serious problem. You are only allowed to remain in the United States for six (6) months. Staying longer can result in severe penalties including travel bans, fines and even arrest. Please reduce your U.S. plans to six months. A month plus in the Caribbean can be very pleasant. Dear Bird Talk, I don’t know this for sure, but I heard of a Canadian going over the U.S. border and being asked by the agent what he thought of the U.S. president. Again, I don’t know what the response was, but the Canadian citizen has been barred from the U.S. for five years. I am going over the U.S. border in late October. If asked this question, what should my answer be? Joseph Malizia Ridgeway, ON Ed.: It sounds like someone decided to have a political argument with a border guard and this is never a good idea. My answer would be “Who cares, I am a Canadian.” Dear Bird Talk, I found out recently that I need to submit an 8840 from July 2015 to current. Should I still file, even though it’s past the June 15 deadline? Or wait until next year? Is there a penalty or consequence for late filing? Thomas Phillips Vancouver, BC Ed.: File it now. There are no penalties involved. BirdTalk Featuring the letters & concerns of our members SEND YOUR LETTERS TO Bird Talk, c/o CSANews 180 Lesmill Road Toronto, Ontario M3B 2T5 or by e-mail: csawriteus@snowbirds.org Bird Talk Ed.: It’s probably time to get a new card as Sears appears to be bankrupt, although they do own lots of property. This is a very common problem with many cards. The big computers in the sky are looking to confirm your identity by comparing your zip code to your billing address as a safety feature. So, if you have a U.S. card and it is billed to a U.S. address, just put in that zip code and it should work. If you have a Canadian card, which you do, the computer still looks for that billing zip code. Every card is different and many will accept the “00000” as a zip code. My guess is that the computer recognizes you as a foreigner and lets you proceed. Another scheme that seems to work is to use the three numbers in your Canadian postal code and then add two “0’s”. So, for our postal code, which is M3B 2T5, you would enter 32500. This has worked many times for us, especially at the gas pumps. One small wrinkle is that you must use the card’s billing address. We initially used our home address, which did not work; once, we used our office postal code, however, and it did work. I guess you now know where our credit card bills are sent. Dear Bird Talk, We flew from Toronto to Honolulu to board a Holland America cruise ship on the same day. Thirty-three days later, we arrived in Auckland, NZ. We flew back to Toronto via a San Francisco connection. How many of these days are considered being in the U.S. against our 182-day U.S. allotment. Does it make a difference if we decide to stay for two days in Honolulu prior to boarding the ship? Anne Bell Arthur, ON Ed.: This is a very common question. In this specific situation, you would have to count zero days as you are “in transit.” If you wanted to stay for a day or two in Honolulu to rest before your great journey, most border guards would not count those days, either. Notice the word ”most,” as some border guards can be unpredictable. Always be courteous and do not argue or try to “teach” them the rules. Dear Bird Talk, We drive to our winter home in Arizona every year. As we get older, we will eventually fly for our six-month stay. Can we fly down with only a one-way ticket with the intention of purchasing the return ticket at a later date? Or, to avoid problems at customs, would it be best to always provide a return ticket? Michel Brisebois Victoria, BC Ed.: We have travelled on one-way tickets for years and have never had an issue. We were asked once why we did not have a return ticket and simply stated that we were not sure if we were staying for five or six months. Dear Bird Talk, OHIP now requires you to attest that Canada is your principal residence. We spend seven months in the U.S. and five months in Ontario. Given these circumstances, can we still maintain OHIP? Arthur Wenk Brechin, ON Ed.: The CSA has lobbied and received approval in Ontario and many other provinces (through regulation changes) to stay outside of the province for up to seven months. Your OHIP coverage remains intact. However, you do have a very CSANews | WINTER 2018 | 9
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