I traveled from Denver to Sweetgrass-Coutts border on 07/26/2020 (Sunday). At entry point the officer asked me the reason for entering Canada for which I told him that I want to activate my PR and return back immediately but planning to permanently return back soon. He gave yellow slip and directed me to the CBSA office. The officer there asked me the reason and was extremely unhappy with my decision to travel during the pandemic. He told me that there was no need to travel for immigration which is a non- essential purpose. He made me wait for 1 hr and again called me and told that he doesn’t want to issue PR and asked me to return back. I told him my COPR is expiring in 2 months but he countered me that all expiring COPRs will be extended. Then I told him that there are no clear guidelines for extension process and the duration it will take and I am planning to return back for settlement in 3 months. He again asked me to wait for 30 minutes and in the meanwhile did background check on me and finally called me with signed COPR and said my PR is activated from today. I literally felt like a miracle given the situation.
So, it depends entirely on the CBSA officer’s discretion whether to entertain our request during these times.
While returning back to US, they found my visa was expired, asked for my i-797 and directed me to DHS office. They made me wait for 1 hour and then said they cannot allow me to enter US since my visa was expired and asked me to return back Canada and get stamped visa. It seems they were not aware of AVR process, so i explained them about this process. But they were adamant on refusing entry and said since my expired visa with old employer and i797 is with new employer, AVR process is not valid in my case. Some how they again asked me to wait, this time 2 hours and finally called me and said I can enter US.
To conclude, I took a chance and it paid off. I am not sure whether you can follow the same path as it depends on the border officers on both sides.
@dileep_ch Extraordinary circumstances requires great courage which you showed during this journey. Anyway congratulations on your PR activation and thank you for sharing the details
We successfully completed our landing in Toronto today. Everything went pretty smooth.
Here are some details,
We flew from the US on American Airlines. Had to check in at the airport as online check in didn’t work due to document verification requirements. There was another check at the boarding gate. I would highly recommend going to the airport and gate early. The gate agents send the details to their internal immigration team for verification, so better to have some on hand.
Arrival in Toronto was friction less due to filling out arrival info in ArriveCAN app prior to boarding the flight. If you don’t get a chance to fill it, it’s not a problem, there are paper forms available for the quarantine declaration and contact information.
After customs declaration at the kiosk, we met with 3 officers.
First officer asked about the quarantine plan, what is the purpose of our visit and how much cash we have with us. We are staying with a friend which is acceptable as long as we minimize contact with them.
Then we were guided to immigration officer. They asked us, how much money we are bringing to Canada; do I have any other dependents; the address where we would like the PR cards delivered and if we would have access to this address for ~4 months to receive the card. We provided our friend’s address, which is also the address where we are quarantined. Then they signed our CoPRs and congratulated us on becoming permanent residents.
Last officer processed our goods to follow list. We had 2 sets of BSF186, BSF186A and photos of jewelry ready which made it pretty quick for the officer. They stamped all the pages and had us sign the forms.
Everybody was so nice and co-operative during the process.
Appreciate all the inputs from this thread. Good luck with landing process to others who are about to get it done. Cheers!
Similar boat as you. Don’t have a transfer application but have a approved work permit but I am wary of questions at the border. Did you finally travel? How was the experience