My Landing experience at Point Roberts/ Boundary Bay (without a car)

[twranks]

Hi Everyone,
First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, whether in terms of questions or answers. Your contributions helped me (and I'm sure A LOT others) make the right decisions to successfully acquire their PR. In my case it saved me THOUSANDS of dollars which I would have spent on a lawyer who would have done exactly what I did to immigrate. So for that (and SO MUCH MORE), Thank you!!!

Okay, now to the main topic of discussion. Contrary to what you may have heard, Point Roberts DOES process PR landing. In fact, in my case,I have only one complaint about my landing experience there; the transit distance. I had to take 4 buses and 1 sky-train to get there (about 3 hours). But then again I live all the way in south surrey so if you live close to a sky-train I doubt you'll have this problem.

Anyway I arrive at the border and because I arrived on foot I walk past the line-up of cars and into the CBSA office. I tell the officer I want to land as a PR. He tells me to go over to the US border office first and then come back to theirs. I cross over and go to the US office. I let the immigration officer know I am landing. He asks me if I have a valid US visa to which I reply no. He asks for my passport and CoPR. After a few seconds of typing into his system, he then collects my finger prints and picture and gives me a form with the words "FLAGPOLLING" on it to sign. After signing, he asks me to take the form with me back to the CBSA office and tells me I'm all done. I cross over to Canada and meet the immigration officer at the drive-thru section. I tell him I'm landing and he asks for my passport. He then hands me a yellow slip and asks me to go into the office.

At the office, I meet another immigration officer and tell him I'm landing. He asks for my passport and CoPR, as well as the flagpolling form and yellow slip given to me by the US officer and the officer at the drive-thru respectively. He asks me to verify the information on my CoPR and asks me to sign both copies. He then asks for my current temporary permit (which is my BOWP) and tells me to take a sit and wait for him. After a few minutes of him typing into a computer, he comes back and calls me up. He then tells me the words I have been waiting to hear for the past three years, "So, as of today, you are officially a permanent resident of Canada..." My heart skips a beat. I'm sure he could tell. He also explains the conditions for maintaining (and losing) my PR status, and instructs me to change my SIN# at Service Canada. And.... this was my lading experience at Point Roberts.

Overall, (aside from transit time) the landing process took about 15-20 minutes. All the officers were very friendly and helpful and they all seemed to know what they were doing. There were no lineups on both the American and Canadian sides, but that was probably because I took the advice on this forum and I went on a weekday morning (yesterday). Again, thanks for all the help and I'll definitely stick around for a few more days if you have any questions. Now it's time to work on getting that passport

 

[Cell]

Awesome. Glad you made it!
Only one question... from South Surrey wouldn't have been more convenient for you to go to Peace Arch? (although it's more crowded, I know)

I went to Boundary Bay / Point Roberts as well. To me, I didn't get the impression that people at the Canadian customs were so friendly, but it always depends on the people you meet of course. People at the American border were much nicer instead; the US officer congratulated with me for my Canadian PR.

 

[twranks]

Awesome. Glad you made it!
Only one question... from South Surrey wouldn't have been more convenient for you to go to Peace Arch? (although it's more crowded, I know)

I went to Boundary Bay / Point Roberts as well. To me, I didn't get the impression that people at the Canadian customs were so friendly, but it always depends on the people you meet of course. People at the American border were much nicer instead; the US officer congratulated with me for my Canadian PR.

Someone told me the same thing, but for some reason, when I checked google maps the night before I landed, It said it was a 6 hour journey from my place in NEWTON! So you can see why I chose Point Roberts (even though that was 3 hours lol) .

I also saw on the forum that Canadian customs wasn't as friendly as the American side, but honestly, I thought both sides were nice and helpful. Maybe it's because I was mentally prepared for it, but I had a really good experience with both of them and they both congratulated me. I guess it's different for everybody

 

[gopr]

Hi Everyone,
First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, whether in terms of questions or answers. Your contributions helped me (and I'm sure A LOT others) make the right decisions to successfully acquire their PR. In my case it saved me THOUSANDS of dollars which I would have spent on a lawyer who would have done exactly what I did to immigrate. So for that (and SO MUCH MORE), Thank you!!!

Okay, now to the main topic of discussion. Contrary to what you may have heard, Point Roberts DOES process PR landing. In fact, in my case,I have only one complaint about my landing experience there; the transit distance. I had to take 4 buses and 1 sky-train to get there (about 3 hours). But then again I live all the way in south surrey so if you live close to a sky-train I doubt you'll have this problem.

Anyway I arrive at the border and because I arrived on foot I walk past the line-up of cars and into the CBSA office. I tell the officer I want to land as a PR. He tells me to go over to the US border office first and then come back to theirs. I cross over and go to the US office. I let the immigration officer know I am landing. He asks me if I have a valid US visa to which I reply no. He asks for my passport and CoPR. After a few seconds of typing into his system, he then collects my finger prints and picture and gives me a form with the words "FLAGPOLLING" on it to sign. After signing, he asks me to take the form with me back to the CBSA office and tells me I'm all done. I cross over to Canada and meet the immigration officer at the drive-thru section. I tell him I'm landing and he asks for my passport. He then hands me a yellow slip and asks me to go into the office.

At the office, I meet another immigration officer and tell him I'm landing. He asks for my passport and CoPR, as well as the flagpolling form and yellow slip given to me by the US officer and the officer at the drive-thru respectively. He asks me to verify the information on my CoPR and asks me to sign both copies. He then asks for my current temporary permit (which is my BOWP) and tells me to take a sit and wait for him. After a few minutes of him typing into a computer, he comes back and calls me up. He then tells me the words I have been waiting to hear for the past three years, "So, as of today, you are officially a permanent resident of Canada..." My heart skips a beat. I'm sure he could tell. He also explains the conditions for maintaining (and losing) my PR status, and instructs me to change my SIN# at Service Canada. And.... this was my lading experience at Point Roberts.

Overall, (aside from transit time) the landing process took about 15-20 minutes. All the officers were very friendly and helpful and they all seemed to know what they were doing. There were no lineups on both the American and Canadian sides, but that was probably because I took the advice on this forum and I went on a weekday morning (yesterday). Again, thanks for all the help and I'll definitely stick around for a few more days if you have any questions. Now it's time to work on getting that passport

Just wanted to say thank you for the detailed info.Years ago when I became a PR, I had to go to Douglas/Peace Arch to do the flagpole which is harder for a transit user. I found your post randomly and my spouse landed at the Point Roberts crossing as a PR yesterday

 

[Vitesze]

Just wanted to say thank you for the detailed info.Years ago when I became a PR, I had to go to Douglas/Peace Arch to do the flagpole which is harder for a transit user. I found your post randomly and my spouse landed at the Point Roberts crossing as a PR yesterday

The Boundary Bay border is awesome - the bus from Bridgeport in Richmond stops pretty much right at the border. When I did my flagpole there (for a work permit, not PR) during the day, there was no one waiting at the US border, and only one person at the Canada border. All combined it took me only 10-15 minutes to flagpole and obtain my work permit.

 

[mcaranay]

Hi Everyone,
First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, whether in terms of questions or answers. Your contributions helped me (and I'm sure A LOT others) make the right decisions to successfully acquire their PR. In my case it saved me THOUSANDS of dollars which I would have spent on a lawyer who would have done exactly what I did to immigrate. So for that (and SO MUCH MORE), Thank you!!!

Okay, now to the main topic of discussion. Contrary to what you may have heard, Point Roberts DOES process PR landing. In fact, in my case,I have only one complaint about my landing experience there; the transit distance. I had to take 4 buses and 1 sky-train to get there (about 3 hours). But then again I live all the way in south surrey so if you live close to a sky-train I doubt you'll have this problem.

Anyway I arrive at the border and because I arrived on foot I walk past the line-up of cars and into the CBSA office. I tell the officer I want to land as a PR. He tells me to go over to the US border office first and then come back to theirs. I cross over and go to the US office. I let the immigration officer know I am landing. He asks me if I have a valid US visa to which I reply no. He asks for my passport and CoPR. After a few seconds of typing into his system, he then collects my finger prints and picture and gives me a form with the words "FLAGPOLLING" on it to sign. After signing, he asks me to take the form with me back to the CBSA office and tells me I'm all done. I cross over to Canada and meet the immigration officer at the drive-thru section. I tell him I'm landing and he asks for my passport. He then hands me a yellow slip and asks me to go into the office.

At the office, I meet another immigration officer and tell him I'm landing. He asks for my passport and CoPR, as well as the flagpolling form and yellow slip given to me by the US officer and the officer at the drive-thru respectively. He asks me to verify the information on my CoPR and asks me to sign both copies. He then asks for my current temporary permit (which is my BOWP) and tells me to take a sit and wait for him. After a few minutes of him typing into a computer, he comes back and calls me up. He then tells me the words I have been waiting to hear for the past three years, "So, as of today, you are officially a permanent resident of Canada..." My heart skips a beat. I'm sure he could tell. He also explains the conditions for maintaining (and losing) my PR status, and instructs me to change my SIN# at Service Canada. And.... this was my lading experience at Point Roberts.

Overall, (aside from transit time) the landing process took about 15-20 minutes. All the officers were very friendly and helpful and they all seemed to know what they were doing. There were no lineups on both the American and Canadian sides, but that was probably because I took the advice on this forum and I went on a weekday morning (yesterday). Again, thanks for all the help and I'll definitely stick around for a few more days if you have any questions. Now it's time to work on getting that passport

Congratulations! Nice share.

 

[electric_g]

Hi, I found this post very useful, so I wanted to share my experience as well (copy and paste from my personal notes)

What:
I needed to get a new work permit (I am on a LMIA closed work permit) as I changed employer.

When:
I went today (Wednesday 15th of August 2018) and I arrived there at 7:20am, following the advice of the immigration lawyer.
There was no queue on either side.

Travel:
From downtown Vancouver I took the skytrain, Canada Line, to Bridgeport. From there I took a combination of buses 601/603/604 (it depends on which one goes to the stop near the crossing) and got out at "EB 1 Ave FS 55A St". Because it’s all TransLink, it’s on the same ticket (on the Compass card).
It took me around one hour and a half to go, and one hour to come back.
From the bus stop to the border it’s barely a two minute walk.

Procedure:
At the US border I went to the left side, it’s clearly indicated by signs for pedestrians/bicycles. When the US agent indicated me to come forward, I showed my passport and told him I wanted to flagpolling. He then took my passport, went inside telling me to wait where I was, and then gave it to me with a stamp on one of the pages that roughly says “US Customs and Borders - Application for Admission Withdrawn - Flagpole”.
I asked him if I have to report this in the future when I’m going to travel to the US and he said yes.
I then walked back to the Canada border (there are footprints and signs here and there to indicate you the path) and when the Canada agent indicated me to come forward, I showed him the stamp on my passport and told him I wanted to apply for a new work permit. He asked me few quick questions (am I carrying weapons, am I carrying a lot of money, am I carrying food or animals, etc) and then gave me a form and told me to walk to the side of the building and go inside the office (“second door not first!”).
In the office I gave passport, form, my application and my current work permit to the agent (there was no queue). He asked me few questions (my current address, where was the office of the new job, etc) and told me to wait.
After 15 minutes (I didn’t keep precise track of time) he called me to a small room where he took photos of me (front, left side, right side) and all my fingerprints (this procedure is very new even to them, so it took him a while to understand the machine and the software and we had to redo some things a couple of time).
Then I went back to the office, another 10/15 minutes wait, and then he gave me my new work permit, giving me also few advices and indications (for example, both work permits are valid and I can still work for the previous company like part time if I want to, also he said I should apply for the PR as soon as possible).
I then paid the fee (which now is $155 for the work permit plus $85 for the biometrics, for a total of $240) with the credit card.
The whole thing took in total 40 minutes.

The Canadian agent was very friendly, he even asked me a couple of question about Italian words while he was waiting for the computer to do its things

 

[twranks]

Just wanted to say thank you for the detailed info.Years ago when I became a PR, I had to go to Douglas/Peace Arch to do the flagpole which is harder for a transit user. I found your post randomly and my spouse landed at the Point Roberts crossing as a PR yesterday

Congrats to the Mrs!

 

[twranks]

The Boundary Bay border is awesome - the bus from Bridgeport in Richmond stops pretty much right at the border. When I did my flagpole there (for a work permit, not PR) during the day, there was no one waiting at the US border, and only one person at the Canada border. All combined it took me only 10-15 minutes to flagpole and obtain my work permit.

That's the one thing I loved the most about point roberts- it's always empty so you're attended to very quickly

 

[twranks]

Hi, I found this post very useful, so I wanted to share my experience as well (copy and paste from my personal notes)

What:
I needed to get a new work permit (I am on a LMIA closed work permit) as I changed employer.

When:
I went today (Wednesday 15th of August 2018) and I arrived there at 7:20am, following the advice of the immigration lawyer.
There was no queue on either side.

Travel:
From downtown Vancouver I took the skytrain, Canada Line, to Bridgeport. From there I took a combination of buses 601/603/604 (it depends on which one goes to the stop near the crossing) and got out at "EB 1 Ave FS 55A St". Because it’s all TransLink, it’s on the same ticket (on the Compass card).
It took me around one hour and a half to go, and one hour to come back.
From the bus stop to the border it’s barely a two minute walk.

Procedure:
At the US border I went to the left side, it’s clearly indicated by signs for pedestrians/bicycles. When the US agent indicated me to come forward, I showed my passport and told him I wanted to flagpolling. He then took my passport, went inside telling me to wait where I was, and then gave it to me with a stamp on one of the pages that roughly says “US Customs and Borders - Application for Admission Withdrawn - Flagpole”.
I asked him if I have to report this in the future when I’m going to travel to the US and he said yes.
I then walked back to the Canada border (there are footprints and signs here and there to indicate you the path) and when the Canada agent indicated me to come forward, I showed him the stamp on my passport and told him I wanted to apply for a new work permit. He asked me few quick questions (am I carrying weapons, am I carrying a lot of money, am I carrying food or animals, etc) and then gave me a form and told me to walk to the side of the building and go inside the office (“second door not first!”).
In the office I gave passport, form, my application and my current work permit to the agent (there was no queue). He asked me few questions (my current address, where was the office of the new job, etc) and told me to wait.
After 15 minutes (I didn’t keep precise track of time) he called me to a small room where he took photos of me (front, left side, right side) and all my fingerprints (this procedure is very new even to them, so it took him a while to understand the machine and the software and we had to redo some things a couple of time).
Then I went back to the office, another 10/15 minutes wait, and then he gave me my new work permit, giving me also few advices and indications (for example, both work permits are valid and I can still work for the previous company like part time if I want to, also he said I should apply for the PR as soon as possible).
I then paid the fee (which now is $155 for the work permit plus $85 for the biometrics, for a total of $240) with the credit card.
The whole thing took in total 40 minutes.

The Canadian agent was very friendly, he even asked me a couple of question about Italian words while he was waiting for the computer to do its things

Glad you found this helpful. Thanks for posting your experience and Congrats on getting your WP extension an LMIA is quite hard to get these days

 

[electric_g]

Glad you found this helpful. Thanks for posting your experience and Congrats on getting your WP extension an LMIA is quite hard to get these days

I'm lucky that there's a huge need of software engineers with experience in BC. As soon as I can I'm planning to try to get the provincial nominee.

 

[jaeseung]

Hi Everyone,
First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, whether in terms of questions or answers. Your contributions helped me (and I'm sure A LOT others) make the right decisions to successfully acquire their PR. In my case it saved me THOUSANDS of dollars which I would have spent on a lawyer who would have done exactly what I did to immigrate. So for that (and SO MUCH MORE), Thank you!!!

Okay, now to the main topic of discussion. Contrary to what you may have heard, Point Roberts DOES process PR landing. In fact, in my case,I have only one complaint about my landing experience there; the transit distance. I had to take 4 buses and 1 sky-train to get there (about 3 hours). But then again I live all the way in south surrey so if you live close to a sky-train I doubt you'll have this problem.

Anyway I arrive at the border and because I arrived on foot I walk past the line-up of cars and into the CBSA office. I tell the officer I want to land as a PR. He tells me to go over to the US border office first and then come back to theirs. I cross over and go to the US office. I let the immigration officer know I am landing. He asks me if I have a valid US visa to which I reply no. He asks for my passport and CoPR. After a few seconds of typing into his system, he then collects my finger prints and picture and gives me a form with the words "FLAGPOLLING" on it to sign. After signing, he asks me to take the form with me back to the CBSA office and tells me I'm all done. I cross over to Canada and meet the immigration officer at the drive-thru section. I tell him I'm landing and he asks for my passport. He then hands me a yellow slip and asks me to go into the office.

At the office, I meet another immigration officer and tell him I'm landing. He asks for my passport and CoPR, as well as the flagpolling form and yellow slip given to me by the US officer and the officer at the drive-thru respectively. He asks me to verify the information on my CoPR and asks me to sign both copies. He then asks for my current temporary permit (which is my BOWP) and tells me to take a sit and wait for him. After a few minutes of him typing into a computer, he comes back and calls me up. He then tells me the words I have been waiting to hear for the past three years, "So, as of today, you are officially a permanent resident of Canada..." My heart skips a beat. I'm sure he could tell. He also explains the conditions for maintaining (and losing) my PR status, and instructs me to change my SIN# at Service Canada. And.... this was my lading experience at Point Roberts.

Overall, (aside from transit time) the landing process took about 15-20 minutes. All the officers were very friendly and helpful and they all seemed to know what they were doing. There were no lineups on both the American and Canadian sides, but that was probably because I took the advice on this forum and I went on a weekday morning (yesterday). Again, thanks for all the help and I'll definitely stick around for a few more days if you have any questions. Now it's time to work on getting that passport

Hi about to a landing.. did you need the work permit? i left it at the company and need to do the landing tmrw!

 

[Youthberry]

Hi, I found this post very useful, so I wanted to share my experience as well (copy and paste from my personal notes)

What:
I needed to get a new work permit (I am on a LMIA closed work permit) as I changed employer.

When:
I went today (Wednesday 15th of August 2018) and I arrived there at 7:20am, following the advice of the immigration lawyer.
There was no queue on either side.

Travel:
From downtown Vancouver I took the skytrain, Canada Line, to Bridgeport. From there I took a combination of buses 601/603/604 (it depends on which one goes to the stop near the crossing) and got out at "EB 1 Ave FS 55A St". Because it’s all TransLink, it’s on the same ticket (on the Compass card).
It took me around one hour and a half to go, and one hour to come back.
From the bus stop to the border it’s barely a two minute walk.

Procedure:
At the US border I went to the left side, it’s clearly indicated by signs for pedestrians/bicycles. When the US agent indicated me to come forward, I showed my passport and told him I wanted to flagpolling. He then took my passport, went inside telling me to wait where I was, and then gave it to me with a stamp on one of the pages that roughly says “US Customs and Borders - Application for Admission Withdrawn - Flagpole”.
I asked him if I have to report this in the future when I’m going to travel to the US and he said yes.
I then walked back to the Canada border (there are footprints and signs here and there to indicate you the path) and when the Canada agent indicated me to come forward, I showed him the stamp on my passport and told him I wanted to apply for a new work permit. He asked me few quick questions (am I carrying weapons, am I carrying a lot of money, am I carrying food or animals, etc) and then gave me a form and told me to walk to the side of the building and go inside the office (“second door not first!”).
In the office I gave passport, form, my application and my current work permit to the agent (there was no queue). He asked me few questions (my current address, where was the office of the new job, etc) and told me to wait.
After 15 minutes (I didn’t keep precise track of time) he called me to a small room where he took photos of me (front, left side, right side) and all my fingerprints (this procedure is very new even to them, so it took him a while to understand the machine and the software and we had to redo some things a couple of time).
Then I went back to the office, another 10/15 minutes wait, and then he gave me my new work permit, giving me also few advices and indications (for example, both work permits are valid and I can still work for the previous company like part time if I want to, also he said I should apply for the PR as soon as possible).
I then paid the fee (which now is $155 for the work permit plus $85 for the biometrics, for a total of $240) with the credit card.
The whole thing took in total 40 minutes.

The Canadian agent was very friendly, he even asked me a couple of question about Italian words while he was waiting for the computer to do its things

Do I have to book an appointment before I go? CIC says we need to book an appointment for our biometrics. If we have to, what’s the contact number for VAC at Point Roberts ? I can’t find it online.

Please and thank you

 

[electric_g]

Do I have to book an appointment before I go? CIC says we need to book an appointment for our biometrics. If we have to, what’s the contact number for VAC at Point Roberts ? I can’t find it online.

Please and thank you

Sorry, I don't know. Last time I went to Point Roberts / Boundary Bay was beginning of October and no appointment was needed, but I went really early in the morning on a midweek day as suggested online

 

[Youthberry]

Sorry, I don't know. Last time I went to Point Roberts / Boundary Bay was beginning of October and no appointment was needed, but I went really early in the morning on a midweek day as suggested online

Thank you for your information. It helps!