Do I need a Travel Document?

[sounion]

yes - you can go and see your family, you're a PR now, and the process is complete - before, with inland application on-going, it would not have been a good idea to leave Canada, but now it's not a problem. Do as explained in this thread - when you come back to the US, when boarding the plane, do not mention anything about being a Canadian PR. Just say you're going for a visit. When you arrive at the Canada border, just show your COPR with landing stamp etc. and they'll let you in.

will it seem odd that i'm going for a 'visit' when i'm checking in with my canadian wife and daughter????

 

[sounion]

please tell me i am still overthinking it

 

[Rob_TO]

please tell me i am still overthinking it

You are over thinking it.
What would you do if you were travelling before you got PR status? Just tell the airline ticket person in the US that you're travelling to Canada as a visitor/tourist with your visa-exempt passport. That's it.

 

[sounion]

even without a return ticket?

*i feel like you are talking me down

 

[Rob_TO]

even without a return ticket?

Most of the times it doesn't matter to the airline staff.

In very rare cases they could ask to see a return ticket. In this case, you would need to buy a return ticket on the spot (if you got a fully refundable one you could just cancel it and get a refund afterwards). But in practically all cases, a return ticket won't even be an issue.

 

[sounion]

thanks TO