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Nissan 2022

Erev Pesach Border Update:

As we near the Yom Tov of Pesach and many of us in the community are
preparing to travel, CJHQ met with high-level border officials of the CBSA
and CBP (Canadian and American Border Agencies) to communicate our needs and
help ensure a smoother experience at the border.
The following are some important points for the community to know:

• The border officials have told us that they will invest the maximum effort to have as
many lanes as possible open during the times that they can expect increased traffic
from our community (Bedikas Chometz, Erev Yom Tov, Motzei Yom Tov etc.).
• Travelers should consider the fact that this year, Pesach coincides with לידבהל Easter
and the end of March Break. Therefore, it can be expected that their will be even more
traffic than usual.
• Birth Certificates take longer to process than passports since it cannot be scanned, and
all information must be put in manually. Therefore, it is helpful to bring along
passports even for children. Even if your child’s passport is expired, and you need a
birth certificate to travel (since an expired passport is not valid for travel), it is helpful
to bring it along anyway since the border officer can still scan it to enter the
information more quickly. This will help them process each traveler more quickly.
• Border officials strongly urge everyone to fill in ArriveCan. Aside from being
required by law, it really helps things move faster at the border. If someone does not
fill in ArriveCan, the official must enter all the information into multiple programs for
every traveler and that can take a long time, significantly increasing wait times at the
border.
• During our meeting we discussed Kosher l’Pesach food and Matzos. The officials will
brief the officers about our customs and traditions, and they will know to be sensitive
to it and to handle everything with care. In case someone is sent in for a secondary
inspection, it will be wise to respectfully inform the officer about our customs and the
need for them to handle items with care. Respectful communication is always best.

Have A Safe Trip &

A Gut Yom Tov!

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