This morning my border wait was 4 hours and 25 minutes...and that was in the Sentri lane. The line of people walking back to the U.S. stretched back nearly a mile. No bullshit. For a while, it might be a good idea to bring extra clothes to stay overnight in TJ until the border wait subsides. A side note...my buddy is in the Navy and is stationed in Bahrain. He is a high ranking officer and e-mailed me after a meeting in the "war room". He couldn't really tell me anything except that I should inform any relatives or friends in the Middle East to get the fuck out. In other words...in the not to distant future, the arab world as we know it may cease to exist. God Bless America.

Blazers, notwithstanding the length of the border wait, that is the best news I have heard since I woke up yesterday!

Blazers-what's going on with the senti lane? Are cars being inspected individually?

yes...all cars inspected individually

Six cars in the sentri lane @ 3:00PM.They make you open the hood and trunk ad thats it.I asked the inspector about the rumor it took three hours to cross this morning.he laughed and said this is rush hour...Blazers:did you really wait four hours in the sentri lane or are you just providing disinformation for your own reasons,whatever they may be.

A mile line to walk across the border?

I went down, just got back, two different groups coming out on foot,I asked how long they waited in line. 1 to 2 hours in line before crossing. Radio said 4 hours by car. I went home, try again tomorrow.

The radio people must have read Blazers' post.

Blazer, wow 4 hours and 25 minutes! Shit you beat me, I only waited 3 hours and like 30 minutes. HAH!

Nero

I waited about 2 minutes! HA! I love my Bicycle, hahaha. Actually, for those of you who live in TJ, you might want to spend 50 bucks for a piece of shit bike, and leave your car in San Ysidro until this calms down. Bicycles DO NOT wait. Period.

On my way to the border at about 7 am, left side traffic was backed up to the cultural center glorieta where it was diverted accross the bridge, all the way across the river. Right side traffic was back past the Boll Weevil. Sentri traffic was past the SR. Frogs Glorieta. What a fucking mess.

America is paralyzed right now.

No air flights. Military bases are completely non-functional. Stock market idle. Baseball idle.

All because of a couple of fruits with box cutters.

The obvious answer is to just put everything back in motion as usual - with the heightened awareness, nobody is going to be able to take over a plane with box cutters anytime soon... then, Boeing, Airbus, and the airline industry need to come up with a decent cockpit door, so that when we lax up on security again(inevitable), it won't matter.

We need to stop acting like a nation of sheep, fags, and witch-hunters, and get back to serious business... take a calculated strike at Afgahnistan, and rebuild the WTC as the WTC Memorial - one GIANT building, biggest in the world, better, and like the TransAmerica Pyramid, so that an airline would just bounce off.

... but the politicians are all on witch hunts. If they don't knock this shit off, we are going to end up eating ourselves alive... there is NOT a terrorist around every corner for FUCK'S sake! and this is no time to start letting these fuckers who want to take away our personal freedoms get the upper hand - these assholes would make life UNBEARABLE... who the fuck wants to line up at the airport, border or the base gate for 4 hours every day? We need to give these control-freak IDIOTS the BOOT!

We need some intelligent LEADERS right now! Were the HELL is Henry Kissinger?

It's 9:00 Tijuana time and according to the Customs phone number the wait to drive back to the US is 1 hour.

Box cutter? What the fuck is THAT? I mean, I don't even know what it is, fer Chrissakes!!

It's basically a handle with a heavy duty razor blade sticking out of it. You've probably seen them in supermarkets and stuff when the guy is loading the shelves. The purpose is exactly as sounds, to cut open boxes.

Diego,

Quit making sense, I barely recognize you. I think your other method is better, have George W give 'em the brown eye then run away!

I'm thinking of making a TJ run on Thursday or Friday night.

Any feeling for how long of wait in the pedestrian line at night?

sWADI....follow the posts and you will realize that my post is true. I arrived at the Sentri lane at 6:30 a.m. which extended into the street in front of Agua Caliente. Two lanes merged into one with each car being individually inspected. I left the line at 11:55 a.m. I have no reason to make this up. I just didn't want any mongers to get stuck. And besides, the morning is the rush hour..not the afternoon. Quit making dumbfuck comments without facts.

"All because of a couple of fruits with box cutters."

Don't be so naive. We may not agree and/or think like these guys, but they were NOT Bozo's. This was a military strike.
Do not underestimate them!


"The obvious answer is to just put everything back in motion as usual"

That's not going to happen, and SHOULDEN'T happen.
Things can't be the same anymore. They've proven they can attack us at home. You want to bury your head in the sand???

"like the TransAmerica Pyramid, so that an airline would just bounce off."

How old are you?

To get this thread back on topic, here is what I experienced on Wednesday afternoon and evening:

The northbound border wait for both cars and pedestrians was long, but it varied considerably at different times. At 1:30 PM, the line was at least 2 hours for cars. By 3:00, it was down to under an hour, but the pedestrian wait was 2 hours +. A friend crossed using Sentri lane in only a few minutes sometime in the afternoon. When I returned shortly after midnight, using the east side, the drive time was 1 hour and 40 minutes. The west side looked to be somewhat slower. There was no noticeable pedestrian line.

Does anybody have a general idea of when the lines will get back to normal or will it be like this all the time.

wednesday afternoon i had a dentist app in tj. got back to the border at 6.00 pm, took untill 8.34 pm to get across using the pedestrian lane. the hold up was caused by only one metal detector in place at the entrance to the fed bldg. the check thru lanes inside were wide open. a long boring wait

regards
sinnombre

This morning was pure chaos. I arrived at 7:15AM, there were maybe 10 cars in each lane, and none in sentry. On my bicycle, I passed instantly. The PEDESTRIAN line was incredible. It stretched out of the building, down the sidewalk paralleling the sentry lane, up the street for Uturns out of the sentry lane, across the street, down the other side, continued up the sentry lane until the END of the lane (the entrance, where cars turn left and go into it), made a left, and continued out of sight off into colonia libertad.
I am going to leave 10 minutes early tomorrow to have time to measure this on my bike. It had to be over a mile long, and I would bet it had to be in the 4 to 5 hour range.

Prediction: Sometime in the future.

A.P.
San Francisco

The US was attacked yet again. Officials theorize the terrorists crossed the border on specially built bicycles. Once in the US, the bicycles were dismantled and the parts used to build a giant peddle plane.
With over 60 terrorists peddling as fast as they could, they flew up the California coast, avoiding radar.
Once over the city, it quickly became clear that their target was the Transamerica Pyramid.
Redoubling their peddling efforts, a shout of "Death to the infidels" was heard from below.

The peddle plane then struck the pyramid somewhere around the 37th floor, but, due to the design of the building, it bounced off without causing any damage.
The terrorists were thrown into Coit Tower, where they hit it with such a force blue birds were seen circling. The peddle plane then slid down the side of the building to the ground where police were waiting.

Police said if not for the wind drag caused by their turbines and long flowing robes, they might have bounced into the bay and escaped.

Prediction

Now

San Puto...it's time to step away from the bong...

I crossed north this morning at 5 am on foot. The line was very long. It took me an hour to cross. Based on what I have read so far it sounds like that was not too bad.

Now my question is, what is the best time to cross by foot? Some of us have the luxury of going to and leaving TJ whenever we want. I am guessing that midnight would be the best time to cross on foot. Has anyone crossed by foot at that time?

hi
daytimer
i go to tj 3 times a week

the best time to cross during the week is 11pm thru 4am after that during the week you get all the mexicans - going to work and the lines can be terrible from 430 am to 8am and thats on a regular day

the weekend is alsmot the same but much more kids during the am and not so much locals going to work

like i said i cross 3 times a week and to me this is the best
during the day can vary greatly

milkman

I can say that there has been no significant wait for pedestrians the last two nights between 1:00 AM and 2:00 AM. How big the window of opportunity is on either side of that I don't know. Afternoons and evenings have been horrible.

Otay had no pedestrian wait today around noon, but a long one for cars.

It does not surprise me the best time to walk across are the wee hours after midnight.

The problem for me is that I love to drink when in TJ. Driving back drunk after midnight is not a good thing. That is why I have been spending the nights in TJ lately. But with the long wait to get across in the morning, it is no longer worthwhile to do that.

I will just have to change what I do. I will have to switch to agua early in the evening and be sober when crossing late at night. I will just have to change if I want to stay in the game.

Today was an shitty day, I have yet to get the damn Sentri but haven't. Left home at 5:30 am and I 7:30 I still wasn't in the Border, still outside of it, lines not moving at all, hah! The worst thing was that I had to take a monster shit and raced back home before the shits head took a peep out. Today I stayed home, away from the damn border. TJ LIFE!!!!

Nero

There was only a 10 minute wait in the pedestrian line on Friday night at 10:30. In addition to the metal detector, the lines were moving more slowly. There were very few young party goers crossing. The parking lots were very empty.

At 9:30 Friday night, the vehicle wait looked to be about an hour on the west side. I could not see the east side. At 4:00 AM, the vehicle wait was probably 4 hours, the pedestrian wait was 25 minutes. I got a real asshole inspector who delited in being rude to people.

hi

on sat morn got to the border at 630 am
the wait was a little over 1 hr
the car wait - forgetabout it !!!
it was park your car and sleep !!

they were checking ids and entering your info into the computer if you were american - that was the most delay
mexicans were getting through no problem !!

they had a cop in front of the agents stating " if you are american you need to show your ids so we can enter it into the computer !"

yes hippie the one i went through was a ball buster to americans but yet let the mexicans pass through with no questions asked

milkman

Looked like a long wait on Sat morning about 11am. Long line to walk in. The SENTRI lane was about a 5min wait. This card is worth its weight in gold. See the links section on how to get a card. It can be used by anyone, you don't have to be a commuter or have a business purpose.

As anyone who has ever listened to Spanish language radio in SD or TJ knows reports on the vehicle border wait are a regular feature. Now they've added pedestrian reports. 104.5 just reported that there are 1400 people waiting in line to cross back to the US.

I crossed over last night at 2AM, went straight thru. No line at all. I had my license out but he didn't even look. BTW anybody else notice that Sylvia AB was back?
pj

It took a bit less than 90 minutes to walk across the border, arriving at the back of the queue at around 5:45 PM this evening

San Puto;

You EVIL anti-American faggot.

When I get back from killing vermin in the Middle East, I'd like you to repeat that shit to my face.

As I predicted - we ARE going to rebuild the WTC(and I predict they will also make it "airline-proof").

And, as I also predicted, we ARE going to go over and make a calculated effort to smoke those stupid fuckers out of their ratholes in Afghanistan.

One thing I didn't predict - America SO United. It is GREAT!!!! But - I guess THIS is what you really don't like... you think like these lowlife terrorists.

You evil little shit-for-brains FAGGOT.

You just CAN'T STAND all those American flags flying together, can you?

Too fucking bad.

ahhhh What did San Puto do?

The Mexican reports on the border wait usually describe the wait in terms of the number of cars per lane, instead of the minutes. The problem is that the lines aren't that long, they're just slow moving.

At 1:45 am this morning, small wait for pedestrian maybe 10 mn. There is a metal detector by port of entry front door with no wait. Then they ask for id at regular booth, driver license is enough, and enter name in computer.
On the other hand, car wait was a nightmare, maybe 4 hour wait with all lanes open. I have never seen so many cars in TJ.
With imminent US strike, this could be our way of life for several months.
As for chica selection, I did not notice a drop off. Maybe some chicas are more willing to bargain as hombre number way down. I'd say business is going to go down by as much as 50% before things get back to normal.

Thinking of heading to the Zona this afternoon and want to cross around 7PM. What do you think might be the pedestrian wait this time of the evening. Hour would be alright but could not handle much more than that. My dick is hard but not stupid.
Oldsailor

Everybody that cares to know: I woke up late this morning rushed to linea and spent 3 and 1/2 hours before the customs/INS inspector asked me for my ID and citizenship, Gave him my disabled ID and my DOBwaited for maybee 1 min and was off out the door. Thank God the sun was not very high or hot yet. Tomorrow I ride my bicycle, fuck walking or driving, right to the head of the line.

LLFO

S

I woke up a little while ago, after getting to bed at 7AM, after spending six (6)--Yes! I said SIX--hours trying to cross the border (while the radio was reporting a two-hour wait) . . . in the carpool lane!

Shorts, try the bus. When I was there last week they were dropping them at the front of the pedestrian line.

OK, I'll share my experience with the understanding that it really isn't much as it's been posted in past week. I'm sure by the time I go again, more word will have got out and I'll be screwed.

Came back Sunday night...caught 8:30pm Mexicoach at Terminal on Revolucion. Cost $1.25. Maybe 22 passengers, appeared to be mostly seniors returning from weekend 2nd homes.

Bus traveled through streets of TJ; arriving at San Ysidro POE at 8:50pm. Bus lane gate was down as Customs searched transportation vans ahead. Gate opened at 9:15pm. Disembarked bus at side entrance to POE, through metal detector (carrybag with car keys, and a few metal items did not set off any alarms (is that good???). Went directly to inspector (special lane for bus passengers), DL was scanned, asked citizenship and whether I was bringing anything back. Cleared in less than 1 minute, went out 2nd door to left where buses continue (after unloading). Caught the same bus again and took it back across to freeway where I got off for World parking. Entire time: 48 minutes of which all but 3 minutes was spent sitting on an air conditioned bus.

BTW: Mexicoach last bus is 9pm. There are other buses that do the San Ysidro/TJ route but I am not sure where you catch them and how late they run.

The car and passenger lines this morning were insane. I got asked for ID for the first time in my life, showed the inspector my passport, and he just looked at it and handed it back.

Hey Powerslave,

I was just wondering, when you ride your bike through customs where do you go? The car lanes? I can't see you riding through the pedestrian area.

Porker, I took the bus Saurday afternoon and it still took at least an hour, probably an hour and a half. The bus driver said the waite would be one and a half to two hours. I fell asleep in the bus and really didn't care how long it took. That's still to long IMO. Next time I am taking my street bike. F-waiting for anything!

Car lanes, just as if I was a motorcycle. I ride up the sentri lane to the end, and veer into the far right regular passenger lane at the front. Motorcycles do the same thing.

Thanks for all the great information.

... looks like Motorcycles and bicycles are the ONLY way to go.

I stayed away for the last week and weekend(first time I've done that in quite a long while). Leaving my country just didn't seem quite right.

America and Liberty Forever.

Some people do not like bikers...
In May some asshole thought he would be smart and, when I was came up beside him before the gate, waiting for the inspector to finish with the car in front, he began revving his motor and moving his car up real close to the next car. The next car went thru, I pulled in front of this asshole, and he bumped my rear tire. The inpsector saw this and i thought he was going to shit his pants. I got off the bike and kicked the front door of the asshole hard enough to leave a good dent in it. Then the inspector turned him over to the highway patrol for reckless endangerment.

Jeez, so THAT'S how Otra Vida got that dent in his door??? He left out the part about dealing w/ the cops, though...

Hey guys. How is the walk over time on a Sunday night or weekend morning ? I usually get through in 15 minutes of arriving at the imigracion building.

hi
the bikers have it made
i had a good chance to watch them while waiting 69 hours in line
the skip all the traffic , even the 10 speeders !!

my hats off to you guys !!
watch the potholes and dead dogs !!
when you go deeper into tj in some of the neighborhood areas they have speedbumps the size of mount fiji !!! - watch out and be careful

milk

Monday morning 3AM, the auto line went into the horizon. The pedestrian jam started just outside of the Disneyland line control railings; a little less than 15 minutes through...

Where do you park your bike after crossing the border? Is there a good safe spot to park your bikes in T.J?

Is there a good safe spot to park your bikes in T.J?

Aren't you gonna get a room at a zona hotel anyway? Just keep it in there.

Imagine a bunch of mongers carrying bikes up the stairs next to AB.

The Senator

Bigmark, I live in TJ, so I keep my bike in my house. Once I cross, I lock it into the back of my pickup, which I keep in a parking lot in san ysidro.

Took your advice with the Mexicoach Bus and saved the walking across since i had a bum foot. coming back today the Ped line was out the building and the Mexicoach had to wait 1/2 hour. Not bad since it drops in the parking lot and no walking. only $1 each way and leaves every 1/2 hour. highly recommend

The Mexicoach Bus sounds like it's about an hour from Rev to the Parking lot on Sunday night. Not bad compared to the 3 hour ped waits I have read about. Someone posted that you catch it at the Terminal on Rev. Where on Rev is the terminal please ?

TIA

Gitano

hi

the bus terminal is right on rev at 6th street
( i am pretty sure it is 6th.)
you will see the signs for it. its on the right
they have a little shopping center you enter and just follow it down take a left and the terminal is right there

it is only 1 buck and is well worth it.

take care
milk

I thought it's Rev & 7th. It's across the street from Unicornio and across the intersection (7th??) from Bolero's if that helps. Last bus is 9pm.

Last night at about 9pm (thursday), all seemed back to normal. Sentri lane, no wait and only the swipe of a card to get through. The rest of the car lanes seemed normal for a Thursday night at that time. No pedestrian line.

Mexicoach is on 7th just past Mexico Lindo near Revo...There is an entrance on Revo...with signs for tours and things...have to walk way back through stores.

Last night at 1:30 am, car wait was significant, at least 45 mn. Pedestrian crossing was back to checking id so small line maybe 1 mn.

Last night, also had a 45 minute wait, starting at 10:45. Still, its a lot better than the 6 hours reported earlier in the week.

Crossed on foot at 1 AM this morning (Friday). No line place was deserted. Did check my ID and asked me where I was born & what I was doing in TJ. I do know people who cross over daily from TJ & they to experienced 5-6 hour waits in the car lanes. They were also reporting pedestrian lines back to Pueblo Amigo, but I am guessing this is all at rush hour.

I would be very interested in hearing about how the ped wait is this weekend on Saturday morning, Sunday morning, and early Sunday night.

TIA

Gitano

Our local newspaper - The San Diego Union-Tribune - states the same above for motorcycles & bicycles. No wait.

Keep up the reports guys. The last thing we need is to have a Monger miss his plane flight back home due to time consuming border crossing.

Valentino

Looks like it was hit and miss crossing back last night.
I struck out at 3:00 am with an hour long wait, you had to stand in single line against the wall or be reprimanded. Two guys ended up skipping line in handcuffs. They checked Id with 3 booths.
Car traffic was not as bad maybe 20 mn.
Weekend is definitely out for me until whenever this war is over.

Airline flight schedules are getting scrambled too. I got called with my 4th change for next weekend this afternoon. Anybody know what the border ped crossing is like on early Sunday afternnon about 1:00 ? I would imagine it thins a little compared to the morning. I really like early Sunday night in TJ. Can't catch a good flight for next Sunday night.

hahahahaha

gitano - thats all i can say
sundays have always been the worse besides monday morns when all the locals go back to work
expect a long delay at 1pm
probaly 90 min to 2 hours.
sundays is when all the losers who went further south , such as ensenada and rosarito come back along with all the traffic that comes to tj on sunday - ouch !!

milk
p.s. if you can go home a lot later

Ditto what Milkman said, and I was told by a friend who came across the Sentri lane today about 1:30 that the regular car lanes and the pedestrian line were horrible. I would recommend not crossing until at least 8 PM.

Going southbound, of course is even less time consuming now than it used to be.

Do the MexiCoach times stay at about an hour on Sunday ? I know the last one is at 9:00 PM. When is the first one ?

Border Walking Wait Sunday, 9-23 at 1:00 PM
Regular (not Mexicoach) 30 minutes approx. (My cigarette order wasn't ready at the Export Free kiosk, and I had to wait a bit, so I guessed as to correcting the time.)

Do they still make you wait in that long ped line if you have a red US passport, I wonder?

^C

What is a "red" US passport?

I took the Mexicoach back Tues at 8:30pm thinking that I could get to the head of the ped. line. WRONG! Our bus emptied everyone out at the front of the line, but we had to walk back to the end of the line and wait like everyone else. About 30-35 min.

hi guys

a red usa passport ?

the only was to get ahead of the line is in handcuffs.

nayarit - thats an option to be let out at the regular pedestrian line - you can wait on the bus and it will take you to the side door of customs and you will be in and out in a matter of seconds .
it also can be a drag if there is a lot of other buses waiting , but you can wait on the bus.
my quess is that everyone played follow the leader.
that is one of the services you pay 1.00 for , is to be dropped off in the side door.

i have never seen them tell anybody = you must get off now.

milky bush

A red passport is issued to military and civilian personnel for official government travel. As far as I know it doesn't allow you to cut in front of the line.

And here I'd always heard that the red passport means "send this person through as quickly as possible!"

(My mother has one, and that's what she implied when she told me about it.)

^C

More great news on TV tonight. Apparently, about 2-3 million border crossing visas will expire on Sunday. As a result, it is expected that many MX nationals will not have renewed, and will be held up in the auto and pedestrian lines....bring a good book!
pj

The morning wait has improved lately, today the pedestrian line was barely into mexican territory. Bicycles now have our own private lane (gate 1), and continue to cross with no wait. Anyone crossing on foot in the morning should try to count the bycycles chained up around the trolley station. There must be literally thousands of them.

the wait in the pedestrian side on 9/25 at 2000hrs was zero seconds. Actually 3 seconds, I had to say US CITIZEN. Traffic to the airport NONE.
Wait at the airport boarding gate NONE.
20 passengers on the plane, plenty of seats. We sat on the back of the plane and bullshitted with the stewardess all the way home.

I guess they can search a bicycle rather rapidly.....

Hey Powerslave, does gate 1 allow motorcycles??

Tomas, Motorcycles go straight to the front of ANY lane, which is what bicycles used to do.

Wait on thursday at 9:30pm seemed normal for all, pedestrian, cars, and sentri. Check through was normal, no ID, just what are you bringing across from Mexico.

Are things back to normal coming back acrossthe border yet? Do they just ask you for IDs or what?

The Sentri Lane at 7:30 AM was backed up to Señor Frog's.

Came across Sunday in the ped line. Got in line about 11:40 AM. The line went pretty much to the end of the street where the taxis used to let you off prior to the existence of the turn around lane. I was in my car on the US side at 12:45 PM. Not pleasant, but not all that bad. I could see that the crowds were down, as the parking lot was at about 60% of normal.

I will be coming across to catch a 6:30 AM plane on a Monday morning in a few weeks. I figure I need to walk over at about 3:00 AM. Any comments ?

Millions of micas expired yesterday; in the short term this is going to slow things down as Mexicans who haven't gotten the word show up and are refused entry. In the long run it should improve things because less people will be trying to cross.

3:00 a.m. monday morning shouldn't be a problem. I came back this past monday at 1:30 a.m. Only 4 people ahead of me and they didn't even punch my number in to the computer.

If you're a citizen all you need is some type of ID, right?

I don't like carrying too much stuffother than condoms, viagra and play money + ID.

Note: I agree about 3:00 AM, but by 4:00 AM it is generally starting to get pretty crowded, and by 5:00 it is full-fledged pedestrian rush hour.

Garrison40, that is correct. It does need to be an official, valid ID, however - DL, state ID, military ID, or passport. An expired ID might work, but some of the agents are real pricks, so you might risk being detained for a couple of hours.

The time to cross this mornong in the bus/bicycle lane for a bike was 30 minutes, got in line at 5:45 and got thru customs/INS at 6:15AM. This is getting bad, this is for a no emission, peddal power, limited access vehicle. Now they wont let us use lanes 4 thru 24 or the building. We must all must write our congressmen and senators to speed up the access to our country to U.S. Citizens regardless of the reason of why we are out of the country.

Is this the same at Otay Mesa or are some of you holding back so we don't crowd over there? The vendors alking up and downthe stret with sodas while we wait in line must be making a killing now. And pay toilets would be nice also, riiiiight before you get into the border.

Last night I got to the border at 11:50pm. The line was pretty short...maybe 20 cars. I made the mistake of pulling into the right side(the diamond lane in the mornings) and it took me 1/2 hour. The guy in my lane was thoroughly checking everybody...lifting hoods, looking in trunks, etc. He closed the lane twice to take cars over to secondary. I watched all the other lanes breeze through.

On a side note...I was at my novia's house and she showed me a channel on cable TV that shows 2 different views of the border traffic 24 hours a day. This may be of interest to those of you that have access to a TV in TJ.

Adelito this is channel 54 on cablemas. It is helpful, but not very, as the two images show basically nothing beyond the first 40 cars on the left side and the first 70 cars on the right. A better idea is, if in Tijuana and if you speak spanish to call 700-7000, and you will get an update, including the pedestrian wait.

Gentlemen, any word about Otay Mesa, or is it closed? Or am I missing a post about it?

good hunting.

I'm loking forward to some AB action this weekend, but will get disenchanted if I can't get in and out of Mexico quickly.

Otay is open normally. 0600 to 2200.

The border wait at Otay has been only slightly better than San Ysidro for cars, but no wait for pedestrians.

Crossed the border walking at 2AM this morning. No wait for us walkers but the drivers were fucked. Only 4 lanes open, cars backed up like it was the end of a holiday weekend. The open lanes were in the middle and idiots were driving up on the east side and then trying to cut in. What a mess. Too bad, I used to drive in during the week, never again. Plus, for the first time I saw a bunch of parked cars, nobody in them, in the east lanes. Maybe commuters who were planning on returning in the morning. Hope the guy first in line returns first. I can't understand why they don't keep all the lanes open all the time. Can't be that expensive to keep another 10 - 20 people working.

Especially since they have 30-40 people who seem to just be wandering around or hanging out. Why not just assign these other guards to the other lanes. They'd still be close enough to help out if any of the other guards needed assistance.

I was in TJ last Sunday/Monday, left the Molino Rojo parking lot at about 1pm...was on the 805 before 2pm so it wasn't bad at all.

hi

got back from my night with my novia.

the lines at 11am were terrible
my guess over 1hr
i took mexicoach and it took about 15 mins to cross
only 2 ped lanes were open

the car wait was laughable is it ever gonna get better ?

milk

Shorts, it sucks about your bike wait. I cross at about 7 and there is no wait at that time. Customs employees have, however, ratcheted up the assholeometer somewhat lately.

Customs finally had both San Ysidro sentry lanes available for the morning rush. What is usually a 30 minute wait at 7:00-7:30 took only 10 minutes

Sunday 10-7 at 11:16 AM 46 Minutes Walking

I got in the pedestrian line at 11:16 AM, and after passing through the metal detectors and the inside lines, they wiped my driver's license through the reader, and typed in some stuff. I asked the guy and he said they were checking against the nation-wide data base. I passed without incident and left the building two minutes past noon.

Almost a 2 hour car wait at San Ysidro this morning (right after the fireworks started in ragheadistan). I just got back, and could see that the car line was headed up second street off towards revolution. What a mess. Tomorrow morning is probably going to be terrible.

How can I get on one of those buses that drive right up to the border? I heard that they're only fifty cents. I usually go to Pueblo Amigo (sportsbook) and Sanbourns on 4th & Rev.

thanks

Mexicoach at 7th street next to Mexico LIndo. $1.00.

So how is the border wait(walking) this week? Airport security check-in is ridiculously long, much more so since we started the bombing on Sunday.
I am thinking about going down on Wed or Thurs, coming back over about 1 or 2am.

I walked back last night(Wed) at 2am, passed right thru without even show ID. Nobody else was even around, although several national guard were standing outside.
The vehicle line was another story, backed up as far as the eye could see.

Wed. 9:05 pm no wait for walkers and very few cars, probably less auto traffic than any I have ever seen in 30 years on going into TJ

They are checking many people's IDs now. About half the time I go thru on my cycle, they "card me", or pat me down. I never used to get carded, just waved thru... the wait for autos is INSANE during rush hours... Revoluccion is a fucking ghosttown.

All it takes for the average Joe, is getting caught one time in 3 hour traffic... and then that dude aint coming back again. This is what has been happening... the casual visitors are slowly disappearing - and the hard-core types are "finding a way around the system"; either by trick(bikes and cycles), or coming back at slow hours.

The average Mexican worker, who crosses every day at rush hour in his/her car, is TOTALLY FUCKED. What gets me, is that they STILL WAIT IN LINE. Don't these people have ANYTHING BETTER TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES than spend 5 hours in their cars everyday? That is worse than most of those pent-up Los Angeles pricks spend in traffic everyday... in their fucking Excursions and Suburbans... wasting gas... to make the Arab Kings rich... so they can afford to pay some asshole to send Microsoft Anthrax-laced porn.

When is America gonna WAKEUP? It is ALL about OIL! If those fools didn't have oil, we wouldn't give a rat's ass about them, nor them us(they wouldn't even KNOW about us, they don't even have fucking TVs!). Unfortunately, Georgie and Dickie can't see this, because they are oil baron types... they are smart enough to see this situation can't be solved quickly. But, it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to see the REAL solution - kicking the OIL HABIT... and DISBANDING the US Postal Service... this is the 21st century - who the FUCK needs snail mail? besides loser postal workers and JUNK MAILERS?... EVERYTHING can be handled on THE INTERNET... and we could SAVE EVEN MORE ENERGY.

So - until then, just sit there in your Lincoln Navigators, and keep those cards and letters coming!!

About the ID's.

I'm leaving today for a quick stint down in Revolucion, ad I left my passport back in LA (I'm in SD with buddies). Didn't think we'd be going down into Mexico today.

Am I going to ave any problems with just a standard CA ID, amigos?

Let me know so I can rethink my plans.

Garrison40: I assume you are a US citizen, so there should not be any problem. I came back Friday about 8:00 pm by car (only a 15 minute wait, BTW). they asked me for a passport, I just handed over my Cal. drivers license and went right through.

On the subject of IDs:

last year I took my U.S. passport with me just in case I was asked for id ( up to then just took my ca dl, and was never asked)

sure enough they asked for id, I took out my passport. they looked at like it was unknown to them/( funny how they get that "look" and you know you are in for some hassell)

Once they looked at the other pages and stamps from other places, I thought they were going to get out the bright lite and rubber hose. but not so, I think they were either curious, or were trying to gauge my reaction. ( I think a lot of the hassell they give ppl is part of the trainig they get to weed out problems by ppls reactions)


anyway, since then, back to just carrying my ca da, and never been asked for it. ( go figure , HUH!)

It will be interesting ( better than thinnking of it as a hassell) to see what the latest routine is.

I carry my expired passport (If I lose it big deal, whereas it would be a VERY big deal if I lost the current one) and flash it when asked for ID. They just wave me thru, sometimes after peeking at the visas.

Thanks guys. Let's put an archive on this so we can get to the newest messages quicker, please?


Good hunting.


Damn, that Sylvia at AB is fine.

POWERSLAVE

good idea, I never thought about an expired one:

Will they take it no hassell ( leagle?)

My expired passport was filled with holes by the US State Dept when I got my new one.

Mine is full of holes too, they all are. Doesn't matter, they still prove citizenship. I asked several customs officers about this, and they all agreed, furthermore, when I show it, they don't seem to mind at all.

Sunday (10-14) about 3 pm I took the Mexicoach from 7th ave. It seemed like 20 minutes (in the air-conditioned bus. It looked the same or better walking. One glance at my Calif. driver's license and they waved me through.

Thanks for the good info on expired passports.

should save a lot of hassell, and remove the little paranoia of loosing my cdl, now if I could just find a way not to carry my car key...

Pasathai : AAA will cut you a plastic key. I have one for my trunk and I lock my stuff there, including the car keys. I keep the plastic one in my pocket.

Border wait at 1:15am this morning was all of 15 minutes. Got asked by armored INS agents (before I even got inside the building) if they could pat me down. I put up no resistance, and was asked where I was going and where i was born, and if the object in my vest pocket was a cell phone. (More than one person patting me down has asked me if it's an ammo clip!)

Ten more minutes standing in the rat maze. Guy typed in some stuff off of my ID, and again asked me where I was born. Odd, that.

Just another set of data for the statistics.

^C

Pedestrian wait was about 3 minutes Sunday 7:30 AM. Damn, I could have fuckin' slept in!! No data entered on me, not even any questions besides my citizenship and if I had anything to declare. Fuck, I was three hours early for my flight! Damn, I coulda squeezed in another massage and another SG...

MrBillO^™--- ~ Still the king of the GFE lapdance... ~

Saturday Afternoon Oct 27th.

Got in the line at Mexicoach at 3.30 PM and reached my car in the West Parking lot at 8.30 PM.
5 Hours on Saturday afternoon!

Regards,
RickFeliz

rickfeliz

holyshitzu
thats the longest wait i think recorded on clubhombre.

the thursday after the bombing i waited 4 hrs in the ped line.

i can't think of a better way to spend a saturday afternoon - soaking up fumes from the cars and busses and sitting next to someone who needs deodorant real bad!

sorry you had to wait so long
i go down around 3 times week and now plan to get back around 10pm thru 130 am for the shortest waits.

perhaps for some people it is not an option.

its not getting better
they have sent a bunch of agents to the canadien border slimming the already thin line of agents that work there.

how many do we see just sitting around eating mcdonalds food and fooling around when they can be opening another line !!!

good luck in your future trips
milkster

Rick,
You should have just walked the ped line. Got in line about 4pm was on the other side a little before 6pm. on Saturday.

Why are the times so inconsistant? Sometimes 15 mins other weekends hours? I guess coming back with medicines may be a problem?

INS and Customs are both inspecting. If INS is running things (ie the ped lane or bike lane 4 in mornings) when you cross, things tend to be much faster. If Customs is running things, it is usually a goatfuck.

Just crossed last eve. I got in the line at 7:45 and was in my car driving up the 805 by 9:15. The only thing about crossing at this time was the drunk guy standing directly behind me talking for a straight hour-and-a-half!!

E

I crossed last night at 11, absolutely no waiting in the pedestrian line. For cars: at least 6 lanes open, no more than 4 cars waiting in each.

I thought Customs always ran the show?

Tue 11/30 11:15 pm cars pretty much as RobertX
indicates. But at 1:45am only two lanes open. The
line was maybe 1/4 mile but I'd guess something
like an hour wait. No one but me walking through
at that time. The guy was "busy" reading some
pamphlet and didn't look up at me for about 10
seconds (seemed an eternity) and I figured he was
going to give me a rough time. But he was actually
faily congenial. Maybe the pamphlet was really good.
Anyone have experience with the Mexicoach weekday
mid-mornings?

oops make that 10/30

This morning at 2am: only 4 lanes open at least 50 cars waiting for each. I barely saw it moving while I walked by. No lane in the pedestrian lanes.

Hi all - does one need a passport or anything else to come back over the border still? Anything at all different than it used to be before Sept 11 or is it pretty much back to normal?

Thanks

Also - what's the wait? I typically like to drive in and back, would hate to have to deal with 6 hour waits.

NO passport needed for US Citizens. Just ID.
You'll be asked citizenship, and probably place of birth.

I've never heard of more than a 2-hour wait coming north. Often it'll be shorter than that. Shortest waits seem to be early morning hours (like 3am!). YMMV.

Cardinal,

TOTALLY disagree on the wait.

Weekend returns seem to be best between 12pm-1am.

Wait times at 3am can be 2+ hours.

We had a long discussion about this just a couple of weeks ago on the threaded board.


StrikeEagle

StrikeEagle is right - Friday and Saturday nights after 2:30AM are BRUTAL. You will only make this mistake one time in your life.

During the week, there is typically zero wait at 3AM.

Surprisingly, there has lately been NO pedestrian wait and only 15 to 20 minutes in car weekday mornings at 7:00 AM. Maybe Customs is getting on the ball. There have also been using Border Patrol (green uniforms) as psuedo customers inspectors.

Powerslave is right. I hardly saved more than 20 minutes by using my cycle this morning at 8am. If it wasn't for the 20 minutes I saved by cutting between the cars coming down the TJ-Rosarito highway, it hardly would have been worth using my cycle... because I had to change in and out of some old sweatpants & socks that I put on to ride on the wet pavement.

I hate to say it, but things are almost completely back to normal... actually, better than normal as far as the wait is concerned.

Crap. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

POWERSLAVE IS ALWAYS RIGHT

The bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to add $20 million to the Border Patrol budget to hire and train new agents to keep all gates permanantly staffed during rush hour failed. Who knows how much longer they will continue paying the overtime that they have been paying the last few months?

Monday night crossed via mexicoach bus at 7:30 pm no wait whatsoever. No ped line.

hey hippie

the grant was exhausted a while ago with no new one issued.

or am i wrong on this ?

if this is full staff i hate to see it when it is at half staff !!

and this will not help the ped line

the car lines have always been bad and did not get hit worse like the walking lane did.

i remember waiting 45 mins to 90 mins all the time when crossing back in a car from tj and that is still the wait time for most days give or take 10 mins.

but never waiting more than 20 mins in the walking line even on a sunday ( busiest time crossing)

now you are lucky to get across within 1 hr walking during regular times.

on average walking i wait about 45 mins to 1 hr at the border now.

there have been times i have gotten across within 10 mins but very rarely and i cross 2 or 3 times a week.

the buses are arratic too
yesterday took about 15 mins to cross via otay but monday took me 90 mins to cross via bus

we cannot win

take care
milky

A big problem relates to how much a Border Patrol agent gets paid. The "new" Air Marshalls get quite a bit more money than a Border Patrol agent, and of course the Border Patrol agents easily qualify as Air Marshalls, so many are leaving to take these new positions.

I suspect it is only going to get worse, unless the borders start being manned by the military, and I doubt that the other agencies are gonna sit still for that! (I mean for the military actually operating the border crossings and having real power there. As it is they are in an "assist" mode both there and at the airports.)

Huh?

Starting pay for Air Marshal is $35k per year. (the jobs were posted on the DOT jobs web site)


StrikeEagle

Strike Eagle, Border Patrol agents start at either a GS 7 or 9, neither of which is a fast way to get rich.

Not being in civil service, that doesn't tell me much as far as pay. Can't imagine that anyone living in or near SD can make it on much less than $32K a year.


StrikeEagle

Milkman, the original grant was for thirty days, but it has been extended a couple of times. Not sure of the exact details or exactly where the overtime pay is coming from. This is indeed a much higher staffing rate than normal.

I think a 9 makes about 32000 a year, but most of the BP are on mandatory overtime, so they make more. It still is not shit, on the other hand look at some of the BP agents and the government seems to be getting what it pays for.

StrikeEagle:
Of course, you're right.

I must have made that post about the border wait right after my last crack binge.

Actually, I was talking mid-week.

Weekends, I either come back between midnight and 2am, or don't bother and come back mid-morning the next day.

^C

Weekend nights. The times from 2 to 6 am on Saturday and Friday now often have a long pedestrian wait. It is no fun standing in the cold for 1 hour at 4 am while people are barfing all over the place. After 6 the wait seems shorter until the rush hour sets in.

Hit the line last night at 7PM. Walked straight thru, no wait. That was good because I was running late getting home on time.

Oldsailor

A week-amd-a-half ago I walked up to the gates @ 1:30am Sat night/Sunday morn...

E

I haven't been to the Zona since 9-11-01. I read from the posts that the wait can vary. What I am confused about is what I need for identification to get back into California. I do not have a passport...I'm a U.S citizien with just my Calif driver's license.

thats all you need


milky

During my eight-day trip three weeks ago, there was never a long wait to get back to the USA (between midnight and 2 AM generally speaking). The longest delay was twenty minutes total at 3AM on a Sunday night (Monday morning), which another monger told me was the result of early morning commuters.

A Border and bawdier kind of guy,

Out-of-Towner

This was my first trip to TJ since 9/11. Monday at 2:00 p.m. the wait to get back was about 45 minutes. It was the first time I've ever been asked for ID - driver's license was enough. Also the first time I've ever been asked what I was doing in Mexico. I told the guy I was there to drink and chase women. He said "That's a good thing to do in TJ.", and let me through. (My Dutch/German/Norwegian ancestry probably helps.)

This Saturday Late Afternoon was the worst I've seen it since 2 weeks after the attack. The pedestrian line was wrapped back up an around and back over the bridge that crosses the road.

I estimated it to be 3+ hours, but it was probably worse than that, because it was moving slower than usual. I ended up buying a ticket to sit on a bus and go through the bus line - and THAT took 90 minutes. Still, I was sitting down and I'm sure I saved 2 hours.

This nearly ruined a perfectly good triple crown performance with Aricelli -SG, Michelle -AB, and Tanya -AB

No laws have changed since 9/11, it's still the same. If your a US citizen, all that is needed to enter the border is a decleration is your citizenship. You don't need a passport or even a ID.

Chargers is correct, BUT having an offical ID may save you a lot of trouble, especially if you are walking. If you look at all Mexican or Middle Eastern, and you have a passport, it would not hurt to carry a photocopy of it with you.

I concur that Saturday really sucked at the border. It could be the XMas rush.

Saturday eve was nice. Went to cross around 9 and a short, sweet wait. They rats maze was full, but In 10 minutes I was already walking toward the car...

E

Can anyone tell me the hours (and days)of operation of the SENTRI line, and what waits are typically encountered.

Pauncho

Sentri hours are 5:30 AM to 10 PM M-F and 8:00 AM to 10 PM Sat, Sun and Holidays.

I drive over during the morning rush hour between 7:00 and 8:00 and the wait can be up to 20 minutes if only one lane is operational.

I plan on visiting TJ soon and trying to decide whether to get a hotel in TJ (to avoid border waits) or san ysidro(where i would prefer to stay). What are the border waits from 10:30PM to 2AM monday thru thursday and what are the border waits 1030PM-2AM friday thru sunday (for walking, not driving)?

The times you listed are probably among the best times to cross as a pedestrian, but it is still an unpredictable situation.

Do you have business or other reasons to be in the U.S. or is your trip all about TJ? If your visit is mainly about Mexico, I think you'll find it more convenient and fun to stay in Mexico for many reasons aside from the nuisance of going back and forth across the border each day if you're mongering for consecutive days.

Hotel Villa de Zaragoza IMO is superior to any motel right across the border in San Ysidro, is near the heart of the Revolucion tourist district (and strip clubs), and only a 10 minute walk to the zona - $44 per night including tax for the basic "traditional" rooms. The desk clerks, managers and owners speak excellent English and the place is very gringo friendly overall. Decent restaurants and shopping nearby - even an AM/PM minimarket to make you feel right at home. Read the thread for this hotel for more information.

Big changes to SENTRI program.

When I drove across the border to return to the US on Sunday evening, the billboard was announcing the opening of a new pedestrian Sentri lane on September 9th:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/...07012008_2.xml

"Washington – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at San Ysidro, Calif. today announced a new feature to its frequent traveler program that will benefit both vehicle and pedestrian travelers at America’s busiest port of entry.

The new feature will be the establishment of a permanent Secure Electronic Network for Traveler’s Rapid Inspection pedestrian program at the port, which will allow members to expedite their border crossing on foot or through use of the existing SENTRI vehicle lanes. Current SENTRI members will also have the added benefit of using the SENTRI pedestrian lane.

The nation’s first permanent pedestrian SENTRI lane will open at the San Ysidro port of entry on September 9.

CBP’s SENTRI provides dedicated vehicle lanes and expedited processing at various ports of entry on the Southwest border. SENTRI is a land-border crossing program that provides expedited CBP processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers along the U.S./Mexico border. Currently the SENTRI program in San Ysidro has more than 97,000 members.

The program’s new benefit will give members access to the dedicated pedestrian and vehicle lanes for five years. Applicants must pass a background check, fingerprint submission, and an in-person interview with a CBP officer.

Additionally, program members will receive an enhanced Radio Frequency Identification SENTRI card that meets the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for proper documents for U.S. citizens who cross the border by land or sea, which will go into effect June 1, 2009.

Interested participants are asked to apply early for the new program by visiting cbp.gov/travel. The application process takes approximately six to eight weeks to complete. The membership fee is $122.25.

Participants in the earlier SENTRI pedestrian pilot program, in effect at the San Ysidro port since August 2004 to test the efficacy of an expedited pedestrian lane, must re-apply now to avoid loosing their membership in the program."

(Message edited by scatmandoo on August 19, 2008)

(Message edited by scatmandoo on August 19, 2008)