- Jan 17, 2012
- 1
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Buffalo Office -- Transferred to Ottawa Office
- NOC Code......
- 0213
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 18 Feb 2010
- Doc's Request.
- 26 Feb 2010/14 April 2010
- AOR Received.
- 14 April 2010
- IELTS Request
- 14 April 2010
- File Transfer...
- 20 April 2010
- Med's Request
- 16 Jan 2012/15 May 2013
- Med's Done....
- 24 May 2013
- Interview........
- Waived off
- Passport Req..
- 12 Aug 2013; Passport Sent: 22-Aug-2013
- VISA ISSUED...
- 23-August-2013
- LANDED..........
- 19-October-2013
Hi All,
Been a member of this Forum for almost 3 years now and I still feel that I learn new things everyday by reading everyone's experience etc...
It has been a roller coaster ride for the past three years....been a long wait but I am glad that it has ended well. I got my Visa and CoPR back in September 2013. Since have been planning the landing process, preparing the B4 docs, other paper work...etc to make sure that the landing goes smoothly. So, here goes my Landing story...but before that...a little background....I'm in USA working on H1B, with a expired Visa on my passport but have a valid I-797 along with valid unexpired I-94. I decided to use AVR to return back to USA after my Landing is completed successfully in Canada.
My family and I decided that we will try and complete our landing procedure during the month of October as it would become too cold after that. I had my Visa/CoPR valid till April 2014. We decided that we will fly to Buffalo, NY and then take a rental car from there to drive down to the Border to complete our landing procedure. Likewise, while returning we will drive back to Buffalo and then fly back home from there. We decided to pick the weekend of 18th October to complete our landing procedure.
We flew on the evening of 18th October (Friday) to Buffalo, NY. Took a Hotel to stay that night in Buffalo, NY and then start driving the next day morning to the border. Left work a little early on Friday and went home so that can drive to the airport without any tension. Last few weeks prior to this have been tiresome as we were making sure we have the correct B4 List, GTF and GAL....My H1 Papers, employment documents, pay stubs etc so that I can use them while returning back if asked.
We reached the Airport well within the time frame but just before boarding we had a technical difficulty and hence had to wait in the Airport. Finally, they announced our flight to buffalo, NY after almost 2.5 hours of delay. Imagine with a 6 year and a 1 year old it was difficult to wait in the Airport for 2.5 hours. We reached Buffalo around 12:20 am midnight on Saturday. It was windy and pleasant. Took a Rental car from the Airport (Hertz...got a good bid on Priceline for a full size car for 4 days) and drove to the hotel. Had a long day but could not sleep well....with lots of anxiety throughout the night.
October 19th 2013:
Next day morning, had good free breakfast from the hotel and we started to drive towards the border(Peace Bridge as we had decided to do landing via Peace Bridge) around 10:00 am. The drive to border from my hotel was about 20 minutes. We crossed the US border and my heart was pumping at 200 beats/minute. My wife told me to relax and then I slowly reached the Canadian Border. there was an officer at the booth and he asked us our Passports. Gave him all the four passports, he checked them and asked us why we were here. I told him that we are here to complete our landing procedure. He asked me if I had any cash valued at more than $10,000. I told him that I did not have anything more than $700 as cash.
Note -Proof Of Funds: I carried a Bank letter stating my A/c number, date the A/c was opened, Current Balance and average balance. I also had 6 months of Bank statements handy with me to show my POF.
The officer then asked me if I am carrying any seeds, plants, Arms, Alcohol, drugs etc and I answered NO. He asked me if the car was mine and I told him that it is a Rental car and that I have listed my Own Cars in the GTF list. He also asked us how long we are going to stay in Canada and I told him two weeks after which I will return to US. He then gave me a yellow slip and told me to park my car in the parking lot of the Immigration and customs building.
I parked my car and immediately another officer came to us and asked us for the yellow slip. I showed it to him and he directed us to go in to the building. I made sure that I had taken all the documents, GTF list, GAL list, POF, PP, CoPR and the Address in Canada. I entered the building and was directed to a Lady officer who was waiting for us. She again asked us the reason we were there. She then asked for the CoPR and the PP. She checked everything and then started typing few things on the Computer. In the meanwhile, she asked me if I have an address in Canada, I gave her the address and she asked me who it was. I told her that it is the address of my Cousin, she marked that on the CoPR and then one by one she made me sign my CoPR and my Kids CoPR. My Wife signed on her CoPR. She had a little difficult time with the Given names and the Surnames...because we do not have any Surnames, so she was trying to make sure she spelt and put everything right on the computer for the PR Cards to be assigned properly. She then asked me about my POF and looked at all the statements, letter etc....and was happy that I had enough $$ to show her POF. She asked us how long we are going to be here in Canada and I told her two Weeks after which I will return back to USA and then plan to settle down in Canada in the next 6-8 months. She then briefed us about the PR cards and explained to us that my cousin will probably receive the PR cards in the next 6-8 weeks and if for some reason the Cards are not sent to that address, there will be a letter issued with the reason for sending the PR cards. She then informed us that we must reside inside Canada 2 out of every 5 years for us to keep our PR's active. She was very nice and was talking and responding to us nicely. She then asked me for the GFT and the GAL.....which I showed to her. She directed me to the customs opposite her desk.
We went to the customs and told them that we are completing our landing procedure and that we have the GFT and GAL list which we wanted to declare. My wife had taken this extra effort (Kudos to QORAX and other senior members Post) to ensure that she had neatly arranged and categorized all the items in an Excel sheet and had put them in a folder with sheet protector so that it is easier for the officer to read and stamp. We had made two copies of each paper as suggested and we gave one of the folder with all the pictures, Items, Serial numbers for all Electronics etc to the two officers. They were surprised and were really happy that we had everything so neatly arranged. They were praising us and thanking us for coming prepared. I told them that we just wanted to save some of their valuable time. They were very happy and since we had printouts and everything ready, it hardly took 20 minutes for the officer to stamp all the pages. I showed him my GAL but he did not even take a look at that. He looked at my Car's VIN numbers and then jokingly asked us if I had any horses, cows etc which I needed to Declare as well. I told him that as of now I don’t have any but I will surely buy some after coming back here in Canada within the next 6 months
;D
NOTE- Whatever Items I had put on my GAL, It was also there on my GTF.
He then handed the original copy to us so that we can submit it in the counter for me to get a receipt for the total value of Goods.
I then went to the Counter to get the receipt for my total value of goods. The lady there kept the Copy and gave us back the originals along with the receipt. I told her that she can keep the original (since they had color photographs of the jewelries) but she said that she is fine with the copy. We took the receipt and made our way out happily towards the car. My wife took some photographs of Fall Colors around the place and then we sat down in our car and we started driving towards Niagara Falls, Canada. It took about 1 1/2 hours for us to complete our landing process so we were done by 12:30 pm.
Then, It took us about an hour to drive to Niagara Falls from Peace Bridge. It was raining, windy and COLD. We checked in to our hotel that I had booked near the falls. We relaxed for some time, then went out to have lunch. We then wanted to go to see Niagara falls from the Canadian side but it was raining badly and was very very Chilly....hence we decided to stay back in the hotel.
October 20th and 21st 2013:
Next Day morning, we drove to Toronto and visited the CN towers, Royal Ontario Museum and Casa Loma. On our way back, we stopped at Mississauga and had great dinner before returning back to the Hotel at night. We took good rest and then the next day visited Toronto Zoo since my kids love animals. The weather was not that great being very Windy and cold but we all enjoyed and had fun. My son did fall sick due to the bad cold but we had medicines with us (which we always carry for the kids)....so he was taken care of.
October 21st 2013:
Then came the big day, when I had to return back to US using my AVR. My flight was in the evening at 04:30 pm and I decided to vacate the hotel around 11:00 am so that it does not get too over whelming for me to cross the border using AVR. I made sure I had all my documents in place in case the officer decides to check thoroughly. We started at 11:00 am and drove to Niagara Falls which was 3 minutes away from our hotel, Stopped to take a few pictures and then started to drive towards the Rainbow Bridge to enter US. I was looking a little tensed and my wife was trying to calm me down. I tried to drink few sips of water and then came my turn. I stopped at the counter. Here goes my conversation:
Officer: Passports ?
Myself: Gave all the four Passports.
Officer: Where are you returning from ?
Myself: We had been to Canada to complete our Landing process as PR, we are now returning back to the US.
Officer: Can you please lower the back windows, I need to see how many of you are there.
Myself: I put my windows down and he peeped in.
Officer: You are citizens of which Country?
Myself: Myself, my wife and My son are citizens of India, my Daughter is citizen of US.
Officer: Why did you not give your I-94 when you entered Canada ? (He was very Rude when he asked this Question)
Myself: Since I was entering Canada by Road, I am not supposed to give away my I-94 when entering Canada. You give them only when you travel via AIR.
Officer: You are not answering my question? Why you did not give them your I-94. I also see that your Visa is expired? Why did you not get your stamping done?
Myself: My purpose of the visit to Canada was for completing our landing procedure as PR. We did not go for any Visa Stamping. I know my Visa is expired but I have a valid I-797 and I-94. Gave him the original documents.
Officer: (Very rudely) You seem to be having a problem hearing looks like...I asked you why you did not give your I-94 away when you entered Canada? and then in a very feeble voice he asked did you buy or purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada which I could hardly hear.
Myself: I had no answer for him...and then told him that I am using AVR to enter today and that I can travel with an expired Visa and valid I-94. I told him if he could please pardon me and repeat the other question.
Officer: He stared at me and said why were you not listening?
Myself: I said, I am very Sorry.
Officer: Then he asked did you buy or purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada.
Myself: I said NO.
In the meanwhile, he was scanning something on his computer with my passports.
Officer: Then he tried to match the photo on the VISA with my face.
Officer: How many days were you in Canada?
Myself: Four Days
Officer: All your visas are expired and you are supposed to be getting your Visa's stamped. Why have you not got your Visa stamping. It has expired almost more than an year now. (very rude here and was really staring at me and my wife)
Myself: Told him that never went out of the country since 2010, hence could not get Visa stamping.
He then checked couple other things and then asked my wife, what visa are you in US.
Wife Answered: H4 visa.
Officer: Did you buy purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada.
Myself: Replied saying NO.
Officer: Gave away our passports and Documents and told me that you are set. He then told me that I need to get my VISA stamped when I visit my Home country.
Myself: Told him that I will stamp all our passports when we make a visit to India.
Said Good bye to him, thinking in my mind that I just need to get out of here now. Drove quickly from there and kept driving straight on the road for the next 2 minutes and then entered a small parking lot and parked my car.
Caught my breath there and checked if all the documents were given back to me.
We planned that we will have lunch at a Dhaba and then leave for Airport but then all of a sudden my son was feeling very sick and he developed some kind of allergy/rash, so we just grabbed something on our way and rushed to the airport. Gave my son medicines and then we took the flight to come back home. We reached late evening and tried to make sure my son felt better...all the way until we came home. Took an appointment with his pediatrician next day.
Sorry for being so elaborate but I just wanted to make sure I cover each and every thing during our trip to complete our landing process. Over all the landing process was smooth and went well.....the key to smooth landing is for us to make sure we do our homework and prepare all our documents properly to ensure that there are no further delays.
Similarly, for people who are trying to enter in to US using AVR, make sure you have all your documentation appropriately arranged and ready as you can be asked for anything. Be confident and relax while talking to the officer. I am sure if all documentation is correct, you will have no hiccups using AVR.
Only thing, I had a doubt was that the Officer at the US border when entering did not put any kind of stamp on our passports or I-94. How will USCIS know that we have entered in to the country again? Will this be a problem for me when filing my H1 extension??
Special thanks to QORAX and other senior members who have been so helpful in this forum without whom the landing process would have been a huge daunting task.
Warm regards,
KK
Been a member of this Forum for almost 3 years now and I still feel that I learn new things everyday by reading everyone's experience etc...
It has been a roller coaster ride for the past three years....been a long wait but I am glad that it has ended well. I got my Visa and CoPR back in September 2013. Since have been planning the landing process, preparing the B4 docs, other paper work...etc to make sure that the landing goes smoothly. So, here goes my Landing story...but before that...a little background....I'm in USA working on H1B, with a expired Visa on my passport but have a valid I-797 along with valid unexpired I-94. I decided to use AVR to return back to USA after my Landing is completed successfully in Canada.
My family and I decided that we will try and complete our landing procedure during the month of October as it would become too cold after that. I had my Visa/CoPR valid till April 2014. We decided that we will fly to Buffalo, NY and then take a rental car from there to drive down to the Border to complete our landing procedure. Likewise, while returning we will drive back to Buffalo and then fly back home from there. We decided to pick the weekend of 18th October to complete our landing procedure.
We flew on the evening of 18th October (Friday) to Buffalo, NY. Took a Hotel to stay that night in Buffalo, NY and then start driving the next day morning to the border. Left work a little early on Friday and went home so that can drive to the airport without any tension. Last few weeks prior to this have been tiresome as we were making sure we have the correct B4 List, GTF and GAL....My H1 Papers, employment documents, pay stubs etc so that I can use them while returning back if asked.
We reached the Airport well within the time frame but just before boarding we had a technical difficulty and hence had to wait in the Airport. Finally, they announced our flight to buffalo, NY after almost 2.5 hours of delay. Imagine with a 6 year and a 1 year old it was difficult to wait in the Airport for 2.5 hours. We reached Buffalo around 12:20 am midnight on Saturday. It was windy and pleasant. Took a Rental car from the Airport (Hertz...got a good bid on Priceline for a full size car for 4 days) and drove to the hotel. Had a long day but could not sleep well....with lots of anxiety throughout the night.
October 19th 2013:
Next day morning, had good free breakfast from the hotel and we started to drive towards the border(Peace Bridge as we had decided to do landing via Peace Bridge) around 10:00 am. The drive to border from my hotel was about 20 minutes. We crossed the US border and my heart was pumping at 200 beats/minute. My wife told me to relax and then I slowly reached the Canadian Border. there was an officer at the booth and he asked us our Passports. Gave him all the four passports, he checked them and asked us why we were here. I told him that we are here to complete our landing procedure. He asked me if I had any cash valued at more than $10,000. I told him that I did not have anything more than $700 as cash.
Note -Proof Of Funds: I carried a Bank letter stating my A/c number, date the A/c was opened, Current Balance and average balance. I also had 6 months of Bank statements handy with me to show my POF.
The officer then asked me if I am carrying any seeds, plants, Arms, Alcohol, drugs etc and I answered NO. He asked me if the car was mine and I told him that it is a Rental car and that I have listed my Own Cars in the GTF list. He also asked us how long we are going to stay in Canada and I told him two weeks after which I will return to US. He then gave me a yellow slip and told me to park my car in the parking lot of the Immigration and customs building.
I parked my car and immediately another officer came to us and asked us for the yellow slip. I showed it to him and he directed us to go in to the building. I made sure that I had taken all the documents, GTF list, GAL list, POF, PP, CoPR and the Address in Canada. I entered the building and was directed to a Lady officer who was waiting for us. She again asked us the reason we were there. She then asked for the CoPR and the PP. She checked everything and then started typing few things on the Computer. In the meanwhile, she asked me if I have an address in Canada, I gave her the address and she asked me who it was. I told her that it is the address of my Cousin, she marked that on the CoPR and then one by one she made me sign my CoPR and my Kids CoPR. My Wife signed on her CoPR. She had a little difficult time with the Given names and the Surnames...because we do not have any Surnames, so she was trying to make sure she spelt and put everything right on the computer for the PR Cards to be assigned properly. She then asked me about my POF and looked at all the statements, letter etc....and was happy that I had enough $$ to show her POF. She asked us how long we are going to be here in Canada and I told her two Weeks after which I will return back to USA and then plan to settle down in Canada in the next 6-8 months. She then briefed us about the PR cards and explained to us that my cousin will probably receive the PR cards in the next 6-8 weeks and if for some reason the Cards are not sent to that address, there will be a letter issued with the reason for sending the PR cards. She then informed us that we must reside inside Canada 2 out of every 5 years for us to keep our PR's active. She was very nice and was talking and responding to us nicely. She then asked me for the GFT and the GAL.....which I showed to her. She directed me to the customs opposite her desk.
We went to the customs and told them that we are completing our landing procedure and that we have the GFT and GAL list which we wanted to declare. My wife had taken this extra effort (Kudos to QORAX and other senior members Post) to ensure that she had neatly arranged and categorized all the items in an Excel sheet and had put them in a folder with sheet protector so that it is easier for the officer to read and stamp. We had made two copies of each paper as suggested and we gave one of the folder with all the pictures, Items, Serial numbers for all Electronics etc to the two officers. They were surprised and were really happy that we had everything so neatly arranged. They were praising us and thanking us for coming prepared. I told them that we just wanted to save some of their valuable time. They were very happy and since we had printouts and everything ready, it hardly took 20 minutes for the officer to stamp all the pages. I showed him my GAL but he did not even take a look at that. He looked at my Car's VIN numbers and then jokingly asked us if I had any horses, cows etc which I needed to Declare as well. I told him that as of now I don’t have any but I will surely buy some after coming back here in Canada within the next 6 months
;DNOTE- Whatever Items I had put on my GAL, It was also there on my GTF.
He then handed the original copy to us so that we can submit it in the counter for me to get a receipt for the total value of Goods.
I then went to the Counter to get the receipt for my total value of goods. The lady there kept the Copy and gave us back the originals along with the receipt. I told her that she can keep the original (since they had color photographs of the jewelries) but she said that she is fine with the copy. We took the receipt and made our way out happily towards the car. My wife took some photographs of Fall Colors around the place and then we sat down in our car and we started driving towards Niagara Falls, Canada. It took about 1 1/2 hours for us to complete our landing process so we were done by 12:30 pm.
Then, It took us about an hour to drive to Niagara Falls from Peace Bridge. It was raining, windy and COLD. We checked in to our hotel that I had booked near the falls. We relaxed for some time, then went out to have lunch. We then wanted to go to see Niagara falls from the Canadian side but it was raining badly and was very very Chilly....hence we decided to stay back in the hotel.
October 20th and 21st 2013:
Next Day morning, we drove to Toronto and visited the CN towers, Royal Ontario Museum and Casa Loma. On our way back, we stopped at Mississauga and had great dinner before returning back to the Hotel at night. We took good rest and then the next day visited Toronto Zoo since my kids love animals. The weather was not that great being very Windy and cold but we all enjoyed and had fun. My son did fall sick due to the bad cold but we had medicines with us (which we always carry for the kids)....so he was taken care of.
October 21st 2013:
Then came the big day, when I had to return back to US using my AVR. My flight was in the evening at 04:30 pm and I decided to vacate the hotel around 11:00 am so that it does not get too over whelming for me to cross the border using AVR. I made sure I had all my documents in place in case the officer decides to check thoroughly. We started at 11:00 am and drove to Niagara Falls which was 3 minutes away from our hotel, Stopped to take a few pictures and then started to drive towards the Rainbow Bridge to enter US. I was looking a little tensed and my wife was trying to calm me down. I tried to drink few sips of water and then came my turn. I stopped at the counter. Here goes my conversation:
Officer: Passports ?
Myself: Gave all the four Passports.
Officer: Where are you returning from ?
Myself: We had been to Canada to complete our Landing process as PR, we are now returning back to the US.
Officer: Can you please lower the back windows, I need to see how many of you are there.
Myself: I put my windows down and he peeped in.
Officer: You are citizens of which Country?
Myself: Myself, my wife and My son are citizens of India, my Daughter is citizen of US.
Officer: Why did you not give your I-94 when you entered Canada ? (He was very Rude when he asked this Question)
Myself: Since I was entering Canada by Road, I am not supposed to give away my I-94 when entering Canada. You give them only when you travel via AIR.
Officer: You are not answering my question? Why you did not give them your I-94. I also see that your Visa is expired? Why did you not get your stamping done?
Myself: My purpose of the visit to Canada was for completing our landing procedure as PR. We did not go for any Visa Stamping. I know my Visa is expired but I have a valid I-797 and I-94. Gave him the original documents.
Officer: (Very rudely) You seem to be having a problem hearing looks like...I asked you why you did not give your I-94 away when you entered Canada? and then in a very feeble voice he asked did you buy or purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada which I could hardly hear.
Myself: I had no answer for him...and then told him that I am using AVR to enter today and that I can travel with an expired Visa and valid I-94. I told him if he could please pardon me and repeat the other question.
Officer: He stared at me and said why were you not listening?
Myself: I said, I am very Sorry.
Officer: Then he asked did you buy or purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada.
Myself: I said NO.
In the meanwhile, he was scanning something on his computer with my passports.
Officer: Then he tried to match the photo on the VISA with my face.
Officer: How many days were you in Canada?
Myself: Four Days
Officer: All your visas are expired and you are supposed to be getting your Visa's stamped. Why have you not got your Visa stamping. It has expired almost more than an year now. (very rude here and was really staring at me and my wife)
Myself: Told him that never went out of the country since 2010, hence could not get Visa stamping.
He then checked couple other things and then asked my wife, what visa are you in US.
Wife Answered: H4 visa.
Officer: Did you buy purchase any property, bonds etc in Canada.
Myself: Replied saying NO.
Officer: Gave away our passports and Documents and told me that you are set. He then told me that I need to get my VISA stamped when I visit my Home country.
Myself: Told him that I will stamp all our passports when we make a visit to India.
Said Good bye to him, thinking in my mind that I just need to get out of here now. Drove quickly from there and kept driving straight on the road for the next 2 minutes and then entered a small parking lot and parked my car.
Caught my breath there and checked if all the documents were given back to me.
We planned that we will have lunch at a Dhaba and then leave for Airport but then all of a sudden my son was feeling very sick and he developed some kind of allergy/rash, so we just grabbed something on our way and rushed to the airport. Gave my son medicines and then we took the flight to come back home. We reached late evening and tried to make sure my son felt better...all the way until we came home. Took an appointment with his pediatrician next day.
Sorry for being so elaborate but I just wanted to make sure I cover each and every thing during our trip to complete our landing process. Over all the landing process was smooth and went well.....the key to smooth landing is for us to make sure we do our homework and prepare all our documents properly to ensure that there are no further delays.
Similarly, for people who are trying to enter in to US using AVR, make sure you have all your documentation appropriately arranged and ready as you can be asked for anything. Be confident and relax while talking to the officer. I am sure if all documentation is correct, you will have no hiccups using AVR.
Only thing, I had a doubt was that the Officer at the US border when entering did not put any kind of stamp on our passports or I-94. How will USCIS know that we have entered in to the country again? Will this be a problem for me when filing my H1 extension??
Special thanks to QORAX and other senior members who have been so helpful in this forum without whom the landing process would have been a huge daunting task.
Warm regards,
KK