Nominatissima shared some hilarious stories about passing through the customs at the US-Canada border as a person in a long-distance relationship. I was such a person, too, and have funny stories of my own to share.

“What is the purpose of your trip?” the customs officer asked me the first time I traveled from Montreal to Indiana.

“I’m going to see my boyfriend,” I responded.

“A boyfriend? When did you meet? Where did you meet? Have you stayed with him before? What does he do? How old is he? What is his income? Has he been married before? [Before what, I wondered.] How serious is this relationship?”

“I’m sorry, officer,” I said. “I just wanted to mention that my boyfriend is a citizen of Russia.”

“Oh, you should have just said so!” the officer replied, looking relieved. “Have fun with your boyfriend. Next!”

In the future, I just stated outright, “I’m going to visit my boyfriend who is a citizen of Russia”, and nobody had any questions.