landing experience

Automated Visa Revalidation Rule

Mr TexanCanadian,

If someone has all documents (valid I-94 and I-797 with expired visa stamp), what are the chances that they will allow the person who is pakistani national to enter in USA by using the automated visa revalidation rule.

Thanks.
 
I Think Your Friend Is 100% Responsible For This

texancanadian said:
Stoned,
Here are some more details about my friend.

Came here on F1. Always in Status. Graduated with Bachelors from US University. Got a job in a major corporation and applied for H1. Around the second year of H1 he went to Mexico and got H1 visa stamp. He then visited Pakistan later that year and returned back within a month from vacation.
He renewed his H1 for additional 3 years. Since the visa he got from Mexico expired with first H1 he sent his passport for restamping to St Louis. This was during the days St Louis was stopping to do internal revalidation, and they sent him his passport back asking him to apply from a visa from a consular post outside the US. My friend didnt leave US again till Canada landing trip.
Unfortunately my friend lost his passport a few months before he received request for Canada landing stamp and therefore had to apply for and received brand new Paki passport from Pak Embassy in Washington DC. He sent this passport to Canadian consulate and got landing stamp.
He then went and completed his landing. Did not even go near US Consulate or Embassy :). When trying to enter US again (at Niagara Falls) he was not allowed to enter US and was told to go back and apply for a new visa. Reasons given were the following
1) He didnt do exit registration while leaving US. (Though my friend says that when entering Canada by road he didnt see any US post where he could do exit registration).
2) He should apply for security clearance from state dept.
3) His passport was blank and did not have any expired USA visa (though he is not sure if that was just excuse or genuine, since he had copies of his expired visas).

When he was sent back to Canada Immigration post, the officer there said that it happened quite frequently, and if he wasnt a PR than Canada would have to deport him depending on his visa so he was lucky for having the PR.

He then tried to contact US immigration office at Toronto Pearson airport but they told him he needs to apply for visa also.

Of course my friend is very bitter from the experience, and I dont want to give out his info to protect his privacy. Please let me know if you have any additional q's.
Click to expand...

To be evry honest with you your friend is responsible for this . he did two viloation first of all he did do exit registeration and the secound thing is he did not have expired origional visa. you know how strict they are after 911

HARRY ALI YOU CAN CALL ME ON THIS 718-974-2813 ME AND U ARE IN A SAME BOAT

TANVEER
 
TANVEER / HARRY ALI,
Please do post your experiences for us either way after you go to Canada and come back or not. It would be good for everyone to know.
I sure hope you guys dont face any problems.
Best of luck.

tanveer666 said:
To be evry honest with you your friend is responsible for this . he did two viloation first of all he did do exit registeration and the secound thing is he did not have expired origional visa. you know how strict they are after 911

HARRY ALI YOU CAN CALL ME ON THIS 718-974-2813 ME AND U ARE IN A SAME BOAT

TANVEER
Click to expand...
 
FBI Fingerprint timeline

It's been six weeks since I mailed out our (my wife and I) fingerprints cards to FBI CJIS division, so far got back nothing. Now I realized that both couple need to sign the cover letter, but I signed only my name, my wife did not sign. Is there a problem here? Hope you can share your experience.

Also is it possible to call FBI to check the progress? Anyone knows their phone number?

thanks
 
Landing denied ... Please help

Hello folks,

Recently I had received PR and went for landing. At the same time I wanted to get my H stamp. I took all the paperwork i.e. landing papers, H1 , bank statements, etc.

When I landed on Canada side, I was asked for landing papers, bank statements. Then the officer asked me what my status was in US. I said H1. Then he said so you dont intend to migrate to canada. I was little surprised by this. I said I intend to. So he then asked my lastname and firstname and entered in the system and told me that "oh you have an appointment in Toronto at 11.00 am for H stamping" . I was surprised that he was able to pull that info just by name. He then said he was totally convinced that I was using my PR only to get stamping. So He gave me a temporary denial. I told him that I have branch office of my company in canada and I am planning to transfer to that office as soon as my company completes that process. In response he said he needs two letters. One from the current US company manager that they are planning to move me to canada and other from canadian office and the manager contact whom I will report.


I was able to get back to US because my US visa was still valid for 15 days.


Now I dont know what to do now. I lost my appointment in US consulate also.

Please any advice will be appreciated.
 
Wow... thats the first I am hearing of someone being this harsh..numerous people have landed with their H1B and had no issues. I am not sure if this is a sign of officers getting stricter or this being a one off case. I am really not sure what you should do...I guess other than getting the letter I cant think of a way out. Maybe some of the other users may have suggestions..
 
Where did you try your landing ?

Where did you try your landing ? Was it at Detroit --> Windsor border (Ambassador Bridge)? That border post is the toughest and Canada Immigration Officers are strictist there.
However this is the first time I have heard of someone being refused landing. Mostly the immigration officers refuse to take down the address you provide for PR card or send PR card untill you finally move or have "permanant" address.
 
I also thought it would not be a big deal. I was try to land via Peace Bridge. I am not sure why the officer would have such a problem but from his talks it looked like they did not like people coming as PR just to get H stamp. So I guess he wanted more proof that I really plan to move to canada.

if anyone had similar experiences or know someone with similar situation please help out.

Thanks.
 
Landing denied - Experience

That's the first time I ever heard that.

The real question is , have they started doing with everyone or that was just the one time thing?

Second question is: I thought the Visa appointment system only deals with US Consulates- how could a canadian immigration officer access the visa appointment system?

Anyone else experienced the same situation?
 
Hi,
I have beena lurker in this forum for long. I saw the previous post about entry being denied and it has put me in a lot of confusion. Any suggestions would help.

I am from India, and am here on H1B. I have a valid I-797 and I-94 and labor is pending. But the visa in my passport has expired.I got my Canadian PR and have to land by End of March. I have booked tickets to go to Buffalo, then drive to Toronto and have an appointment at the US consulate there.

Here are my questions:
1.) I had to renew my passport, so the immigrant stamp is on the old passport, which the Indian consulate has cancelled.I still do have the old passport though.Will the fact that my immigrant stamp is on an old cancelled passport be a problem at landing?

2.) If for the same reason as the guy above, I am denied landing into Canada, what will be my status? Will I be able to come back to the US? Remember, I have an expired visa but a valid 797 and I-94.

The above guy's experience is now creating a big dilemma for me

Your suggestions will really help.
Thanks.
 
Canada Landing for PR

Hi,
I just wanted to make sure what you were told by Canadian officer that "I could not go outside of Canada until I got my PR by mail." So, did you come back with a PR card or you make them mail to a address in Canada? Were you able to come back without a PR card?
Please let me know since I am going to Canada for PR and come back with Valid H1.
I was told by a lawyer not to give your I-94, just keep a photo copy if they ask for it.

Thanks in advance!
 
If you need a Canadian Address for PR or SIN card

If someone needs an address in Canada for PR card or SIN card, and has no friends or relative that they can use or someone wants a more reliable means of address, I can help. Contact me with an e-mail address: wilsonpais1@yahoo.com
 
landed in toronto airport feb. 18th

i landed in toronto airport feb. 18th around 10am. i am the only customer there. so no waiting. the immigration officer did ask me a couple tough questions such as why you are returning to US right away. I said i still need to wind up my business there. she then said you had the PR visa for a while, so I said I am still looking for a job in Canada. She then said you need to move to Canada to look for a job. I said I have been trying the internet job searching. In the end, she let me land. the whole thing took only 15 mintues. then another 20 minutes with customs for "goods to follow" stuff. I also applied for SIN at a local office. again, i am the only customer there.

When coming back, the US custom officer also asked me quite a few such as why I went to canada. I told him i went there for landing. he then said what is your intention eventually given you have US green card pending, i told him i plan to PR in US. He OKed my admission.

Overall my experience is good, just hope it is not that cold and I could have done more sightseeing. My advice is be honest in all your answers and follow and respect officer's requests and things should take care of themselve. Do allow yourself 2 hours at the airport when you return as the process at customs could take a while, although i am very luck as it only takes me 15 minutes and the officer was very nice to me, although he was tough in his questions.
 
Just curious, how did they find out they you would be returning to us so early?

Does this really matter that a person would say that I am staying in cAnada or returning to USA immeditely or not?






yfehgh said:
i landed in toronto airport feb. 18th around 10am. i am the only customer there. so no waiting. the immigration officer did ask me a couple tough questions such as why you are returning to US right away. I said i still need to wind up my business there. she then said you had the PR visa for a while, so I said I am still looking for a job in Canada. She then said you need to move to Canada to look for a job. I said I have been trying the internet job searching. In the end, she let me land. the whole thing took only 15 mintues. then another 20 minutes with customs for "goods to follow" stuff. I also applied for SIN at a local office. again, i am the only customer there.

When coming back, the US custom officer also asked me quite a few such as why I went to canada. I told him i went there for landing. he then said what is your intention eventually given you have US green card pending, i told him i plan to PR in US. He OKed my admission.

Overall my experience is good, just hope it is not that cold and I could have done more sightseeing. My advice is be honest in all your answers and follow and respect officer's requests and things should take care of themselve. Do allow yourself 2 hours at the airport when you return as the process at customs could take a while, although i am very luck as it only takes me 15 minutes and the officer was very nice to me, although he was tough in his questions.
Click to expand...
 
Landed in Toronto on Feb. 23rd

Hi All,
Just wanted to give a quick look at our landing. We arrived in Toronto International at 6:30AM. Went to the first Immigration booth where we said we were landing and the lady just looked at our custom form, asked about the personal items and how much money I was bringing, ttok note of that in the form and directed us to the next booth. Small line, took about 5 min to get to the officer. I told him we were landing. He took our papers, just asked to see the money. I started showing the travelers checks and after the first small batch he said it is fine, don't need to see the rest. He stamped everything, asked for the address, gave us a package with Canadian information and welcomed us to Canada. Customs was a snap too, just looked at our list of accompanying goods (we did not have any goods to follow), stamped and we were done.
It was a very pleasant experience. All in all took about 30 min.
We are loving feeling at home here in Canada!
Wish you all good luck!
Daniel
 
Please guide me

Hi Guys, I have one question. I am planning to land in Canada next month. I have one question before I actually proceed for that. My situation is like this:

1. I am in USA from last 5 Years.
2. This is the 6th year & I got extension for next 3 years because my I140 is already approved.
3. I have EAD card & Travel documents.
4. My visa in passport is expired 7 months backs.

Now question is if I will enter in USA by using my travel document, is it going to affect my H1 status.

Can I enter in USA by using my valid I-94?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Landing through Peace Bridge

I have been reading this forum for quite some time, and it's very helpful. I am planning to finish the landing through the 'Peace Bridge', so can anyone give me some help on the followings:

1) Is there an exit registration point at the US side? If yes, can it be easily be found?
2) I guess at the end of the bridge, it will be the Canada side. Do I have to pay any toll fee for driving the bridge? If yes, can I pay in US dollars?
3) Where is the nearest office for SIN application once I cross the bridge? Since I have a very tight schedule, I can not go to Toronto.
4) Can you recommend a nice hotel/motel to stay (cheap but clean) near the bridge at the Canada side? Do they accept US credit card?
5) How much will be enough to carry Canadian currency for a 1 to 2 days of stay there?

Thank you in advance for any help
 
Avr

Hello,

I inquired about the AVR rule from my company's attorney who is handling my H1/Labor cert case. She told me that this had been discontinued and if I am to travel to Canada (for landing), I shall need a valid visa stamp to re-enter the US.

Does anyone else know about whether this is true?

Tanveer, you were going to land soon, have you done that yet? If yes, how did it go?


Stoned!
 
Date goofed up!!

Ok people......tried landed today but got denied.
Why?...well.....Canadian uses British system on their dates and thus 4/1/06 means 4th Jan 06 and not 1st April 06. I did my medical around April 05 so obviously i was though it makes sense since the visa expire 1 year after medical examination. Duh!!! I am not sure whats going to happen as i was told by the immigration officer to wait for call from the Buffalo consulate or i can give them a call later. I had no problems coming back as i was in my company vehicle and they just let us thru without even checking our papers. I think someone should have posted this in the FAQ's!! Thought i share this dumb incident with you all!!!
 
need advice

Dear friend's

My sister in a situation- they got passport request for landing and they have to land to canada before april,15.But her husband had USA GC interview on 3rd wk of may. he does had AP but not sure if he can re-enter with AP since he "was out of status" befofre he got EAD through his citizen mom.Can he re -enter Usa to attend his interview if he goes for landing ? My sis had expired F1 VISA with valid H1B i -797.

Any advice willbe appreciatet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top