Hi ,
Thanks to all the members on this forum. I have been able to successfully land in Canada and come back to the US(came back last night) with an 8th year extension and an expired visa.Here is my experience:
We flew to Seattle and then drove to Vancouver through Port Douglas.
We reached the border at around 8:30 pm on thursday night.There was absolutely no queue.The conversation with the officer at the checkpost was as follows:
Officer:Why do you want to visit Canada?
Beezee: I would like to complete the landing formalities.
Officer: Will you be staying in Vancouver or going back immediately?
Beezee : I plan to stay a few days in Vancouver.
She gave me a piece of paper and told me to go park the car and meet an immigration officer inside the building.
Inside the building, the immigration was on the left side with sitting space for 3 officers and on the right, the same arrangement existed for the customs department.
We went to the the immigration officer and showed her the papers.She verified the information from the passports against the IMM form.Then she asked both of us to sign the form within the box.While verifying she just asked some casual questions like how was the drive,talked about the weather,nothing particularly unnerving.
She did not even look at the Bank Deposit Verificaiton Letter.Though I had an address in Canada, she said it cannot be a friend's address and that I would have to fax it when I come to Canada for good and after that within 6 weeks I would receive my PR card.She then gave me instructions of how to apply for SIN and also gave me a handout of the PR validity.
Then she asked me to go to customs.The customs officer asked me if I had a a list of things which I wanted to declare.I had prepared a list.She filled up a form saying that the list of things are "as per the attached list".Then she made copies of the form and the attached list and gave it to me.She told me that even if I have any other stuff which I have missed on the list and if I am able to prove it to them that I possessed the stuff before the landing date with a receipt then they would still accept it.
The officers were very courteous and were really trying to make us feel comfortable.It was very organized and systematic.
I stayed in Canada for two days and then drove back.This time it was the exact opposite.It was a Saturday afternoon and there was a big waiting line of cars trying to cross the border on both sides.We had to wait an hour and a half in the car.Then they gave us a piece of paper ,asked us to park the car and meet an immigration officer inside the building.
Inside the builiding, it was chaotic.There were around 25 people standing in line.There were no separate departments for customs and immigration.When our turn came 4 of the six officers sent us back stating that an immigration specialist would help us .Finally when we went to the fifth officer ,he asked me "Why do you want to meet an immigration specialist" and I told him that the other officers had told me so .He probably knew the immigration process and hence asked for my documents.
He saw the passport and commented that the Visa had expired.I told him that I had the extension with a valid I-94.He threw away the old I-94 and issued a new I-94 and charged $12 for it.He did not ask any questions regarding work nor about AVR.Even though it took a total of 2.5 hours to get through the process, in the end it worked out fine.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to reply to this post and I will answer it based on my experience over the last couple of days.
Thanks,
Thanks to all the members on this forum. I have been able to successfully land in Canada and come back to the US(came back last night) with an 8th year extension and an expired visa.Here is my experience:
We flew to Seattle and then drove to Vancouver through Port Douglas.
We reached the border at around 8:30 pm on thursday night.There was absolutely no queue.The conversation with the officer at the checkpost was as follows:
Officer:Why do you want to visit Canada?
Beezee: I would like to complete the landing formalities.
Officer: Will you be staying in Vancouver or going back immediately?
Beezee : I plan to stay a few days in Vancouver.
She gave me a piece of paper and told me to go park the car and meet an immigration officer inside the building.
Inside the building, the immigration was on the left side with sitting space for 3 officers and on the right, the same arrangement existed for the customs department.
We went to the the immigration officer and showed her the papers.She verified the information from the passports against the IMM form.Then she asked both of us to sign the form within the box.While verifying she just asked some casual questions like how was the drive,talked about the weather,nothing particularly unnerving.
She did not even look at the Bank Deposit Verificaiton Letter.Though I had an address in Canada, she said it cannot be a friend's address and that I would have to fax it when I come to Canada for good and after that within 6 weeks I would receive my PR card.She then gave me instructions of how to apply for SIN and also gave me a handout of the PR validity.
Then she asked me to go to customs.The customs officer asked me if I had a a list of things which I wanted to declare.I had prepared a list.She filled up a form saying that the list of things are "as per the attached list".Then she made copies of the form and the attached list and gave it to me.She told me that even if I have any other stuff which I have missed on the list and if I am able to prove it to them that I possessed the stuff before the landing date with a receipt then they would still accept it.
The officers were very courteous and were really trying to make us feel comfortable.It was very organized and systematic.
I stayed in Canada for two days and then drove back.This time it was the exact opposite.It was a Saturday afternoon and there was a big waiting line of cars trying to cross the border on both sides.We had to wait an hour and a half in the car.Then they gave us a piece of paper ,asked us to park the car and meet an immigration officer inside the building.
Inside the builiding, it was chaotic.There were around 25 people standing in line.There were no separate departments for customs and immigration.When our turn came 4 of the six officers sent us back stating that an immigration specialist would help us .Finally when we went to the fifth officer ,he asked me "Why do you want to meet an immigration specialist" and I told him that the other officers had told me so .He probably knew the immigration process and hence asked for my documents.
He saw the passport and commented that the Visa had expired.I told him that I had the extension with a valid I-94.He threw away the old I-94 and issued a new I-94 and charged $12 for it.He did not ask any questions regarding work nor about AVR.Even though it took a total of 2.5 hours to get through the process, in the end it worked out fine.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to reply to this post and I will answer it based on my experience over the last couple of days.
Thanks,