I completed my softlanding on July 6th. The Officers did not ask me anything regarding permanently moving to Canada.
Soft Landing/Moving to Canada
- Thread starter futureCanadian2021
- Start date
soft-landing-moving-to-canada experience on July 12th - I'll post a detailed experience soon. This is a summary post.
I was able to successfully get CoPR validated as well as apply for a PR card. Went via road from Seattle to Peace Arch border. CBSA officers were very cooperative. I got the CoPR validated, PR card applied and then took a u-turn from the border itself. Did not enter Canada.
While coming back to US, I was a bit nervous because both me and my wife had expired visa stamps (H1 and H4). However, all the officers knew about AVR and we did not have to explain anything. Things went pretty smooth on the US border too. We were able to enter back with no problems.
Overall time from leaving the US border to entering the US border back was approx 2 hours, including processing on both the sides.
I will post a very detailed experience soon (tonight or tomorrow). This is just a summary. In case anyone has urgent questions or anyone's CoPR expiry is close, please feel free to post here or DM me. Happy to help.
I was able to successfully get CoPR validated as well as apply for a PR card. Went via road from Seattle to Peace Arch border. CBSA officers were very cooperative. I got the CoPR validated, PR card applied and then took a u-turn from the border itself. Did not enter Canada.
While coming back to US, I was a bit nervous because both me and my wife had expired visa stamps (H1 and H4). However, all the officers knew about AVR and we did not have to explain anything. Things went pretty smooth on the US border too. We were able to enter back with no problems.
Overall time from leaving the US border to entering the US border back was approx 2 hours, including processing on both the sides.
I will post a very detailed experience soon (tonight or tomorrow). This is just a summary. In case anyone has urgent questions or anyone's CoPR expiry is close, please feel free to post here or DM me. Happy to help.
@pjain64
Thanks a lot for sharing the information. I'm also planning for softlanding and wants to return same day using AVR .
Could you please share me the detailed information on what are the documents we should be carrying .
- do we need to carry latest photos ( taken within last 6 months ) for sticking with copr.
- where did you take RTPCR covid test in US.
- did you give friends address for PR card if so did they asked about the address like who is staying in that address currently or so on.
- can we carry food/snacks/water bottles .
- how much we need to carry in cash for paying tool on both the sides .
- we are planning for week day , please suggest the right time to try .
- Also let me know anything specific which we need to consider .
- do I need to install arrivecan app and register if so what are the information needs to be filled .
Thanks in advance!
Thanks a lot for sharing the information. I'm also planning for softlanding via Detroit-windsor and wants to return same day using AVR .
Could you please share me the detailed information on what are the documents we should be carrying .
- do we need to carry latest photos ( taken within last 6 months ) for sticking with copr.
- where did you take RTPCR covid test in US(like CVS, Walgreens,etc)
- did you give friends address for PR card if so did they asked about the address like who is staying in that address currently or so on.
- can we carry food/snacks/water bottles .
- how much we need to carry in cash for paying tool on both the sides .
- we are planning for week day , please suggest the right time to try .
- Also let me know anything specific which we need to consider .
- do I need to install arrivecan app and register if so what are the information needs to be filled .
- do we need to carry goods to follow list even though not moving on the day of landing .
Thanks in advance!
@Pmovcan21
- I did not carry latest photos. They did not ask and do not require photos for sticking with copr. In fact, the Copr should already have the photos on it.
- I took the RPTCR test via https://scl.fulgentgenetics.com/appointment/screen/landing, which is a provider in California. I am not sure about places outside California.
- Yes, I gave a friend's address. No, they did not ask about who lives there. I just said I plan to stay there for the foreseeable future, while figuring out if I should buy or rent. They did not ask anything further.
- I think so, not sure though. We did have water and some basic snacks. Since I was hoping to return in a few hours, I did not have a whole lot of packed food, just chips, cookies, etc. Avoid fruits and vegetables though.
- Nothing. I did not have to pay any toll on any side. I went via Seattle Peace Arch border, so can't comment about Detroit-windsor border.
- I don't think there is any right time as such. I went on a Monday at 12 pm and there were only 1-2 people other than us. It was all empty, but again, you mentioned Detroit-windsor and I don't know about that.
- Nothing I can think of extraordinary. I've listed the documents I took below as well.
- Yes, better to do so. That was the first thing they asked us if we had filled it and since we had, it was all pretty smooth.
The documents I took:
- All passports
- All I797A (even expired ones). Make sure the currently applicable I797A has an I94 at the bottom attached to it and it has a valid future expiry.
- All Canada documents from the past, like police and medical reports.
- Employment verification letters.
- Pay stubs (past 3 months).
- Bank statements (past 3-4 months).
- A list declaring the goods we had with us at that time and a GTF list (an approximation of the goods that will arrive in the future, such as clothes, jewelry, phones, etc). We did not know when and what will we take actually, so we just wrote basic things like these and a rough cost. Nothing too detailed.
- Proof of vaccination.
- Print out of the AVR from CBP website, just in case the officer is not familiar with it and we have to prove. Did not require though.
@DixvilleNotch :
Hi, could you please share your experience at Detroit-windsor .
- ArrivecanApp is mandatory, can we carry one laptop Incase if they not allowed to return on same day .
- do we need to prepare goods with us list for the snacks/water bottles we are carrying on softlanding day.
- how much cash I should have for toll fee.
- what are the documents/ questions did they ask you on your landing day .
- where did you take your RTPCR test.
Thanks in advance!
We did our landing today through Detroit- Windsor tunnel. We were able to do soft landing and take a U-turn back to USA. We had good experiences on both sides.
the only question the officer asked from the Canadian side was why were we doing a soft landing and why were we not moving permanently at this time. We told him that we wanted to land before COPR expiry and we will move in a couple of months
He applied our PR after that without any questions. He did say that there is a huge backlog for processing of PR applications
USA side, we went to secondary inspection. Officer asked why we went to Canada. He updated our I94 and sent us on our way.
Whole process took an hour each way. Total 2 hours
the only question the officer asked from the Canadian side was why were we doing a soft landing and why were we not moving permanently at this time. We told him that we wanted to land before COPR expiry and we will move in a couple of months
He applied our PR after that without any questions. He did say that there is a huge backlog for processing of PR applications
USA side, we went to secondary inspection. Officer asked why we went to Canada. He updated our I94 and sent us on our way.
Whole process took an hour each way. Total 2 hours