Border Crossing Information

I had almost the same experience last weekend.

When returning to US at 430am, the border agent only asked "are you bringing anything from Mexico?" after looking into some device (camera) I was allowed back into the US.

Do you have to buy the $30 pass?

If you're crossing at San Ysidro, then probably yes. Technically, it's still supposed to be essential travel only. I would keep an eye on this website in case Baja goes from orange to red: https://datos.covid-19.conacyt.mx/#SemaF…

The vaccine will keep you out of the hospital/morgue, but it won't necessarily keep you from catching (and potentially passing on) Covid... stay safe.

mongo the vax will sicken or kill you, not to mention it is a sterilant.

So will covid dumbass

@latinalover69: I thought the trolls on this website were finally tired of trolling about Covid. If you were actually serious, best of luck to you. Your battle will be against science and statistics and I don't like your chances.

I get all my medical info on sites like this, from world renoun doctors name latinalover69.

I’m going for the first time soon. I’ve had the vaccine so according to dr. latinalover since I already survived the attempt on my life I should have no fear of impregnating any strippers, I’ve been sterilized. (Something tells me I better wear a condom anyway). If anything goes wrong and I get kidnapped by the cartel the microchips should help the federales find and rescue me. So far not seeing much downside to the vaccine. Lol.

The government is saying that the border is closed, but the agents are letting people through. You can buy a $30 visa or say you are going to find a dentist. I am sure that you all have at least one filling that needs repair.

DS I looked through your reviews. I will take your advice for what it is worth, based on the evidence that you have never been to TJ. And since we are no longer in the era of the Great Turnip, life is much easier across the border.

@desertscrub so all the sudden you feel like you need to comply with what the feds say to you?

I told them I’m going to the Strip Clubs! Then he says I need a pass $30... no need to lie lol

How do you get the visa?

When it is your turn to be reviewed by the agent, simply ask for a 180-day visa.
The first time I got one at Pedi West, I went to a cashier and paid my $28 and received a receipt that was presented to the agent who filled out my visa card.
The last time was at Pedi East. The agent took me into a side room, I sat in front of a desk, he filled out the visa form, took my $30 and put the money in his desk; no receipt. I suspect that the fees are being pocketed. No proof. Don't care. I have mine. Over the next six months I will probably visit 10-14 times. Worth it.

Honestly you Covidophobes are a freakin hoot. After 14 months of this absurdity and you still this this non-sense is real and serious I've decided to take it all with a sense of humor. "Statistics"? Lol. What percentage of the world population has died from this "pandemic"? You can even use your inflated mainstream numbers if you want. I dare you, do the actual math. Its not complicated.

And then there are those who find it necessary to inject their off-topic opinion.
You roll the dice and you take your chances.
Every individual is responsible for their own safety.

@tahoecruz: The 'Ignore' button is the finest enhancement that Founder has added to this site in the past couple of years.

And I suggest you ignore desertscruff and Dave_the_denyer. The border to Mexico Is not closed, neither the land crossing or the air crossing. And dipshits like Dave denying that COVID is real so they don’t have to be inconvenienced by it are assholes. Unless you’ve lost a loved one and seen it up close or you are a immunology expert, you should keep you ill informed less than novice opinions to yourself.

There are a lot of theories of COVID-19. From what I seen first hand, it is definitely a real virus that attacks the respiratory system. But with everything, it’s a risk. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live your life. As long as you do what you should be doing and take the necessary precautions, I don’t see a problem taking the risk to enjoy yourself.

I will have to say that the crossing back into US is seemingly an ordeal. I parked behind the Jack in the Box place. At the entrance to the parking lot, I asked the parking lot attendant how long was it taking to cross back into the US. He said 1-2 hrs. I asked a couple of other folks who were going into Mexico and they said the same. I was walking to cross over when I decided to ask one last dude who was wheeling a large suitcase back to his car. I thought his first hand experience would be a good thing - his answer = 4 hrs. Got in line at 7 AM and entered US at 11 AM. He was a "resident".....anyways I was not going to take a chance and waste 4 hours in a line. This is on Fri morning April 30th. Use this information for what it's worth. Clearly, as many people have noted, crossing back into US late at night or before 5 AM works best.

Doing a little more research, looks like April 30 th was an anamoly. Higher than standard pedestrian crossing times. Not sure why. Also, using the one datapoint from the guy I talked to, possibly is estimating a crossg time that is half the actual time. Their graph was reporting around 150 mins....whereas 4 hrs is equal to 240 minutes. Anyways...hope things settle down.

If border-delays are critical to you then perhaps it'd be a good idea to invest in a global-entry card (unless for w/e reason you don't want the global-entry paper-trail)

Without my Global Entry card, I would have missed so many flights and trains, I would have given up the hobby long ago. I couldn't stand in line more that two hours without a bathroom break. And considering the volume of my coffee consumption....

Also, I don't know that GE creates any more of a "paper trail" than any other passage. I am sure when they swipe my card, a list of crossings might pop up. (Just guessing, as I have never seen the border agent's screen.) I don't know that there is any public access to the information. If anyone has more details regarding what kind of records are being kept, I would be very interested.

You have to time it right. Can take upto 2hrs to get back in from Mexico. Took me 1.5hrs when I got there at 5am. Or pay $240 and get global entry pass. Time is money so what’s it worth to you?

my ge cost $100 to apply.

To those who think they have the TJ itch, I suggest viewing Sammy Gravano's You Tube clip " I Spent Time In A Tijuana Jail."

I agree...Global Entry would be the way to go. Unfortunately I don't have it. But as Pap, Tahoecruz, SCmania77 and Jascoi recommend, one should get the GE. Also I don't think the "paper trail" will even be public info...and even if it is, traveling between Mexico-US is no offense....God bless the freedoms afforded to us in this great nation.

^ I was thinking more about those with an S.O./wife where they don't want, or can't afford, evidence of them being south-of-the-border

I travel, so other than the GE card itself, there is no evidence or paper trail.

Crossed this morning about 9:30. Regular line was reported to be three hours. Seems the US gvt. could fix this easily by opening a few more processing lanes. It is an ongoing problem. Pre Covid and pre Global Entry, the longest time I waited was 90 minutes.

That's a lot of good info. I had no idea they were issuing these $30 Visas on the Mexican side. I'm willing to pay this minor COVID related fee. As far as non vaccinated folks go, is there going to be more of an issue when it comes to crossing the border? Specifically, will non vaccinated people be barred from re-entering the U.S.? If not, will they be subjected to more harassment (for lack of a better word) from the guards?

This is just what I have been told: Citizens cannot be denied entry into the USA. I carry my vaccination card, but I have never been asked for it. Going Saturday, so if something changes, I will post it here.

hmm, so that vaccine is a "sterilant"? This disappoints me now, having all that time and money spent on "the snip" back in 2019 wasted, not realizing I could just suffer with condoms for another year until a quick shot would protect me from ever paying child support.
But, eh, probably better safe than sorry and get both?
And I do believe they can't deny citizens entry to the US. They have never (that I'm aware of), but could, lock you up in a quarantine when entering, but can't refuse to let you enter...

On a recent Friday, it was amazingly easy both ways. No hassle of the $30 visa. Smooth ride to HK and on the way back....never had a shorter/smoother reentry to the US. Good times.

What time on Friday was your return?

@623, returning at 1 PM. Zero line. I later checked the CBP crossing time data - was way off. Said 60 minutes. Checking the data lately, I have seen much lower times reported during weekdays...always less than 1 hr. May be the crossings have dropped.

Any word (rumors, speculation, innuendo) on when PedWest will open?

I don't think PedWest will open any time soon. The past visits, it is tent city on the concrete in front of the gates. Migrants awaiting their turn to be evaluated for entry into the USA. Surprising, it is fairly neat and clean. Just a guess.

I am also guessing that we have been a victim of Border Gate (for those who remember Bridge Gate). CBP has been running few lanes and slowing crossings to discourage travel to the USA. With June 15 approaching, they might be returning to normal operations. Pre Covid, pedestrian lines were rarely over 50 minutes.

Come on guys, no mystery here... everything will be reopened in stages as the State Department travel advisory gets lowered.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/…

FYI: Today (6/6/21) I crossed about 9:00 am. The line was the shortest I have seen in months. I am guessing about an hour, as it did not fill the hallway (don't know how to describe it otherwise) prior to the first gate. The backup was at the X-ray machine screening bags. However, that was less than 10 minutes. People without bags were waived past.

last thursday afternoon it took me a minute to get cleared by the usa cbp agent at ped east...
glad for my global entry card.
this next thursday hopefully the mexican border agents approve my preprinted FMM form at no cost. doing it has been working for me since my 180 day FMM expired months ago. i’d rather spend that $30 on a girl than some border agent.

"i’d rather spend that $30 on a girl than some border agent." I dunno. A couple of the border agents I have seen were cute. If she will go for $30.... OTOH, the cutest one I have seen was very bitchy.

I know California opened up on June 15. Did that have any impact on the re-entry lines ? Also, in looking at the website that talks about border crossing times, it appears there is a big difference on the wait times in the morning vs the afternoon and evening. Is this true ? I've only tried to cross in the morning as I have always been catching a flight that same day. I'm thinking of staying in San Diego an extra night so I can cross in the evening, then not worry about catching my flight.

The line into Mexico was short and nobody was formally checking passports. There was a guy looking at passports as you go through the line and just waving people through.

Going back to the USA (9:30 am 6/20/21), the line was closer to what I remember as "normal," maybe an hour long. The X-ray machine wasn't operational, so that didn't slow anything down.

I have looked at the apps. They can give you a rough idea, but I have never known any them to be accurate. I would budget at least a couple of hours to cross, no matter what time or day. Before I had Sentri, I would budget my trip back to the airport, factoring in trolley-922. Then if I had doubt about missing my flight, I would take Uber directly to the airport. Cost more, but takes about 30 minutes as opposed to the 75-90 on the trolley and 922.

Pre-covid, I used to budget around 4 hours to check out and get to SAN from Cascadas (and picked my flights accordingly). I have stayed at a few hotels near America Plaza the night before my flight if it was an early takeoff and the area around the station is nice enough (you also get to take the hotel's shuttle to the airport). I guess it depends on how pissed you're going to be if you miss your flight. :-)

One thing to keep in mind is that if regular school starts up in September, weekday mornings will be busier with TJ kids who go to school on the US side. Another reason to get a Sentri card...

Thanks guys. I'm going in two weeks. My trip is 4 nights and I'm thinking I may be "out of gas" after 3 nights anyway. So I"m still thinking about staying in the Gaslamp District on the last night. There are a lot of active bars in that area os San Diego. Then all I have to worry about the next morning is the 922.

Maybe I'll look into this Sentri card.

Yeah, TJ is like Vegas... after three days of it I'm ready for real life again.

It would be cool if you could post pics of your room at Cascadas once you get back. I've been getting a master room my past few visits because it increases the chance of getting an outside window, but I'm thinking of going with a double my next visit.

Warrior15, definitely look into getting a Sentri card (or Global Entry) -- immediately. If you're going to TJ in two weeks, I'd be surprised if you could get one that quickly. If you can, great.

it is what it is.

July 4 weekend? It's going to be jam packed everywhere.

For the Global Entry card, I had to go through a background check that took a few weeks before I was allowed to make an appointment, then an in-person interview, and then it was about two weeks before it was mailed to me. What might be of interest is that I scheduled my interview at Otay Mesa then crossed the border, sans card, but with my paper passport that they stamped. All of that was about 4 years ago, so I am sure that much has changed. But, expect a similar process.

To me it has been totally worth it, but then again, I have been going to TJ almost once a month. If you are making a Disneyland trip just once a year and don't travel outside of the country otherwise, might not be worth it.