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Home > Guides > Tracking stops after the US border
Because Canada Post hands your parcel to USPS at the border, and the tracking job changes hands too. Canada Post's page usually freezes at "Item processed" or "International item left Canada," and USPS only posts an update at the parcel's first US scan, which can take a day or two. The parcel is almost certainly moving: the two postal systems simply do not share one live feed.
One note on scope first: LetterAgent's shipping labels are Canada Post Xpresspost and Canada-only, so a label from us never crosses a border. This guide covers parcels sent the regular way, through a post office or a consolidator.
Your parcel travels through Canada Post's network to an international exchange point, clears export, and is loaded onto transport bound for the US. US Customs and Border Protection clears it on entry (this is the quiet part: customs can hold and scan a parcel without the tracking page saying "customs" at all), and then USPS inducts it into its own network at a US facility. Canada Post's last scan is the export scan; everything after that belongs to USPS. The "left Canada" event can even post hours after the truck actually crossed, so do not treat its timestamp as precise.
Yes. A gap of a day or two with no updates from either side is routine, especially around the border crossing, and holiday peaks stretch it further. The gap is worst for untracked or lightly-tracked services, where USPS may only scan at delivery. If you are the sender, set the recipient's expectations: "tracking will go quiet for a bit after it crosses" prevents a lot of anxious messages.
| Tracking milestone | Where you see it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Item processed / international item | Canada Post | Parcel is at the exchange office, about to leave Canada |
| International item has left Canada | Canada Post | Export scan; the last Canada Post event you will get |
| Quiet gap | Neither system | Transport plus US customs clearance; normal |
| Arrived at USPS facility | USPS | Inducted into the US network; tracking resumes here |
| Out for delivery / delivered | USPS | Final leg, same as a domestic US parcel |
Worry when USPS shows nothing at all after several days past the quiet gap, when the status sits on a customs hold for a long stretch, or when USPS says "delivered" and the recipient has nothing. In that last case, check with the recipient's local post office before assuming loss: "delivered" scans sometimes post early, and parcels turn up in mailrooms and parcel lockers a day later. If the parcel contained dutiable goods, a long customs pause usually means paperwork questions, and the recipient may owe duties before release.
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