Bird Talk Dear Bird Talk, If I go to Florida in the fall for six weeks and return home for Christmas and then return to Florida in January for four months, is it necessary for me to stay in Canada for a specific number of days before returning to Florida? Lee Ward Carleton Place, ON Ed.: It is recommended that if you don’t want your time in Canada between your visits to Florida to be included in your count of days spent in the U.S., you should remain in Canada for at least 30 days before returning to the U.S. in January. Dear Bird Talk, Governor Ron DeSantis has long been talking of dropping property taxes for Florida residents. This appears to be gaining momentum as he nears the end of his term. Today, he clarified that it will only affect native Floridians; we will still go after “Canadians and new people moving into state.” Urgent time to lobby Florida politicians. John Lumsden Kitchener, ON Ed.: We are pleased to report that the Canadian Snowbird Association has been actively working with aligned interest groups in Florida to ensure that the Florida state legislature enacts equitable property tax reform, so that the burden of supporting public services is shared equally among the entire tax base, not just commercial property owners and non-homesteaders. Dear Bird Talk, You told a reader that if they need medication while in Florida, they can have it sent from Canada. My husband forgot his blood pressure meds and Prednisone. He had a friend get it from our home and ship it to Florida. He provided all necessary information and labelled it “Medication.” We got an email saying the shipment was delayed. My husband phoned and was told that they didn’t have all of the information. My husband provided it to them. Next day, same thing. They needed more info. My husband phoned, and gave them info we had already sent. Every day, an email came saying that it was delayed. Every day, my husband phoned. Twenty-five days later, the shipment finally arrived! This was very stressful! I would recommend going to a doctor in Florida and getting new prescriptions. Sandra Downey Bracebridge, ON Ed.: Good advice! If you need the medication in a hurry, a local doctor is the best way to go. Dear Bird Talk, In order to complete the Form 8840 prior to June 15, we will be using our current passport that expires well after June 15; we were hoping to have a new passport issued in October. At the land-border crossing, we will present our new passport (and numbers) which will not agree with the passport numbers on our just-completed Form 8840. Will this present a problem? Thank you for your time. Gary Jardine Collingwood, ON Ed.: Your new passport number does not have any impact on a Form 8840 previously filed with the IRS, and filing a Form 8840 will not have any impact on your admission to the United States. Carry on! Dear Bird Talk, Like the majority of CSA members, we keep accurate records of our entry and departure dates from the U.S. and confirm this on the U.S. I-94 website of travel history. We were issued Form I-94s when we entered the U.S. on Nov 15, but there is NO record of our departure on April 5 at the Blaine land border. I realize now that the safest choice would be to provide a copy of your Form I-94 at the land border on departure. What do you recommend we do now, as the U.S. border services does not have a recorded date of our departure? Gillian Gibson West Vancouver, BC Ed.: A good method to provide evidence of your date of re-entry into Canada is the presentation of a receipt. If you purchased gas, a restaurant meal or groceries with your credit card on the day of your return to Canada, it will be on your credit card statement. Keep a copy of the statement or receipt handy for peace of mind. Dear Bird Talk, I just wanted to commend Mr. Quigley for his Editor’s Message delivered in our current issue of CSANews. Being an annual traveller to Florida for the winter, I enjoyed a very similar, enjoyable experience with friends in the Sunshine state. Good news is refreshing and supportive of our friends to the South. Thank you for the continued good news, Regards, Mike Walz St. Catharines, ON Ed.: Many people chose to remain in Canada this past winter in order to demonstrate their disapproval of comments made by the current administration in Washington, D.C. We are fortunate that we live in a free country, where we can say and do what we believe. We are also fortunate that we can visit a free country, where such freedoms and values are shared. Dear Bird Talk, In response to Gena Gorrell’s submission in the spring issue and her problems with not having a “valid government-issued photo ID” for her husband, she needs to acquire a Canadian Identity Card at Service Ontario. This has your name, address and photo on it. Passports and health cards are often not valid in many situations (e.g. voting, for one) because they do not contain the carrier’s address. Katherine Smith Hamilton, ON Ed.: Good advice, Katherine. I hope that Gena reads this. 8 | www.snowbirds.org
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