Softlanding

[techie12]

Hi,

We have received COPR recently and we are staying in the US currently. So we are planning to do soft landing since we cannot shift to Canada now due to various reasons.

I have a few questions.

1. Are we supposed to fill Goods to follow list as we are only doing soft landing?
2. We are planning to stay few days in Canada should we get our SIN and bank accounts? Is it advisable to do now or after we move in permanently?
3. Also, we are planning to visit India from Canada and then return to US after few weeks.
Is it advisable to visit India from Canada after soft landing or we should return back to US and then plan India trip? We might carry few gifts(nothing expensive) as we are visiting India. Should we even declare them during our soft landing procedure?

Thanks!

 

[lampbreaker]

1. You don't have to. It depends upon how soon you are planning to make your permanent move and whether your belongings will change significantly between now and then.
2. SIN yes, Bank account optional. (SIN is also optional, but better to get).
3. No, it should not be a big deal either way.

 

[techie12]

1. You don't have to. It depends upon how soon you are planning to make your permanent move and whether your belongings will change significantly between now and then.
2. SIN yes, Bank account optional. (SIN is also optional, but better to get).
3. No, it should not be a big deal either way.

Thanks, for the response.

 

[Milehighguy]

Follow up question about the soft landing. Are train and ferry a recommended way of travel from Seattle to Vancouver/Victoria ? Will the land and water landing have the Interview process for first time PR card entry ? Also, is there a recommended number of days of stay in Canada for Soft landing ? I was planning on to go on Friday and return on Sunday.

Any help is appreciated
Sid

 

[lampbreaker]

Any port should be able to process you.
There is no required period that you have to stay. You can turn around immediately and come back if you want.

 

[Milehighguy]

Thanks for the reply. One of my friend flew to Calgary and went through immigration process, the officer did not even check his passport and was asked to just go through. Fortunately, he knew that there should be an interview with an officer and he has to declare the goods so he asked around and went to the room where interviews happen.
In order to avoid such situations, do I have to tell the Immigration officer that I am here to complete my PR process ?
Is there any specific terminology that I have to use so that they process my CoPR and complete an interview ?
Also, when returning via Ferry will I get a new I94 , I am on H1B ?

Sid

 

[techie12]

Can we drive(rental) from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, Canada and then stay for a few days for soft landing procedure in Toronto/Canada and then return back to US?

 

[techie12]

Any port should be able to process you.

Read somewhere that if you do soft landing via road, there could be a delay in processing PR cards. Is that true?
How long does it usually take to receive the cards? And should we declare the goods to follow list even if its soft landing?
Or can we do this later once we are moving in permanently?

 

[lampbreaker]

Read somewhere that if you do soft landing via road, there could be a delay in processing PR cards. Is that true?
How long does it usually take to receive the cards? And should we declare the goods to follow list even if its soft landing?
Or can we do this later once we are moving in permanently?

Not true.
3 to 5 weeks (not sure about recent processing times)
Later is fine.

 

[lampbreaker]

Can we drive(rental) from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, Canada and then stay for a few days for soft landing procedure in Toronto/Canada and then return back to US?

Yes

 

[lampbreaker]

Thanks for the reply. One of my friend flew to Calgary and went through immigration process, the officer did not even check his passport and was asked to just go through. Fortunately, he knew that there should be an interview with an officer and he has to declare the goods so he asked around and went to the room where interviews happen.
In order to avoid such situations, do I have to tell the Immigration officer that I am here to complete my PR process ?
Is there any specific terminology that I have to use so that they process my CoPR and complete an interview ?
Also, when returning via Ferry will I get a new I94 , I am on H1B ?

Sid

Yes, you should tell them that you want to complete your PR landing procedure.
Yes, you will get a new I-94. It is not a big deal.

 

[techie12]

Hi,
Our COPR is valid until May. Initially, we planned to do soft landing via Toronto airport during April, but due to this coronavirus issue, we are planning to do within few weeks as we never know if they close the borders for prevention.

Looking for suggestions if we need to wait until April or do it as early as possible.
Is there any possibility of a COPR extension by IRCC if we request them? If yes, then until how many days extension can we get?

Thanks

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi,
Our COPR is valid until May. Initially, we planned to do soft landing via Toronto airport during April, but due to this coronavirus issue, we are planning to do within few weeks as we never know if they close the borders for prevention.

1. Looking for suggestions if we need to wait until April or do it as early as possible.
2. Is there any possibility of a COPR extension by IRCC if we request them? If yes, then until how many days extension can we get?

Thanks

1. No one knows what will happen but i am a commuter who has the same problem. I believe they wont close completely but even if they plan to close then there will be exemptions for long term visas. Even if they close completely then they will announce ahead to avoid chaos. But border closing is not going to happen because it will trigger lot of economic issues which will lead to chaos in this integrated world. So you need to decide as no one knows what will happen.
Rather than planning to land soon you should first plan to protect yourself by avoiding airports and try travelling via road. Dont know if you are far away.
2. No, forget about this option. They wont give you extension due to virus issue.

 

[prusa]

For the softlanding - what can serve as a proof of funds? Do we need any money order, check,cash, or letter from bank as we did during application?

 

[lampbreaker]

For the softlanding - what can serve as a proof of funds? Do we need any money order, check,cash, or letter from bank as we did during application?

Letter from bank or statements are fine. Most people are never asked for it.