- Sep 30, 2010
- 131
- 9
- 124
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Vegreville
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 22/10/2010
So, I'm a little late in posting this, but the week has been rather busy (not to mention a badly sprained muscle between 2 ribs!)
Last Monday, my husband and I had to go to the Border at Peace Arch, to show compliance with the conditions set out in my visitor record. Both of us were desperately nervous about this in the days leading up to the trip, but on the actual day, I was calm and confident that everything would be okay. Don't know why, but there you have it.
We'd decided that we'd go down to Bellis Fair Mall, shop for a bit, and then come back up. However, when we got to the US border, the lady in the booth told us that we had to flagpole instead. We were sent into US Immigration, for a form to state that we were flag-poling, to give to the border guard/IO on the Canadian side. Waiting 45 minutes for this form seemed a bit of a joke. At least 30 people in line, and only 2 IO's working, while the rest of them sat and talked between themselves. Right as we got to the front of the line, the lady who'd seen us in the booth came in and started working the desk too. We were lucky enough to get seen by her. It was literally a 5 minute thing and then we were on our way back.
When we arrived back at the Canadian Border at Peace Arch, there was some initial confusion. Apparently, the visitor record in my passport was supposed to have been surrendered before we went to the states. Cue blank stares by myself and my husband. Nobody told us THAT! The border guard showed us where it said that we had to show compliance on the visitor record, and my hubby said 'yeah, we get that, but nobody told us that we had to surrender this before crossing the border and it doesn't say that anywhere on the record.' However, it was no biggie, and into immigration we went. I had my thick file with my copy of my PR application in it, and took great pleasure in setting that down on the counter for the IO to look through. The IO basically asked us where we lived, and whether my husband worked. Then he told us to sit down while he looked through the file.
While we sat, two other IO's joined the one who'd seen us, and they began to look through the file. One friend had said beforehand that she felt sorry for the person who had to go through the file, to which I replied 'I don't! They ask all these questions, they can sit and read my damn answers!' LOL! The IO called my husband up to ask if he smoked pot! ??? Apparently he could smell it on him!! I will state for the record that my husband does not smoke pot! Anwho's .... so, he came and sat back down, and we waited. Ten minutes later, I was called up. I was thinking 'Great, here we go, questions galore.' I was therefore very surprised when the IO told me that he'd given me another visitor record, giving me status for 6 months. At the end of that time if there's been no AIP decision on my application, I can just apply for an extension. No need to go back to the border! Woohooo!!
I've had both good and bad experiences with the IO's at the border, but this visit was the easiest I've ever been through. The IO was polite, asked no funny or misleading questions (Save the pot one on my hubby) and he was straightforward, explaining everything to me. He asked me if I had any questions, and when I said no, he told me to enjoy the rest of my day. I called my hubby over and told him we were done. The look on his face was priceless! We said goodbye to the IO and got the hell outta there!
I guess what I want to say is if you have to do what we did, and go to the border to show proof that your application has been sent, take everything! We took a print out of our entire application, along with a copy of all the proof we sent, along with a copy of all the photos we sent, and all the additional information we sent. Then sit and snicker to yourselves while the IO goes through your file. So long as you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that your application has been sent (Take your receipts proving that you paid the fees, and sent it off), there are minimal issues. We had no questions asked, the IO's went through our file, and basically wished us a nice day.
It was a HUGE relief nonetheless, and in the end it all worked out just fine!
Last Monday, my husband and I had to go to the Border at Peace Arch, to show compliance with the conditions set out in my visitor record. Both of us were desperately nervous about this in the days leading up to the trip, but on the actual day, I was calm and confident that everything would be okay. Don't know why, but there you have it.
We'd decided that we'd go down to Bellis Fair Mall, shop for a bit, and then come back up. However, when we got to the US border, the lady in the booth told us that we had to flagpole instead. We were sent into US Immigration, for a form to state that we were flag-poling, to give to the border guard/IO on the Canadian side. Waiting 45 minutes for this form seemed a bit of a joke. At least 30 people in line, and only 2 IO's working, while the rest of them sat and talked between themselves. Right as we got to the front of the line, the lady who'd seen us in the booth came in and started working the desk too. We were lucky enough to get seen by her. It was literally a 5 minute thing and then we were on our way back.
When we arrived back at the Canadian Border at Peace Arch, there was some initial confusion. Apparently, the visitor record in my passport was supposed to have been surrendered before we went to the states. Cue blank stares by myself and my husband. Nobody told us THAT! The border guard showed us where it said that we had to show compliance on the visitor record, and my hubby said 'yeah, we get that, but nobody told us that we had to surrender this before crossing the border and it doesn't say that anywhere on the record.' However, it was no biggie, and into immigration we went. I had my thick file with my copy of my PR application in it, and took great pleasure in setting that down on the counter for the IO to look through. The IO basically asked us where we lived, and whether my husband worked. Then he told us to sit down while he looked through the file.
While we sat, two other IO's joined the one who'd seen us, and they began to look through the file. One friend had said beforehand that she felt sorry for the person who had to go through the file, to which I replied 'I don't! They ask all these questions, they can sit and read my damn answers!' LOL! The IO called my husband up to ask if he smoked pot! ??? Apparently he could smell it on him!! I will state for the record that my husband does not smoke pot! Anwho's .... so, he came and sat back down, and we waited. Ten minutes later, I was called up. I was thinking 'Great, here we go, questions galore.' I was therefore very surprised when the IO told me that he'd given me another visitor record, giving me status for 6 months. At the end of that time if there's been no AIP decision on my application, I can just apply for an extension. No need to go back to the border! Woohooo!!
I've had both good and bad experiences with the IO's at the border, but this visit was the easiest I've ever been through. The IO was polite, asked no funny or misleading questions (Save the pot one on my hubby) and he was straightforward, explaining everything to me. He asked me if I had any questions, and when I said no, he told me to enjoy the rest of my day. I called my hubby over and told him we were done. The look on his face was priceless! We said goodbye to the IO and got the hell outta there!
I guess what I want to say is if you have to do what we did, and go to the border to show proof that your application has been sent, take everything! We took a print out of our entire application, along with a copy of all the proof we sent, along with a copy of all the photos we sent, and all the additional information we sent. Then sit and snicker to yourselves while the IO goes through your file. So long as you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that your application has been sent (Take your receipts proving that you paid the fees, and sent it off), there are minimal issues. We had no questions asked, the IO's went through our file, and basically wished us a nice day.
It was a HUGE relief nonetheless, and in the end it all worked out just fine!
