Canadian Baja Teams – As you may know, the US side of the border remains closed to non-essential travel until September 21st. This regulation may be extended again at that time until October 21st. To plan around that possibility, the Director of International Affairs at Clarkson University has assisted us in contacting US Customs to get your team’s educational border exemptions to enter the country. There are specific requirements that come along with this exemption that you will need to follow.
They are:
- Your team must travel together and cross the border in Ogdensburg, NY (Prescott, ON crossing) ONLY – this is very important
- All members of your team must be legally permissible to enter the US. You must hold Canadian citizenship or have a US Visa to enter the country. You must also be fully vaccinated for COVID 19 (all of our students are required to be vaccinated as well)
- Clarkson will provide your team (in advance of crossing the border) with an official Invitation letter that will include each team member’s name, DOB, and Passport # that you will present to US Customs
- Clarkson will create a Google form in advance of issuing the invitation asking each member of the team to provide this information and upload a copy of your passport and vaccination card. This information will be sent to the US Customs office in Ogdensburg, NY for pre-screening a week prior to your arrival.
- We will also need to know your estimated date and time of arrival at the US border in Ogdensburg, NY and also when you plan on crossing back into Canada after the completion of the event.
Our International Affairs office is currently working on the Google form and we will be sending the link to registered Canadian teams in a few days. We will need all of this information by September 7th. If you have not already done so, you are still required to register each team member in the registration system on the OktoBAJAFest Website.