Crossing Buffalo Border with Landing Papers

[kai87]

Everyone,

Interested to hear from anyone (in this post or Private Message), who has successfully crossed the Buffalo border with their landing papers. I have a friend who is planning to do this within the next couple of months (His PR card has expired). Since I may be driving him accross the border, was curious about the process and what kind of questions they ask etc.?

Thanks

 

[Leon]

I haven't done that myself but surely they will ask him if he meets the residency requirements and why he hasn't renewed his PR card.

 

[computergeek]

How CBSA handles this is set out in ENF 4 "Port of Entry Examinations":

11.1. Rights of permanent residents

A27(1) provides that a permanent resident has the right to enter and remain in Canada subject to
the provisions of the Act.

A19(2) requires an officer to allow a permanent resident to enter Canada if satisfied following an
examination on their entry that they have that status.

Permanent residents who are under enforcement proceedings keep their permanent resident
status and retain the right to enter Canada until a final determination of their loss of status has
been made.

11.2. Verifying permanent resident status

The permanent resident card is the only valid proof of permanent resident status in Canada.

The following documents are satisfactory indicators of permanent residence:

• the original Record of Landing:
• a certified true copy of a Record of Landing document issued by CIC National Headquarters;
• a letter issued by CIC National Headquarters verifying permanent residence;
• a passport duly stamped showing the date on which permanent residence was granted, if the
person was granted permanent resident status before 1973; and
• a Confirmation of Permanent Residence document [IMM 5292B].

11.3. Establishing permanent resident status without documents

BSOs at ports of entry have the discretion to authorize the entry of permanent residents, even in
the absence of documentation. If documentary evidence is not available, the BSO at Immigration
Secondary must establish the person’s permanent resident status through questioning and
checking the person’s status in FOSS. The status of persons who became permanent residents
before 1973 has to be verified by contacting the Query Response Centre at National
Headquarters at: QRC@cic.gc.ca.

Once a BSO is satisfied that a person is a permanent resident, the examination should be
concluded and the person should be allowed to enter Canada without delay.

People who have done this report having few problems, but your friend should be prepared for a trip to secondary inspection, because they will want to confirm that he has status and likely verify that he is in compliance with the residency requirement. Note: even if he is not in compliance with the residency requirement, he still has a legal right to enter until his case has been ajudicated (at which point he would become a "foreign national" again).

An expired PR card does not indicate one is not a PR of Canada. An unexpired PR card does not indicate one is in compliance with the residency obligation.

Good luck!

 

[kai87]

Awesome thanks for the quick replies guys, I told him not to worry since he has his bank cards, drivers license,employment details, health card and many other documents to provide his residency status. Had to leave for an emergency and didn't have time to apply for a renewal as he knew the process would take longer than his scheduled flight. He is still nervous because his PR card has been expired for more than one year, never renewed because he just forgot/ was lazy and did not have any intention to travel.

Any case thanks for your responses. much appreciated.

 

[Leon]

If he has enough to prove that he has been in Canada for 2 years in the past 5, he doesn't have to worry at all. If he has his last pay slip from work, it should show that he hasn't been outside Canada for long. If he has a letter from his employer, it could show that he worked full time since date x until not long ago. If it is a decent employer, they shouldn't have a problem making such a letter for him and emailing it to him so he can print it out and take it on his trip.

 

[KARIMSUPER]

i would like to share my experience :
i have applied for PR card Renewal but i had to leave Canada for an emergency matter .My PR card got expired while i was outside Canada
The only way to enter Canada with an expired PR card is to cross the border by a private vehicle or walking but you need to carry with you your original landing parer .

My trip started from New York to Buffalo by plane .Took a taxi from airport toward Canadian border via rainbow bridge 35 min driving :65 dollar trip .
Once arrived to check point i hand over my Passport ,Landing document .Canadian driving licence and expired Canadian PR card to the taxi driver .
The Canadian Immigration officer asked me:
1 : when i have left Canada :3 months
2: what i am bringing with me as goods : gift worth 650 $
3: did i have applied for my PR renewal= Yes I did prior to leave Canada
4: Do you have the receipt = NO
5: Next time take the receipt with you otherwise you will be sent to office for further check and it will take you more than 2 hours time = Thanks for the advise .have a good night officer

It took hardly 1 minute . The people are friendly and do not look for creating problems if you answer to their inquiry very shortly and without making stories .

 

[torhout13]

Hello and thank you for sharing your experience crossing the borders with an expired PR card. Can I ask if the taxi drove you to Canada or dropped you off before entering Canada?
Thank you.

 

[KSA99]

Hi Everyone,

My situation is little different what has mentioned above. My PR card expired, I have RO issue and my appeal in IAD is under process since last two years. My lawyer is asking me to enter in Canada via USA (cross any land boarder and establish myself in Canada in order to win the appeal).

I am interested to hear from anyone, who has successfully crossed the land border with their landing papers and IAD appeal proof. I am planning to do this but afraid because my case is weak. I do not know what's my immigration status, what kind of questions the Canadian Immigration officer will ask, whether they will allow me to enter in Canada or not etc?

Please advise what should I do. Should I wait for the decision on my appeal or take some Risk and try to cross land boarder and enter in Canada.


Thanks

 

[carbo]

I do not know what IAD is , but if you have been in Canada 2 out of 5 years, you should be ok.

I had a RQ in process, I gave an employee verification, my landing papers, and canada application status website print out saying my PR application was in process. I did this trip multiple times.

Some questions at times, but nothing I couldnt handle. The wait ranged from 2 minutes to 2 hours. where a few times a supervising border officer want to talk to me.

 

[dpenabill]

Hi Everyone,

My situation is little different what has mentioned above. My PR card expired, I have RO issue and my appeal in IAD is under process since last two years. My lawyer is asking me to enter in Canada via USA (cross any land boarder and establish myself in Canada in order to win the appeal).

I am interested to hear from anyone, who has successfully crossed the land border with their landing papers and IAD appeal proof. I am planning to do this but afraid because my case is weak. I do not know what's my immigration status, what kind of questions the Canadian Immigration officer will ask, whether they will allow me to enter in Canada or not etc?

Please advise what should I do. Should I wait for the decision on my appeal or take some Risk and try to cross land boarder and enter in Canada.


Thanks

Generally, if you are being represented by a licensed, reputable Canadian immigration lawyer (not a non-lawyer representative), that person's advice is far more credible and reliable than anything anyone in a forum like this posts (my posts included). Thus, the best advice I or anyone here can give is to follow the advice of your lawyer, and if you have questions or need clarification, ask the lawyer. This is NO guarantee that the lawyer's help is the best way to approach things, and absolutely no guarantee the lawyer's approach will be successful, but as these things go, the lawyer's help and advice is more reliable than anything I or anyone else here can offer.


In any event: Not sure what you think is at risk if you travel to Canada via the U.S. and enter Canada by private transportation at a land crossing PoE.

The key question is whether or not you have PR status. It appears you do, unless and until there is a negative decision on the appeal. But that depends in part on what precisely you appealed.

If you still have PR status, you are entitled to enter Canada. This remains true even if you have been issued a Departure Order pursuant to a 44(1) Report and that is the subject of the appeal. This remains true even if you have been denied a PR Travel Document and that is the subject of the appeal. This remains true even if you were issued a negative ruling when applying to renew a PR card and that is the subject of an appeal.

In other words, unless there has been a final, adjudicated decision to terminate your PR status, you remain a PR and as such would be entitled to enter Canada. There should be no risk of being denied entry at a land crossing PoE. (Mostly dependent on presenting proper documents to establish your identity, as in your valid passport, the border examination made easier if you also have landing papers, or expired PR card, or some correspondence from CIC or IRCC with your name and client number.)

What impact your return to Canada now will have on the outcome of the appeal I cannot guess. I assume you were already in breach of the PR Residency Obligation at the time of the decision which is the subject of the appeal, and if you have been outside Canada an additional two years since then, hard to see what advantage you might gain by returning to Canada at this late stage . . . unless the lawyer believes your presence and personal testimony at an IAD hearing could have a lot of positive influence.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi Everyone,

My situation is little different what has mentioned above. My PR card expired, I have RO issue and my appeal in IAD is under process since last two years. My lawyer is asking me to enter in Canada via USA (cross any land boarder and establish myself in Canada in order to win the appeal).

I am interested to hear from anyone, who has successfully crossed the land border with their landing papers and IAD appeal proof. I am planning to do this but afraid because my case is weak. I do not know what's my immigration status, what kind of questions the Canadian Immigration officer will ask, whether they will allow me to enter in Canada or not etc?

Please advise what should I do. Should I wait for the decision on my appeal or take some Risk and try to cross land boarder and enter in Canada.


Thanks

From your previous posts it sounds like you have a spouse who is a Canadian PR and meets the residency obligations??

If that's the case, then going through appeals in the first place with a weak H&C case was a very bad choice. You should have just accepted the revoking of your PR status and have your spouse sponsor you for PR again with family class app. Would be much quicker, much greater chance of success, and much cheaper since you wouldn't need a lawyer.

If your lawyer is telling you appealing was the best choice, there's a good chance they may just be after your money for their fees.

 

[KSA99]

Rob,

My spouse neither Canadian nor she is inside Canada. May be you have referred to some other posts.

Regards,

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob,

My spouse neither Canadian nor she is inside Canada. May be you have referred to some other posts.

Regards,

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/reported-at-the-border-for-failing-to-meet-the-ro-t233923.0.html;msg3388732#msg3388732
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/ask-for-a-visitor-visa-after-renounce-permanent-resident-t193695.0.html;msg3071655#msg3071655
Back in 2014 you mentioned your family would return to Canada and stay. However I guess if that didn't happen then your wife is in same position as you by being outside Canada and not meeting RO or was also reported already and is part of your current appeal.

IMO the fact you stayed outside Canada for so long, and then even left Canada again for so long during your time waiting for the appeal date, will do very little to convince the IAD that you deserve to keep your PR status even if you move back now near the end of your appeals process. Especially if you had a weak H&C case to begin with.

 

[KSA99]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the detailed reply. After reading your reply I got confidence that I can be allowed to enter Canada as I do have all the documentary proof including filling of last year income tax etc. These documentary proof would be more than enough to proof the Canadian Immigration officer that I am a landed immigrant. But I am not sure about my PR status? Is there any official website or other source who can tell me my PR current status?

Further, is there any possibility for me to get PRTD from Canadian embassy directly? If I get PRTD then my return to Canada would be quite smooth and safe. I am confused that while I will be crossing the land boarder the Canadian Immigration officer might refuse me to enter Canada.

It is assumed that my PR status is still valid and it is hoped that I will be allowed to enter Canada, will I be allowed to work for any organizations (Govt. and Privates) and driving license with expired PR status and pending decision on my appeal in IAD?

Thanks and Regards,

 

[dpenabill]

Thanks for the detailed reply. After reading your reply I got confidence that I can be allowed to enter Canada as I do have all the documentary proof including filling of last year income tax etc. These documentary proof would be more than enough to proof the Canadian Immigration officer that I am a landed immigrant. But I am not sure about my PR status? Is there any official website or other source who can tell me my PR current status?

Further, is there any possibility for me to get PRTD from Canadian embassy directly? If I get PRTD then my return to Canada would be quite smooth and safe. I am confused that while I will be crossing the land boarder the Canadian Immigration officer might refuse me to enter Canada.

It is assumed that my PR status is still valid and it is hoped that I will be allowed to enter Canada, will I be allowed to work for any organizations (Govt. and Privates) and driving license with expired PR status and pending decision on my appeal in IAD?

The facts matter. The facts really make all the difference. The facts that matter are those specific to your individual case.

While participants in this forum can offer estimations based on how certain key factors will generally affect a case, only a professional apprised of the important details can reliably offer advice or a credible opinion about your case in particular. The capacity of your lawyer to ascertain the relevant facts, including especially in the course of confidential communications with you, is a huge, huge reason why I strongly defer to the lawyer's advice.

Which is to say that your questions would be best answered by your lawyer.

Including, in particular, any questions you have about your current status.

My guess, based on assuming you were issued a 44(1) Report and Removal or Departure Order back in 2014, and that is the subject of the appeal before the IAD, is that you have PR status until there is a formal decision by the IAD. If you win, you keep PR status. If you lose the appeal, your PR status is terminated.

Based on other posts, I also gather that you were issued a one year PR card at some point, but that card too has now expired.

Whether or not you will be granted a PR TD I do not know. My sense is that you are probably entitled to one, based on having made an appeal from within Canada. But I am way, way short of being confident let alone sure of this, particularly if it has been more than a year since you were last in Canada. My guess is that if your lawyer has suggested traveling to Canada via the U.S. and a land crossing, there is probably a good reason for taking that approach.

If your appeal is still pending, you probably have PR status, and thus you will be entitled to enter Canada when you approach a land crossing PoE. Once in Canada, yes you have the same rights and privileges as any other PR, including the right to work. Whether you will be able to find work, I cannot guess. How long will this last, I cannot guess but I would anticipate the appeal process might not take very much longer.

As I previously noted, I do not see much risk involved in traveling via the U.S. if indeed you have status to travel to the U.S.

The more salient risk I perceive is that your appeal is heard sooner rather than later, and you lose the appeal, lose PR status, and will thus need to leave Canada on relatively short notice. That is the risk even if you are granted a PR TD (probably have to be a special PR TD, one issued to specifically facilitate your return to Canada for the appeal, and again I am not at all sure you are eligible let alone entitled to such a PR TD).

Again, I defer to your lawyer.

(Note: Contrary to the proliferation of false and gratuitously insulting accusations otherwise, it is not a common practice among reputable lawyers to take futile cases just for the fees. Lawyers tend to charge excessive fees, yes, indeed, but that is a phenomena across the board these days, from plumbers to dentists, doctors to electricians, and a different story. It may be otherwise for Consultants, including lawfully registered authorized representatives, although ethical standards may be improving among this group as well. In addition to ethical considerations, there are multiple incentives for lawyers to avoid pursuing futile cases outweighing the amount of fees that might be earned.

In contrast, this forum is rife with advice based on way less information than is needed to support that advice. As I said before, and which is worth repeating for emphasis, a lawyer's opinion or advice is way more credible, and reliable, than what is posted in a forum like this. After all, this forum is not even an appropriate venue for giving definitive advice, period -- with due acknowledgement of and apologies for my lapses in this department.)