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I crossed the border at Calais, Maine on Tuesday afternoon, April 1, 1998. I was driving a U-Haul truck and towing my car on one of those full size auto trailers (much easier on the car). I turned into the border post and was directed behind the building where the transport trucks park. The border post building at Calais is rather small, with immigration on one side of the hallway, and customs on the other. Immigration was my first stop! I took in my passport, the sealed envelope from the US Consulate in Montreal, and also the form letter which the consulate gave me which said that when entering the US in K-1 status, the K-1 applicant is authorized to work! I didn't want to second guess the immigration officer!

There was a couple in front of me being grilled by one of the female officers (there were two female officers and one male officer). The other female officer was working on the computer (playing minesweeper as it turns out - tough job!), and the male officer was sitting down, feet up, reading the newspaper! It seemed that this one female officer was the only one actually doing any work - and she was firing question after question at this couple! I took a deep breath and gulped!

She finally admitted the couple (not K-1 related), and then asked if she could help me. In my most pleasant voice, I indicated that I was moving to Kentucky on a K-1 visa and presented my passport and the envelope. She opened the envelope and leafed through each and every page. Someone had asked me via email, about the contents of the envelope from the consulate. It contained all the original I-129F documents, the K-1 forms which I completed for the consulate, our photos, birth and divorce certificates, medical report, and the affidavit of support. She examined each document, and I stood and watched with anticipation. She pulled out a longish card and started filling it out. From my upside-down viewpoint, I could see that it was the I-94 form. She completed several sections, took out a self-inking stamp and stamped the card several times, and stamped my K-1 consular forms in two or three places. She detached one section of the card and stapled it to my passport, opposite my K-1 visa. Underneath, she wrote: Valid to June 30, 1998, and then entered my alien registration number which had been entered on my K-1 consular form, but which I saw for the first time only once she opened the envelope. There was a US$6 charge for the I-94.

I then asked her (oh, so innocently!) about the section on my consular form letter which talked about being employment authorized. Was there some stamp or form, I asked, which would verify this information from the consulate? She said I could fill out the Application for Employment Authorization form (I-765) at *no* charge, and she could issue me an Employment Authorization card right then and there! She indicated that many other border posts can't do this because they're using newer equipment which requires different forms than the ones they have, but since Calais is still using the older forms and machines, there was no problem! She said that she had no idea when Calais would be switching to the newer equipment. She took a fingerprint of my right, index finger, led me upstairs to a small room where she took my photo, and one, two, three - I had a laminated EAD card with my photo, fingerprint, and alien registration number! She said that I can apply for an EAD extension, when necessary, by filing another I-765 and paying US$70. I couldn't believe my good fortune with this part of the process!

Then I crossed the hall to speak to a customs officer! A rather gruff man looked up from the counter and asked "Whaddya want?" I said I was moving to Kentucky and had brought my household goods and furniture in a U-Haul truck, and was towing my car. He asked if I had a list of the stuff in the truck so he could inspect it! I said no, but that if he had a pen and some paper, I could give him a list. He handed me a pad of paper and a pen, asked me to sit down at the desk and write up a list for him. I carefully itemized my furniture, boxes, TV, stereo, dishes, and assorted clothes and gave the list to the woman who had replaced him at the counter. She asked if I had brought my car with me. I said yes, and gave her my letter from GM indicating that my car met US emissions and safety standards. She asked for the car's registration, and asked to inspect the car. We went out to the car - I opened the driver's door and she checked the stickers on the inside of the door! We went back inside and she asked me to fill out a customs declaration form indicating both the value of my car in US$ and the value of my belongings in US$. She gave me back my car's registration, the letter from GM, the list I wrote (now stamped as "inspected"), and had me sign and date several customs forms which I'd need when it came time to register my car and get US plates. Neither she nor anyone else bothered to look at the stuff in the truck. I guess they figured I wasn't about to lie about the truck's contents knowing that if I did, they could send me back to Canada! All told, I was at the border post for about 90 minutes.