US Waiver for Canadians

We travelled down this past Saturday with Sunwing. Interestingly, there was no pre-clearance (does Sunwing not use the US pre-clearance facilities?) and when we arrived in Orlando we went through US customs. The line up was miserably long and the CBP officer seemed like he'd never dealt with an I-194 before. Although he didn't send our family through to secondary, he kept shuttling back and forth to ask questions of his superiors. After some electronic finger printing, a mug shot and 1 hour and 30 or so minutes, we were finally waved through.

This is an exert for a document detailing the TECS system. This reference may help individuals better understand the process and systems by which assessments are made when attempting to enter the US. The TECS (not an acronym) System is the updated and modified version of the former Treasury Enforcement Communications System. TECS is owned and managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) component  United States (U.S.)  Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  TECS is both an information-sharing platform, which allows users to access different databases that may be maintained on the platform or accessed through the platform, and the name of a system of records that include temporary and permanent enforcement, inspection, and operational records relevant to the antiterrorism and law enforcement mission of CBP and numerous other federal agencies that it supports. How TECS is utilized: Individuals traveling to the US are requir...

As one of the fortunate who possess a valid US waiver (I-194) I have become complacent in travel to the US. I always ensure that I arrive at the airport for pre -screening with more than ample time prior to my departure. If I am connecting through a Canadian city which has US pre -screening I ensure that I have at least 2 hours between connections to allot for what has become a standard (at least in my travels) - the secondary screening. Having received my 5 year waiver almost 2 years ago this November in my initial travels it was always a gamble whether or not the screening officer would refer me to secondary but in the last year or so it seems that this practice has become mandatory. Here is how it is always played out: arrive at first screening with documents in hand (ticket, customs declaration, passport, waiver document) screening officer reviews documents, reads both pages of the waiver document and swipes passport officer places all documents into a yellow folder and directs me ...