I have been a passive reader of this and other forums for a long time, and I have benefited immensely, so I thought I could share my successful stamping experience. I know I am a little late in posting this, but better late than never. I have two things to share here - 1) our PR in Canada and the procedures about it, and 2) H1-B stamping in Ottawa.
Whoever is not interested in the Canadian PR stuff, please skip this paragraph. We (me, my spouse, and our 11 month old) had till early Sept to go to Canada border and show the CPR (confirmation of permanent residency) card to remain eligible. So we chose mid July. Drove via I-81 and reached the 1000 islands border at around 1 PM on Jul 12th. The Canadian immigration people at the border were extremely nice, well mannered and cooperative. The whole process was done within an hour, and it took even that long due to our mistake. We went there in our other car (van) that was still on loan and so we did not have the van "title". You can only bring "your" things into Canada if you are "migrating" (different matter if you enter on visitor visa). But the supervisor was kind enough to let us go this time. In general, a very pleasant experience.
Next morning, we had appointment for 9.30. We had to stamp 2 different H1Bs for my spouse and me. We reached consulate at 8.30 and waited in the small line outside. The guard came to us and said since we have a small kid and it was getting hot, he would let us in early. Now one advice for everyone. We had carried a LOT of documentation with us, so much that it had to be carried in 4 different plastic bags. We carried house papers, old certificates, utility bills, and what not. The reason being in case this did not work out and we could not go back to USA, we should have all our documentation with us. That is not really needed, and even if you carry it with you, leave it in the hotel safe. The guard said there is no way the security people will let us in with that much stuff (plus the baby things). We told him we want to take a chance, as we don’t want to go to hotel and come back so late. He let us in. Another tip - even if you have to go back to hotel for something, DON'T PANIC. There was a very nice and jolly Sardarji there with 8.00 appointment but he had to go to hotel and when he came back it was 8.45 already. I know he got his work done. The lady at the metal detector counter told us it is against policy to allow so much stuff. We also had 2 pairs of clothes for the kid, 4-5 diapers, 2 bottles, some toys, etc. Again, being the nice people that they are, she let us in, but warned that we cannot do it next time. They actually made us eat a little bit of his formula, food bottle, water, etc to make sure it is safe. Another thing is that even though the instructions clearly say no bags (except plastic), purse, etc, a lot of people had carried purses with them and were arguing with the outside guard as to why it was not allowed. It's OK to be without a purse for 2 hours.
Once inside, we paid the $200 for my spouse and me and gave original 797s and passports. Waited for about 15 minutes. Our kid was in full-fledged playing mood and was making noise against our wishes. One lady at the counter called my wife in and said that they are actually trying to fast track our application J Sure enough, within 2 minutes, we got called at window 3, gave our fingerprints, showed employer's letters for both, and he asked us to collect the passports at 3 PM next day. That's it!! Overall, it was a very pleasant experience, and we actually got out by 9.15 (thanks to our kid). There were lots of Indians inside (mostly well behaved, contrary to what I read in some posts). Whatever I saw in 15 minutes, everyone got his or her visas. So if you have the status maintained and have the required paperwork, it is a breeze. Next day, we went in at 3, got the PPs back at 3.15.
