thank you all guys, what about flagpoling? do I have a chance to go to the US border a ask an officer for PGWP?
From thread:
"Hey!
Since there aren't many people posting their positive experience I am going to share mine because I was really freaking out yesterday after finding out my deadline to apply for a PGWP had past (14 days after if I have to be exact)
Background: I have been in Canada for 5 years already. 1 year studying English, 3 years at Douglas College in Vancouver (dropped out a year before finish my degree) and this last year I did a 1 year program at BCIT that I was finally happy about.
The last official day of my program was on Oct 10th, 2015 when I finished my Internship and my student permit expires on January 30th, 2016. From there I went on a trip back home and stayed there for 2 months. Came back to Vancouver and started applying for jobs. As I didn't wanna be under implied status without a job I kept dragging my application longer. Yesterday (January 27th) I finally got a job offer and headed immediately to BCIT to get a letter of completion because I never did get an official one. I only got a certificate about a week after I finished my program. When I requested it everything seemed to be going fine and a couple of hours later a get a call from the international centre at BCIT telling me I didn't qualify for a PGWP as it had been more than 90 days since I graduated. I completely freaked out in the inside but on the outside I calmly asked the lady what my options were to stay in Canada and work were. She said 'Sorry you have none' I said thank you and hung up the phone and started balling my eyes out. Mind you I have been living in Canada since I was 17 and my whole life was here now. I did know there was a 90 days deadline but I never bothered on counting because I thought my student permit expiry date was the 90th day.
I started reading and reading about people goingn through my situation in this forum but no one ever replied to them so I was stuck. I had read before about flagpoling and since I didn't wanna wait any longer I went with my boyfriend to the border around 6/7pm (Peace Arch Point of Entry). We parked the car by the parking at Beach Road, started walking and it was pouring and super windy (there's no really a sidewalk to for pedestrians until you get close enough to the border from the parking so if you are wanting to get to that border stick to the left until you see a sign that says 'Bicycles and Pedestrians'). We got to the US border, there's barely anyone in the building and told them we were flagpoling, the guy just asked me where I went to school and what program I took and what kind of work permit I was applying for. He then handed me a while slip paper that just said written a huge letters 'FLAGPOLE', the kind of permit and my name and birth date.
He then directed is towards the Canadian side, walked back the way we came and right before we got to the building a guy In a booth asked me to hand in my slip to him, passport and standard questions about firearms and drugs. He gave us a yellow slip and told us to line up in Line B. We got inside he building and did that and to my surprise there were like 4/5 more people ahead of me that were flagpoling as well.
My turn came and I handed in my paper. The guy asked me if I brought all of my documents with me. I gave him everything I had. Passport, certificate, official transcript envelope (unopened), receipt from when I paid my tuition and my student permit. He then got to the scary part. He asked the length of my program, I replied one year and then he asked me if I ever got a letter of completion and I said 'No but I did get a certificate in the mail', he asked me when I got it and I said 'I'm not sure, by the end of October'.... And that. Was. It. He didn't ask anything else, took my documents with him and asked me sit down and wait by the chairs.
I waited about 20 minutes and the guy called me by my name, told me that I had my open post graduate work permit until the end of January 2017 and that I had to pay $255 by the cashier. Paid my fees, said thank you very much and headed back to the car.
And that's it guys. So my experience with flagpoling was completely effortless (aside from walking in the rain), none of the officers seemed to mine AT ALL, that me or everyone ahead and behind me were flagpoling. I feel that they are used to it. I'm sure the guy knew I was applying after 90 days but I'm not sure what made him not argue the matter. Maybe he was tired, maybe he saw that I had been here for so long, maybe the fact that I was coming with a Canadian by my side (my boyfriend), or he was in a good mood. Either luck or whatever it was I'm thankful I got the permit and to anyone that's going through anything similar I'd recommend you to try it. If I had gotten rejected I would have still applied online. Trying 2 times is better than trying zero times. The advisors at BCIT told me to not even bothered on applying because I was going to get refused and if I had listened to them I would be looking at flights right now and crying my eyes out in my room.
Let me know if anyone has any questions"
May be I should try this weekend flagpoling? Will the officer let me in to Canada as my TRV may be invalid?
