Advice on work permit option

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I followed the following template:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_9sxUTiiwEjN1Mwd3dVckV5dWs?resourcekey=0-QOA3VQqbKESzDwAatqumyg

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I will be crossing the border on June 14th with a work permit :crossed_fingers:
and family and I are excited for :canada:
I Will share the experience of border crossing once I reach there. Thanks

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From which city in US are you coming from?

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I will be coming from mid west - plans to cross ND-SK Portal border.

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North Dakota - Saskatchewanā€¦ Really?
or you meant North Dakota - Manitoba borderā€¦

46

A simple google search helpsā€¦

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I know google search helps :slight_smile:

I meant to ask that because if you are in mid west then why would you go to ND-SK border instead of ND-Manitoba border, thats what i was trying to understand.

Perhaps you are in ND or SD.

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Gotcha! I have travel plans in ND and then heading to Edmonton - portal border is 24 hours and provide little more flexibility :slight_smile:

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Good luck! Let us know how it goes :slight_smile: Iā€™m planning to fly into Toronto on 20-Jun with family, almost settled everything here and found a place to live in Brantford.

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@Jose, @swamiom, Good luck!

Iā€™m planning to travel in the first week of July crossing Detroit - Windsor border.

post the updates of how it goesā€¦

51

@Jose @Takita We successfully crossed the border and overall it was a delightful experience. We crossed North Portal - SK border and the border officer was super helpful. The team in the building was diverse - Chinese, Indian and Caucasian!! On entry, they asked for our passports and vehicle license plate number and then the border officer instructed us to go into the building to get the visa. Caucasian was training the other guy how to get the visa - inside the building, they asked for passports, visa approval letters, COVID negative test and medical. Please note medicals are very important - if you have not done it, please get it done. They didnā€™t ask about offer letter, LMIA and any h1b visa approvals but each border officer is different so carry your documents.

I did the covid test at CVS, Canadian officer started asking about CVS in detail - how is the pharmacy / its service / drive-through / etc - I do not have any idea why he was asking about CVS but he was in a very good mood.

We did export our car - he just looked at the title and stamped out form 1 (I did initiate the request in advance on riv.ca) . He did not charge any tax - he said since you are coming on a temporary visa - you do not need to pay any tax. This part was confusing to me.

Then after 30-40 minutes, he gave us my work permit, my spouseā€™s open work permit and my kid visitor visa.

Also, he did not stamp our bsf186 - he said I do not need it you can directly go to customs office to claim your trailer and he started explaining I do not want you to pay any tax on car and things we have declared. You just need a work permit to claim your trailer/truck.

So 3 surprising things happen:

  1. Officer was in an extremely good mood.
  2. I did not have to pay tax on my car - he stamped my form 1.
  3. Officer did not stamp bsf186 - he said if you are not selling or disposing of any items in Canada you should not need it.

Keep in mind, each officer is different so keep all of your documents. This was my lifeā€™s best experience on the border. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks

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@swamiom Congratulations on your delightful travel experience. Would you like to share how did you apply for your spousal work permit? Was it along with your application through your empler or you did it separately from the USA? And how long it took for you to get the approvals? Please help in this regard as it is critical for us at this moment

Thanks everyone in this group for being so supportive and helpful.

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Probably you did not have to pay tax because you are coming to Canada on a temporary visa/work permit.
I guess you can continue using your US registration as well (donā€™t trust my words though).

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Thatā€™s great to hear! @swamiom

Couple of questions :

  1. What type of test did you do in CVS?
  2. Did they ask for 14 days isolation (quarantine) plan? Is there any format?
  3. Can you claim the shipped goods now or only after 14 days quarantine?
  4. Not stamping the bsf186 is different than what Iā€™ve read in my research. I thought weā€™re supposed to send a stamped copy of the bsf186 to the movers?

Anyways, thanks for your detailed post! We will be flying there soon and Iā€™ll post my experience too.

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@Jose here are my comments:

  1. I did a CVS lab test - it was drive through and you can schedule for you and your family online. They say results take 1-2 days but mine came out in ~20 hours.

  2. They did not ask for any quarantine plan as I said the officer was very chill - but be prepared to have one. No specific format - mention your Airbnb address or any other furnished rental place, your plans to order grocery & food, mention you are carrying first aid/medication and Canadian sim if you plan to carry.

  3. Only after 14 days.

  4. Thatā€™s what I thought but the officer was pretty confident - I have no idea why he said I do not need a stamp on my bsf186 and he said if there are any issues then call their office.

Good luck - Donā€™t worry it would be smooth for you and your family.

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Thank you for the response! Good to know.

Weā€™re prepared. But, as it goesā€¦ we can never be fully prepared for an immigration officer :slight_smile:

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Thanks @swamiom for your time with detailed experience at the border!!!

My attorney said I donā€™t need medicals. I guess Iā€™ll need to double check with them again.

btw, how/where did you get the medicals?

How long does it take to get the results?

How much does it cost? Does Health care provide cover it?

Thank you!!!

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Thanks @Nehag1985 . The company attorney filed my wifeā€™s open work permit along with my application. Our work approvals were approved within 1 week under GTS (as we already had biometric and Canada visitorā€™s visa stamp - saved time on passport request). Let me know if you have any other questions.

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Thanks a lot @swamiom. This might be a very basic question but can you please guide what is GTS. We are in the USA for more than 2 years and did not travel to India. My understanding is we wonā€™t need medicals but certainly, biometrics will be required. Am I right?

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@Takita I had a long conversation call with my attorney on this. On the visa approval letter, there was no mention of medical. I was under impression that I do not need one as I was in the US for years and never visited other countries and not going to work in the health care industry but the attorney insisted that I should have one so I listened to him and got the medical done for me and my wife and my son. The next day luckily I got the appointment in Chicago and drove 4 hours there to get it done. On the border, they asked for Passports, approval letters and medical.

  1. You can find here: Panel Physicians
    and you can get it upfront. If you are near Chicago, they have next appointments.
  2. They send the result to CIC and give you a certificate that itā€™s done - the Visa officer just needs that certificate.
  3. $1000 for my wife, my kid and myself. For kid they will not do X-ray & blood test. You can pay using HSA card. Chicago office do not accept insurance not sure about other locations.

You can discuss with your attorney - he/she might have better understanding on how to proceed as each case is different. Thanks