Thanks for the response @northern I was able to link my PR card application to my GC Key profile. Now, I am trying to update my address via link you provided. It throws an error that the information is not found.
Should i wait few more days and give it a try??
Update- Did my landing via road at blaine peace arch crossing. Here is my experience.
We crossed into the canada border around mid day on sunday. There were no lines at the border itself. Told the border officer that we wanted to complete our PR landing. Were told to park on the side and walk into a building. In the building we headed straight to our assigned counter(no lines again) and gave our documents, COPR, passports, goods to follow list and address to send PR cards. Told we are not intending to move today and heading back almost imm. She told us to have a seat and processed our docs. Once done she explained our rights as PR and said our cards will be mailed in 6-8 weeks.
We hung around the area and had lunch at a nearby town. We then proceeded back into the US with a long line of cars. After approx 30 mins we crossed over without any hassles. Officer asked why we went to canada and if we intend to move there. We said eventually.
Today I linked my PR card application to my account and see that is it in processing status.
I have been entering the US for the last 10 years as a H1B and was never treated with the amount of respect and courtesy which was accorded to me at the Canada border. Makes me want to move there even more and asap.
Hey @movupnorth, did you reenter the US via Automatic revalidation or was your H1B visa already stamped?
I had a month or so left on my H1. So no AVR needed.
Why is it that some people in same situation were asked for address while very few not?
Many of the questions here are answered in my new post here:
A quick note about “which bank account I should open?”. Earlier I refrained for recommending any particular bank. However after having moved here, I would highly recommend opening an account with TD, for one main reason: they’re open for longer hours, Saturday’s and some branches are open for a few hours even on Sundays. Trust me, if you’re starting a new job as soon as you land and are busy or far away from a business center/mall, you’ll be so busy for first few weeks that you’ll pray for banks and other institutions to be open on weekends. They also offer basic bank accounts with low fees, and even a credit card, for new immigrants.
I have tried to open an account with RBC but whenever I check online after hours, they’re closed and they don’t open on weekends. The good feature RBC offers that I’m interested in is cross-border banking. Be sure to check it out. However RBC is considered the #1 bank in Canada.
Hello folks ,
I am doing soft landing this week , and wanted to confirm what all documents need to be carried for soft landing . I have the following prepared , is anything else needed ?
Is anything else needed to make a smooth soft landing ?
Thanks
Here’s my soft landing experience.
I drove from Connecticut to Buffalo and did a crossing on Lewiston - Queenston bridge. The line to enter into Canada was pretty small. After crossing the border, stopped at the customs booth and the officer asked me if I was flagpoling, I told her no and informed that I live in the States and was intending to do a landing for the permanent residency. She asked a few regular questions such as if I was carrying more than 10k in cash, any firearms, any live animals, etc. She gave me a yellow receipt which said “Not flagpoling, doing landing for pr” and asked me to proceed into the CBSA building and hand over the receipt to any officer.
Went into the building and handed over the yellow receipt to the officer. They asked for the passport and Confirmation of pr and was told to sit until called. Waited for about 45 mins until I was called. The officer asked why I was doing a landing that particular day when I had my visa valid for another 3-4 months. I told her that I was able to get some time off from work and planned the trip to visit some friends along too. She asked for a recent copy of proof of funds. Handed it over to her, verified and gave it back to me.
Asked me if I was moving in that day or just doing a landing, I told her that I was just making a landing and will make a permanent move in about 6-8 months. She said that since I was not moving that day, she wouldn’t process my PR Card and handed me a form to be filled and faxed when I move in permanently.
Asked me if I had a Goods accompanying/Goods to follow list, I showed her the excel print out with all the details (Item Description, Make & Model (when applicable), Serial Number (when applicable), Value in CAD). She sounded appreciative and told me how most of the people come in without the list and start documenting then.
Asked if I had a vehicle that I’ll be importing, confirmed that I will when I move permanently. She told me to fill the vehicle VIN details on a form and wait until called. Waited for another 20 mins, I was called and she confirmed that I am officially a Permanent Resident of Canada and reminded me of the PR obligation of spending 730 days in 5 years. I again asked her if there was anyway she could process my PR Card (wanted to try my luck) since I would most likely do a landing after my CoPR expires. She told me that she will not be processing my PR card since I won’t be moving that day and told me to apply for “Returning Resident Visa” (looked up online and found nothing like this, the closest visa was perhaps the PRTD) at any Canadian embassy/consulate if I’ll be flying or else I can always land via border with the Proof of Landing.
Asked me to take my GA/GTF lists to the next counter along with the yellow receipt, the officer again asked me few of the same questions (how many days I intended to stay in Canada, where I’ll be staying, when I was intending to a permanent move). The CoPR was stapled to my passport and again advised me that the document was important as it confirms that I was now an official PR. This officer then told me to update my address using the form that was provided as soon as I had an address in Canada.
Told me to go to the Cashier counter and hand over the GA/GTF lists along with the forms that she signed. The cashier scanned the copies of the GA/GTF and gave me a receipt for $0. I checked back with the officer if there were any other formalities and confirmed that it was all the process involved for the PR landing.
Drove to Brampton and next day went to the Service Canada center at 9 AM and told them that I was a new resident and wanted to apply for a SIN. The guy at the reception asked for the CoPR and took my local address and asked me to go to the waiting area until called. Waited for 15 mins and was called to a booth. Asked for my CoPR again, entered my details and gave me a copy with my SIN details in 5 mins and told that I was good to go.
Went to RCB and opened an account (Appointment is recommended). Looks like all the banks had some specials for new comers. So, the account I opened had maintenance fee waived for 6 months along with a 2k credit card. (There are other account types with waived maintenance fee for 12 months too)The banker even advised of home loans for new comers and some programs for new comers that help to settle down/transition into a PR life easily. This entire process took about an hour.
Return to US - AVR
I am on H1B with an expired visa. Carried all my documents along and landed at the US border (Peace Bridge/Niagara falls- Fort Erie) at about 8:00 AM. Waited for about 20 mins in the line and pulled up to the CBP booth. Handed over my old passport with expired H1B visa and approved i797 plus the new passport. The CBP officer asked me why I was in Canada, answered him that I did a landing for my Permanent residency. Asked me again if I became a PR, answered him yes. He asked how many days I was in Canada and if I was bringing anything back (answered him that I bringing back my personal stuff that I had on me). He called over another officer from the adjacent booth and discussed something. Told me to tear off the i94 from 797 and staple it to my passport and I was good to go.
Overall, the process at both the Canadian and the US side was smooth, except the inability to apply for a PR card. Looks like I am in the same boat as @g.rajtharun. I am thinking of calling the CBSA and see if they can update the address in Canada for my PR Card.
UPDATE : Did my landing thru the Thousand Islands Bridge(Landsdowne) on a Sunday morning .Took a rental car. Carried all the suggested documents, but I was not asked to show a single one. I was asked to write the address where they could mail PR card. ( not sure if I need to submit any application for it… kindly advise if any of you know about it ) . Then I was sent to the Customs window where I submitted Good accompanying and Goods to Follow lists. I was given a receipt and copy of GTF list as proof.
I was told I will need PR confirmation letter to travel into Canada later ( Only if travelling by road, in my own car,not rental).
Went to Kingston for lunch and sight seeing.
Returned thru the same bridge by 6 PM and used AVR option (uneventful) .
Settlers (New PRs) are exempt from restrictions on bringing in used mattresses to Canada.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d9/d9-1-7-eng.html
@Zondor Thank you for your detailed explanation. When you say you did crossing, did you drive or walk through not sure of that part? Are there any alternatives for those who don’t drive to go by land through any of the borders? looking for alternatives if i don’t want to fly.
@Msmg I did drive across the border. However, I met a few people who mentioned that they crossed the border near Peace bridge (Fort Erie) by foot and had no issues.
I would think its pretty much the same process for anyone irrespective of the mode of transport. However, keep in mind about flagpoling. Flagpoling is done by people who live in Canada coming into US and returning back immediately to activate their PR or change of status (Study to work, etc). If the CBSA officer asks you whether you are flagpoling, say no and tell them that you are doing an initial landing to activate your PR.
@Zondor Thank you! are there specific days of the week that they work or is it possible to do this even on weekends?
Thanks for your detailed description. I wanted to ask about this particular detail about “The officer mentioned you cannot apply for PR card”. Is this for the card to be mailed? So there is also an alternate process where we don’t require to provide a Canadian mailing address and still complete the landing?
We can claim the PR card once we get there? The only reason I ask is because I thought the only way to get the PR card was by providing a mailing address where they can ship the card locally?
Appreciate your response. Congrats on getting the PR!
Cheers,
Appy
Thanks for your detailed explanation. Congrats on your PR!
I had a question for you around your immigration process? So between June 2018 (Your F1 expiry) and Oct 2018 were you on a cap gap EAD? Did the officer ask about the cap gap time or just giving the EAD card or I-20 suffice?
One of my friends in a similar situation and was wondering the CBP would ask question the cap gap time as the expiry visa and H1 start date has a gap of 4 months.
Appreciate your response!
Regards,
Appy
@appy22 Although I had a Canadian mailing address, I was told that they wouldn’t process the PR card then (Since I answered no when asked if I was moving permanently that day).
From my experience and understanding, even if you do not have a Canadian mailing address at the time of initial landing, permanent residency will be activated without the PR Card. PR card can then be applied at a future date (permanent move).
However, for the majority of applicants, the PR card is being processed at the time of landing even if not moving permanently on the day of landing(with a Canadian mailing address of a friend/cousin though). I guess it all depends on who your immigration officer is.
Interesting! Yeah, The reason I asked was because I did not read about anyone who hadn’t got their PR card processed on the same day with a Canadian address.
I am assuming, in such cases we would still apply once we permanently move and wait for the same 6-8 weeks to get the card.
Also, meanwhile what would be the identification that you have a PR? Would you be able to travel to canada multiple times before move( Since PRTD just gives 1 time option)?
I will also probably call the Canadian authorities just clarifying this scenario before completing our landing procedure before June end.
Appreciate your response!
Regards,
Appy
My opt expired in July 2017 and I was actually on CPT for 1 year form Oct 2017 to Sept 2018. Officer did not ask anything about this. She just took my i797 and asked where i work.etc nothing about my school.