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Soft Landing/Moving to Canada

S

sowsiv

Star Member
Nov 30, 2020
101
38
NOC Code......
2174
App. Filed.......
18-06-2020
AOR Received.
18-06-2020
Passport Req..
19-11-2020
viveksharmaz said:
Thanks buddy .. for so much detailed information.. just one question.. since u were not issued PR cards.. and your copr expired... how can you cross tge border again via land.. can you explain.. this.. Can we use our expired copr to cross border... pleaaw if u know answer to this question..
Click to expand...
yes the officer told i can use it and technically i think once u become pr they cant deny you entry and the stamp that the officer gave on the passport was actually the same document number which shows on my profile as 'Travel Document Number' he himself told i can use it when coming back along with copr document
 
M

mnsan81

Full Member
Feb 28, 2021
20
0
Hi All,

I am planning for landing this weekend. Please let me know which bridge is best for soft landing.
1. Peace Bridge
2. Rainbow Bridge

Please share latest landing experience which related to these 2 bridges.

Thanks.
 
S

siddsin

Star Member
Sep 27, 2019
69
22
sowsiv said:
yes the officer told i can use it and technically i think once u become pr they cant deny you entry and the stamp that the officer gave on the passport was actually the same document number which shows on my profile as 'Travel Document Number' he himself told i can use it when coming back along with copr document
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed explanation.

One question though - which border did you go to? the peace bridge in buffalo?

Also, how much time did the total process take?
 
M

mnsan81

Full Member
Feb 28, 2021
20
0
siddsin said:
Thank you for the detailed explanation.

One question though - which border did you go to? the peace bridge in buffalo?

Also, how much time did the total process take?
Click to expand...
Hi @siddsin, Are you planning your soft landing via Peace bridge in buffalo? , as per your research which is best option Peace bridge or Rainbow bridge?

Thanks.
 
E

ezyada

Newbie
May 16, 2021
2
0
Is anyone planning on soft landing next week Tuesday or Wednesday via the peace bridge at buffalo? Please let me know
 
T

tenebrus

Newbie
Nov 28, 2018
4
1
sowsiv said:
hello all,



First of all this forum was so helpful for all the insights and info which helped for my soft-landing experience. Thank you all for your time in answering queries. i really appreciate it. Now wanted to share our timeline and process and i will try to share extensively so that someone can get benefited from it.,



date: 15-may-2021, copr getting expired 19-may-2021

statuses:

me - valid h1b stamp with old employer until september and i797 with new employer until next 12/22.

wife - h4 valid visa stamp until september as of old employer. we havent started the h4 extension yet and we also have our US born baby.



We three reached the US border before taking the bridge, for some reason the gate was open and we didn't need to pay for the toll. crossed bridge, and reached canada by 12:30 to realize only single gate open and there are so many cars waiting as this was lunch break or something.





some officers changed their shift after a while we went to the gate,

officer - bonjour?

me- hello officer, we are confirmed permanent residents and here to finish the landing procedure.

officer - okay, are you planning to move today?

me - no sir, we will be moving later this year, but our copr is getting expired in 4 days and wanted to complete the landing procedure. We also booked airbnb in case of mandatory quarantine, but it will be great if we are let to turn back.

officer - what? for how many days did you book airbnb?

me - 14 days.

officer - you dont have to quarantine if you are not coming to canada. if you are returning back you can go ahead and we are not forcing you to quarantine.

me - thank you sir

officer - what do you have in car?

me - luggage and baby food for the stay

officer - any weapons or such?

me - no, just a pair of dumbells

officer - oh, yeah that can be used as a weapon nowadays haha. you are fine. did you fill gtf?

me - i took the printout but not sure what to fill in it. but i can fill it now.

officer - the officers inside will let you fill it.



He gave me a yellow slip along with other documents and asked me to go to the customs office.



Inside the office:

took my papers, covid test reports and verified those. Asked me if I am filling out the GTF list, and he told me to bring the car details, like title, registration and odometer readings. I went back to parking lot and got the papers, and he verified those and told me to not worry about the GTF right now as he thought by the time we actually move things could change on the GTF list. so he gave me a gtf form which has all the options striked off in the bottom other than 'settler' section.

He entered the date and address on the form and told me to use it whenever I am permanently moving in.



He told me he can't take my cousin's canadian address, neither my usa address to send out the pr cards (but not sure why he took my driver's license in the end). He told me in order to move permanently i have to come by road. By that time, i was okay with anything to complete the landing process so didn't ask much from him.
The process got completed and we were shown the way to uturn. I can say the officers were so friendly both at the booth and also at the office.

US side:

I was so nervous about the US side, and the officer at the booth took our passports.

me - hello, we went to canada to complete the landing procedure like less than 3 hours ago.

officer - your i94 ends september, until then if you are travelling you have to carry both visa+i797 everywhere. if you would like, we can update the i94 for you. and your wife's i94 is good for september.

me - yes sir, we are planning to initiate the extension in june, we thought of going to india but due to covid didn't do it.

asked us to follow him to the office, parked outside. another officer came to me and asked me to come inside. took my fingerprints, and asked my profession and not sure why asked me to call my wife to the office.

My wife went inside and came saying they took their fingerprints too.

This part I didn't understand, he handed us the passports where a new slip is stapled saying my name and i94 date to be until next year. so basically my i94 got extended. But the same was done for my wife's passport too. Is this normal?

Now, after we came back and checked i94 dates, both of our 'admit until date' is displayed 12/2022.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for sharing this! I just have a few questions about the landing procedure, would appreciate if anyone could share any insights!

1) Do you know what information/documents are needed for a rental car? (Insurance?)
2) I have an expired F-1 visa, but valid H-1B status since 10/1/2020, would it be a problem coming back to the U.S. using Auto Revalidation?
3) Is the port of entry (for both Canada and U.S.) open 24/7? What would be the best time of a day for the soft landing? (with light traffic)
 
S

sowsiv

Star Member
Nov 30, 2020
101
38
NOC Code......
2174
App. Filed.......
18-06-2020
AOR Received.
18-06-2020
Passport Req..
19-11-2020
tenebrus said:
Thanks so much for sharing this! I just have a few questions about the landing procedure, would appreciate if anyone could share any insights!

1) Do you know what information/documents are needed for a rental car? (Insurance?)
2) I have an expired F-1 visa, but valid H-1B status since 10/1/2020, would it be a problem coming back to the U.S. using Auto Revalidation?
3) Is the port of entry (for both Canada and U.S.) open 24/7? What would be the best time of a day for the soft landing? (with light traffic)
Click to expand...
1) i took my own car. but most people here said they took rental and it worked fine
2) our scenarios are different as i have valid visa stamp
3) yes, i would suggest go during early morning time like 8:00/9:00 on the weekend so that it wouldnt be so much traffic
 
  • Like
Reactions: tenebrus
U

umakanth12

Newbie
May 10, 2021
4
0
sowsiv said:
hello all,



First of all this forum was so helpful for all the insights and info which helped for my soft-landing experience. Thank you all for your time in answering queries. i really appreciate it. Now wanted to share our timeline and process and i will try to share extensively so that someone can get benefited from it.,



date: 15-may-2021, copr getting expired 19-may-2021

statuses:

me - valid h1b stamp with old employer until september and i797 with new employer until next 12/22.

wife - h4 valid visa stamp until september as of old employer. we havent started the h4 extension yet and we also have our US born baby.



We three reached the US border before taking the bridge, for some reason the gate was open and we didn't need to pay for the toll. crossed bridge, and reached canada by 12:30 to realize only single gate open and there are so many cars waiting as this was lunch break or something.





some officers changed their shift after a while we went to the gate,

officer - bonjour?

me- hello officer, we are confirmed permanent residents and here to finish the landing procedure.

officer - okay, are you planning to move today?

me - no sir, we will be moving later this year, but our copr is getting expired in 4 days and wanted to complete the landing procedure. We also booked airbnb in case of mandatory quarantine, but it will be great if we are let to turn back.

officer - what? for how many days did you book airbnb?

me - 14 days.

officer - you dont have to quarantine if you are not coming to canada. if you are returning back you can go ahead and we are not forcing you to quarantine.

me - thank you sir

officer - what do you have in car?

me - luggage and baby food for the stay

officer - any weapons or such?

me - no, just a pair of dumbells

officer - oh, yeah that can be used as a weapon nowadays haha. you are fine. did you fill gtf?

me - i took the printout but not sure what to fill in it. but i can fill it now.

officer - the officers inside will let you fill it.



He gave me a yellow slip along with other documents and asked me to go to the customs office.



Inside the office:

took my papers, covid test reports and verified those. Asked me if I am filling out the GTF list, and he told me to bring the car details, like title, registration and odometer readings. I went back to parking lot and got the papers, and he verified those and told me to not worry about the GTF right now as he thought by the time we actually move things could change on the GTF list. so he gave me a gtf form which has all the options striked off in the bottom other than 'settler' section.

He entered the date and address on the form and told me to use it whenever I am permanently moving in.



He told me he can't take my cousin's canadian address, neither my usa address to send out the pr cards (but not sure why he took my driver's license in the end). He told me in order to move permanently i have to come by road. By that time, i was okay with anything to complete the landing process so didn't ask much from him.
The process got completed and we were shown the way to uturn. I can say the officers were so friendly both at the booth and also at the office.

US side:

I was so nervous about the US side, and the officer at the booth took our passports.

me - hello, we went to canada to complete the landing procedure like less than 3 hours ago.

officer - your i94 ends september, until then if you are travelling you have to carry both visa+i797 everywhere. if you would like, we can update the i94 for you. and your wife's i94 is good for september.

me - yes sir, we are planning to initiate the extension in june, we thought of going to india but due to covid didn't do it.

asked us to follow him to the office, parked outside. another officer came to me and asked me to come inside. took my fingerprints, and asked my profession and not sure why asked me to call my wife to the office.

My wife went inside and came saying they took their fingerprints too.

This part I didn't understand, he handed us the passports where a new slip is stapled saying my name and i94 date to be until next year. so basically my i94 got extended. But the same was done for my wife's passport too. Is this normal?

Now, after we came back and checked i94 dates, both of our 'admit until date' is displayed 12/2022.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for detailed information. This helps a lot.
Question: What is GTF list and where do i download the form? Is it given at border?.
 
K

kum123

Newbie
May 13, 2021
7
0
mnsan81 said:
Hi All,

I am planning for landing this weekend. Please let me know which bridge is best for soft landing.
1. Peace Bridge
2. Rainbow Bridge

Please share latest landing experience which related to these 2 bridges.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Hi mnsan,
Were you able to do soft landing at peace bridge or rainbow bridge ? Please can you share your experience ? As I had mentioned in this forum, I am planning to land via rainbow bridge as well and any updates will be very useful!

Thanks!!!
 
R

RaghuR

Star Member
Feb 2, 2019
99
20
For those whose PR card wasn’t Applied at the time of soft landing and officer mentioned u can apply it only when you are moving permanently:
Simply submit a web form and in the web form tell them to update your address for your cards. Remember don’t specify that you are applying for the first time make it a request for update of your address.
In the response to that they would simply apply your card.
No questions asked whatsoever. I got my PR card using that method within 3 to 4 weeks of filling the web form.
 
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Reactions: drunkun
H

hjoshi4

Newbie
Jan 10, 2020
4
1
Did my soft landing back in November 2020 without any issues but he denied an address update since I was only doing a soft landing.
Got a letter in mail saying I need to send photos for PR card and update address so I sent new photos with cousins address and my PR card was issued.
While travelling to Canada from US (mostly planning by land: Detroit-Windsor tunnel) .. should I show the CBP officer my COPR stapled to the passport or my PR card?? Has anyone landed in Canada and faced any problems by directly showing PR card?
My worry is the CBP officer knowing that I got my PR card without landing permanently.

Thank you for the help
 
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