I had worked remotely from Vancouver for an American company for two years, and so I made regular business trips to Seattle to discuss things in person.
My experience was rather different - the return trip was always easy and fast, and I don't recall ever having to even get out of the car at the border; they just asked me a few questions and waved me through. Always very polite and friendly.
Crossing into US was much more daunting: you always had to park the car for them to inspect, and then wait anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours in a queue to get interviewed by a CBP agent. More often than not, they were pretty rude (not just to myself; I observed other people getting similar treatment). I think there was exactly one crossing where the treatment that I've got was truly professional.
Note that I wasn't a citizen, or even permanent resident, of either country at the time - I had a work visa in Canada, and a visitor/business visa in US.
No idea if this has changed recently; my experience is from 2009-2010.
My experience was rather different - the return trip was always easy and fast, and I don't recall ever having to even get out of the car at the border; they just asked me a few questions and waved me through. Always very polite and friendly.
Crossing into US was much more daunting: you always had to park the car for them to inspect, and then wait anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours in a queue to get interviewed by a CBP agent. More often than not, they were pretty rude (not just to myself; I observed other people getting similar treatment). I think there was exactly one crossing where the treatment that I've got was truly professional.
Note that I wasn't a citizen, or even permanent resident, of either country at the time - I had a work visa in Canada, and a visitor/business visa in US.
No idea if this has changed recently; my experience is from 2009-2010.