Passport Request (PPR) received - in US on H1 visa

[DoTheRightThing]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently working in the US on a H1 Visa and I hold an Indian passport.
I had applied for Canada Permanent Residency and have received a Passport Request (PPR) asking me to send the passports of myself and my family members to Ottawa.

As far as I understand, it is illegal to send passports across borders. Also since I am in the US with an Indian passport, there is a risk in sending the passport because it is the only document to prove my legal identity.

If any of you have been in a similar situation, I request you to please share your experiences on how to managed to get the PR stamped and returned to you.

Please let me know -
1. How you sent the passports - which courier service (FedEx, UPS, USPS etc)
2. Where there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance?
3. Do you need to get any confirmation from the Indian Embassy before sending the passorts?
4. How long did it take for you to get your passports back?
5. Can you send the passport to a Canada Embassy within the US?
6. Any other things that I should know based on your experiences.

I have to send the passports as soon as possible, hence please share your inputs.

I thank you in advance for taking the time to provide me the information..

Best Regards
D.

 

[4RyL]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently working in the US on a H1 Visa and I hold an Indian passport.
I had applied for Canada Permanent Residency and have received a Passport Request (PPR) asking me to send the passports of myself and my family members to Ottawa.

As far as I understand, it is illegal to send passports across borders. Also since I am in the US with an Indian passport, there is a risk in sending the passport because it is the only document to prove my legal identity.

If any of you have been in a similar situation, I request you to please share your experiences on how to managed to get the PR stamped and returned to you.

Please let me know -
1. How you sent the passports - which courier service (FedEx, UPS, USPS etc)
2. Where there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance?
3. Do you need to get any confirmation from the Indian Embassy before sending the passorts?
4. How long did it take for you to get your passports back?
5. Can you send the passport to a Canada Embassy within the US?
6. Any other things that I should know based on your experiences.

I have to send the passports as soon as possible, hence please share your inputs.

I thank you in advance for taking the time to provide me the information..

Best Regards
D.

post in here
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/all-h-1b-holders-in-u-s-lets-connect-here-who-wants-canadian-pr-citizenship.460664/page-11#post-6188208

 

[DoTheRightThing]

post in here
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/all-h-1b-holders-in-u-s-lets-connect-here-who-wants-canadian-pr-citizenship.460664/page-11#post-6188208

Thank you for pointing me to this thread.

 

[21Goose]

No, it's not illegal to send passports across borders - where are you getting that from?

Yes, there's always a small risk when you mail your passport, but it's not worth worrying about.

Please let me know -
1. How you sent the passports - which courier service (FedEx, UPS, USPS etc)
FedEx
2. Where there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance?
No
3. Do you need to get any confirmation from the Indian Embassy before sending the passorts?
No
4. How long did it take for you to get your passports back?
About 10 days
5. Can you send the passport to a Canada Embassy within the US?
No
6. Any other things that I should know based on your experiences.

Don't worry, it's a simple and straightforward process.

 

[ashwani.m]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently working in the US on a H1 Visa and I hold an Indian passport.
I had applied for Canada Permanent Residency and have received a Passport Request (PPR) asking me to send the passports of myself and my family members to Ottawa.

As far as I understand, it is illegal to send passports across borders. Also since I am in the US with an Indian passport, there is a risk in sending the passport because it is the only document to prove my legal identity.

If any of you have been in a similar situation, I request you to please share your experiences on how to managed to get the PR stamped and returned to you.

Please let me know -
1. How you sent the passports - which courier service (FedEx, UPS, USPS etc)
2. Where there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance?
3. Do you need to get any confirmation from the Indian Embassy before sending the passorts?
4. How long did it take for you to get your passports back?
5. Can you send the passport to a Canada Embassy within the US?
6. Any other things that I should know based on your experiences.

I have to send the passports as soon as possible, hence please share your inputs.

I thank you in advance for taking the time to provide me the information..

Best Regards
D.

Hi,
My cousin is in US on H1B and she went through the same situation last year. She sent her passport to Canada Visa office (as directed in email she got) through normal US mail not courier.. And it is NOT illegal to send passport out of the border. She got her passport back with COPR in about 20 days..

 

[DoTheRightThing]

Hi,
My cousin is in US on H1B and she went through the same situation last year. She sent her passport to Canada Visa office (as directed in email she got) through normal US mail not courier.. And it is NOT illegal to send passport out of the border. She got her passport back with COPR in about 20 days..

Hi,

Thank you very much for your reply. It is a relief to know that sending passports are not a problem.

Did your cousin use a courier service and CIC still sent the passport back through US regular mail? I have read is another forum that CIC does not accept FedEx but it was a very old post, so thought I would ask you.

 

[DoTheRightThing]

No, it's not illegal to send passports across borders - where are you getting that from?

Yes, there's always a small risk when you mail your passport, but it's not worth worrying about.

Please let me know -
1. How you sent the passports - which courier service (FedEx, UPS, USPS etc)
FedEx
2. Where there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance?
No
3. Do you need to get any confirmation from the Indian Embassy before sending the passorts?
No
4. How long did it take for you to get your passports back?
About 10 days
5. Can you send the passport to a Canada Embassy within the US?
No
6. Any other things that I should know based on your experiences.

Don't worry, it's a simple and straightforward process.

Thank you for your reply.

I read in some forums that said it is illegal to send the passport across borders, especially for someone holding a non US passport and residing in US, which got me worried.

Is there a way to track the status of the PR approval once you send the passports?

Did you get your passports returned to you in the same FedEx prepaid envelope? I read that CIC did not accept FedEx for someone and returned passports via USPS. I apologize if the questions seem very basic, but I just want to get it right the first time.

 

[21Goose]

Here's what I did

1. Got a prepaid return label
2. Got a blank Fedex envelope (the large one, for documents, big enough to take 2 passports)
3. I pasted the return label on the envelope - made sure it wasn't sealed
4. Put the envelope, my passports, photos in a FedEx plastic envelope, big enough for everything, and mailed that.

All CIC had to do was put my passports in the open envelope, seal it, and mail it. You should be able to do the same thing.

You can track the status of your application in your CIC account.

In addition, while reading forums is good, do your own primary research as well (check CIC's website, call FedEx, etc.)

What worked for one person may not necessarily work for another, and there's lots of incorrect info floating around these forums.

 

[ashwani.m]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your reply. It is a relief to know that sending passports are not a problem.

Did your cousin use a courier service and CIC still sent the passport back through US regular mail? I have read is another forum that CIC does not accept FedEx but it was a very old post, so thought I would ask you.

As mentioned above, she sent passport through normal mail not courier. I am not sure if IRCC accepts courier but highly doubt that.

 

[21Goose]

As mentioned above, she sent passport through normal mail not courier. I am not sure if IRCC accepts courier but highly doubt that.

IRCC absolutely does accept courier. I would highly recommend using FedEx or UPS over USPS.

 

[Maverick28]

For Indian passports, at the back page, it is written that "The passport should not be sent out of the country by post. It should be in the possession of the passport holder or the authorized representative at all times."

 

[DEEPCUR]

Here's what I did

1. Got a prepaid return label
2. Got a blank Fedex envelope (the large one, for documents, big enough to take 2 passports)
3. I pasted the return label on the envelope - made sure it wasn't sealed
4. Put the envelope, my passports, photos in a FedEx plastic envelope, big enough for everything, and mailed that.

All CIC had to do was put my passports in the open envelope, seal it, and mail it. You should be able to do the same thing.

You can track the status of your application in your CIC account.

In addition, while reading forums is good, do your own primary research as well (check CIC's website, call FedEx, etc.)

What worked for one person may not necessarily work for another, and there's lots of incorrect info floating around these forums.

1), Did you print prepaid label online or got it from store? I believe there's no straight forward way to create return labels? In UPS one needs to create an account, create an import package, and then provide from - to address. We won't be billed until the package gets picked from cpc Ottawa. Is it the same in FedEx?

2) In from address for return envelope, would it be okay to give that cpc Ottawa 365 address to which the passports are sent? I understand not much options here, but just double checking.

 

[21Goose]

1), Did you print prepaid label online or got it from store? I believe there's no straight forward way to create return labels? In UPS one needs to create an account, create an import package, and then provide from - to address. We won't be billed until the package gets picked from cpc Ottawa. Is it the same in FedEx?

2) In from address for return envelope, would it be okay to give that cpc Ottawa 365 address to which the passports are sent? I understand not much options here, but just double checking.

I did everything at the store. I did have to create a FedEx account, but that was easy - fill out name, address, add a credit card. Once I had my account, I created a shipping label with an associated return label. Both were billed to my account.

Yes, I did give the address of CPC Ottawa as the sender on the return address.

As to the legality of sending the passport out of the country, take it up with the Indian and Canadian governments. If you don't want to mail it, I suppose you can go back to India and ask CIC to change your issuing office to India and do it all there.

 

[DoTheRightThing]

Here's what I did

1. Got a prepaid return label
2. Got a blank Fedex envelope (the large one, for documents, big enough to take 2 passports)
3. I pasted the return label on the envelope - made sure it wasn't sealed
4. Put the envelope, my passports, photos in a FedEx plastic envelope, big enough for everything, and mailed that.

All CIC had to do was put my passports in the open envelope, seal it, and mail it. You should be able to do the same thing.

You can track the status of your application in your CIC account.

In addition, while reading forums is good, do your own primary research as well (check CIC's website, call FedEx, etc.)

What worked for one person may not necessarily work for another, and there's lots of incorrect info floating around these forums.

Thank you for providing the steps you did to mail your passports. This information really helps. I am planning to send it through FedEx as well.

One last question, were there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance, like commercial invoice form or anything like that?

 

[21Goose]

Thank you for providing the steps you did to mail your passports. This information really helps. I am planning to send it through FedEx as well.

One last question, were there any other documentation that you had to fill in for customs clearance, like commercial invoice form or anything like that?

No, but I made sure to make the items as "Personal - No Commercial Value" when I filled out the forms.