BORDER COACHING –for Canadian & USA/International models traveling to/from the United States
I travel a decent amount, and the more you travel alone, the more they are likely to question you at the border. I heard a few models were turned away at the US border last year when trying to attend XBIZ Miami from Canada. They stated they were going to an awards show, but the nature of the ceremony raised enough red flags for the customs agent to deny entry, even if they claimed they had no intention to work. They might also possibly flag those models for additional questioning at the next border crossing. I now prepare myself to be pulled over every time, so if they finally do gimme the ol’ grillin, I have my bases covered.
These suggestions may come off as extreme, but if you get grilled you’ll thank me later!
- NEVER, EVER say you’re going for work and at the risk of stating the obvious, NEVER say you are a sex worker. This includes phone sex operator, stripper, cam model, etc. Even just “model” will make them want to know more, so try to avoid it. They tend to assume sex workers don’t take vacations and only travel for work. Even if you make US dollars in your home country, it’s a problem for them if you make US money on their soil, and grounds for denial.
- Since legalization, they can ask you about pot consumption. NEVER say you smoke or take weed even if it’s for medicinal purposes. It’s a grey area and should be avoided.
- Have a solid backstory ready! What you do for work, who you’re visiting, why you’re visiting, what THEY do for a living, how and when you met, etc. If you know someone from the State you’re visiting, spark up a conversation via text messaging to play up the idea you’re just meeting a friend, it’ll be one more piece of evidence in your favor if they scan your phone.
- They might ask you where you’re staying, it’s a very common question. For Miami, I’d avoid saying the Mondrian cuz they can google the dates and the hotel, and you’re busted. Just pick any other nearby hotel basically.
- SUPER IMPORTANT: Never give the border agents too much information. Let them ask a question and keep your answers as short as possible. Make them ask if they wanna know more. They will usually get tired after 3 or 4 questions and wave you through if they don’t find anything to be suspicious.
- Wipe your phone, but do it SELECTIVELY, don’t wipe it completely. Remove all your nudes, leave some personal photos. They notice when your phone’s been completely wiped and it may incentivize them to dig further (into your laptop or suitcase, etc)
- Delete all your work-related social media apps & log into your personal social media. Reinstall your work apps when you get over the border. This includes EMAIL. Also if you remove your IG app cuz you only use it for work but have a photo folder titled “Instagram”, you might wanna delete or rename the folder. IF YOU HAVE A JOB WRITTEN ON YOUR PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA, make sure it matches what you tell the border guard. They’ll look at social media first if they take your phone.
- Clear your browser history on your phone and your laptop in advance if possible, and do some online window shopping or something, to build up new history with SFW/non-work related stuff.
- If you bring your laptop, make sure if they turn it on that your login isn’t your model name. The worst case set it to auto login, and make sure your background photo is SFW friendly (and not a sexy photo of you for example)
- I keep all my work on an external hard drive. That way when I travel, my laptop is clean (not to mention my laptop runs super well without all the clutter), and I can claim I’m traveling with a secondary/travel laptop if they start to probe my files. This way I can justify why it’s so empty.
- If I’m flying out of a big city and going to a big industry event with a lot of attendees, I try to be at the airport EARLY and be one of the first people through customs. Since attendees often fly in on the same day, and often with limited flights going to that same destination, the chances of other performers or fans being on your flight are higher than you might think. If another performer gets “busted” before you, or they have an influx of fans going to an adult event, they may get tighter on screening for sex worker travelers that day.
- Mail your business cards to the hotel or to a friend in the US in advance, if you can. If you HAVE TO bring them with you, put them in your checked luggage. Your carry on is more likely to get searched, but they can pull your suitcase at any time.
- Try to keep lingerie and sex toys to a minimum. Take the batteries out of your vibrators before traveling.
- Don’t bring too much equipment. Leave your lights at home.
- For all the content you shot while on your trip, try to load it up to a cloud and get it off your phone/laptop before going back over the border – but again, don’t delete EVERYTHING once you’re done loading to a cloud (or even a USB stick that you can hide well) – leave some photos so if they search your phone or your laptop on the way back, there’s something to show, but nothing incriminating so to speak
- If you pick up swag or anything else that would give away that you were there on business, try to budget so you can mail it to yourself to avoid taking it back over the border.
- Flying home tends to be easier, just make sure you have something to tell the guard about what you did on your trip (if they ask) and try to have something to declare (like clothing or souvenirs, etc)
You may do all of the above to prepare, and they might just wave you through lol but I have thought again and again about what would happen IF…. Being over-prepared sure beats having to cancel all your plans and maybe be flagged for future trips.
Hope this helps!!
By an Anonymous Sex Worker