Dialogue: At the border booth
Lesson 3 of 4 in Border Crossing, Customs & FAST Card · 18 minutes
Listen to a 90-second exchange at the Peace Bridge primary inspection. Brief, professional, calm. The Canadian-American crossing standard.
What you'll learn
- Hear a typical primary-inspection conversation
- Recognize the standard CBP questions and the right answers
- Adopt the brief-and-direct style that works at borders
- Avoid the speech patterns that trigger secondary inspection
From the transcript
Aroon Sharma, AZ driver, is crossing the Peace Bridge from Fort Erie, Ontario into Buffalo, New York. He has a FAST card, a load of automotive parts going to a Detroit assembly plant. He's been driving 18 months, has crossed maybe 80 times, and knows the routine. CBP Officer Williams is at the primary booth.
Williams: Good afternoon. Citizenship?
Aroon: Canadian permanent resident. Indian citizen.
Williams: FAST card, please. And your BOL.
Aroon: Here's my FAST card, my passport with my US visa, and the BOL with the PAPS sticker.
Narrator: The officer scans the card and the BOL.
Williams: Where are you headed?
Aroon: Detroit. Auto plant on Jefferson Avenue.
Williams: What are you hauling?
Aroon:…