lot them have lost the human touch. Net Net, Customs is one of the toughest things I have ever gone through. They expect you to know everything that you are supposed to. Get very pissed when you don't. They also assume you are guilty about whatever. (Another tragedy from 9/11 I am sure.) Finally, they are coached to be this way, so you really have to keep that in mind.
Jeff's first trip through the border at Coutts was hellish to say the least. The age old adage, you can get a really nice one and then you can get one that will just look for things to be wrong, was true here. That is another story in of itself, but it did paint a picture of expectation and has laid out the very clear possibility that it will happen again. Hence it adds a huge stress to all of it. However, when we made the huge move with semi and all in March, we had some great agents, who were nice, helpful, and all in all good. Now, keep this in mind, each time at the border for our move was a 4+hour time frame. So, if you too are making this journey as a move, with household items, cars, pets, kids etc. Don't plan a dinner date for later, plan a day. I laughed when I read somewhere that selling everything and starting over was easier, but soooo true. It would have been easier to just have a suitcase, but hey, I like our stuff so we paid the dues there.
Immigration is truly up there on the journey list.  I'll add more later .