Need advice for flagpoling
- Thread starter indianstudent96
- Start date
- May 22, 2017
- 525
- Category........
- CEC
- Visa Office......
- CPC Sydney
- NOC Code......
- 2281
- App. Filed.......
- 27-06-2020
- Doc's Request.
- 18-08-2020
- AOR Received.
- 27-06-2020
- Med's Done....
- 16-04-2020
Nope, they did not ask me for a reason. I think it depends upon the officer that you get but generally speaking, you should be fine as long as you don't show during the busy hours. I was the only one in the building when I applied for my work permit. So, I think that helped me a bit.
- May 22, 2017
- 525
- Category........
- CEC
- Visa Office......
- CPC Sydney
- NOC Code......
- 2281
- App. Filed.......
- 27-06-2020
- Doc's Request.
- 18-08-2020
- AOR Received.
- 27-06-2020
- Med's Done....
- 16-04-2020
Hi, Sorry for the late reply. Don't take my advice seriously but as far as I understand, you don't need a TRV to re-enter Canada as long you are coming back from the US and you have a valid study permit. I assume you had a multiple entry TRV which expired recently. Again, do your research.
- May 22, 2017
- 525
- Category........
- CEC
- Visa Office......
- CPC Sydney
- NOC Code......
- 2281
- App. Filed.......
- 27-06-2020
- Doc's Request.
- 18-08-2020
- AOR Received.
- 27-06-2020
- Med's Done....
- 16-04-2020
Here's my flagpoling experience in Sault Ste. Marie:
I received my graduation documents in a sealed envelope from my college on 2nd of May 2019 and I decided to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to get my post-graduation work permit. I hold a US visitor visa and I already had a valid i94 form from my previous visit to the US during the Christmas of 2018. Fast forward to the border kiosk, I handed over my Indian passport to the US CBP officer. As expected, he asked me a couple of general questions before letting me into the US. I crossed the border, pumped gas, had a gas station burger, and headed back for the Canadian border at around 9 PM. At the border kiosk, the CBSA officer asked me about my status in Canada for which I told him that I recently graduated from a College in Ontario and that I needed to get my work permit in order to transition from an International student to a foreign worker. He gave me a yellow slip and asked me to park my car under the canopy of the nearby CBSA building and go inside the building. As instructed, I went to the building where I was directed to take my documents to an officer assigned to my case. Like always, I greeted the officer and politely told her that I was there to apply for my work permit. She asked me for my passport and job offer right away. I handed over my passport and showed my job offer letter to her for which she asked me for an LMIA as well. Realizing that there was some confusion, I told her that I was there for the post-graduation work permit and I did not have an LMIA. It was an awkward moment for both of us but she laughed it off, congratulated me on getting a job out of school, and asked me for the documents from my college. I handed over my consolidated mark sheet and graduation letter to her. She did not bother to get the sealed envelope from. She just asked me for my old study permit and graduation letter before asking me to take a seat as it would take a while. I was also told that I would have to give my biometrics as well. Approximately 30 minutes later, I was asked to pay 340 dollars for the work permit and I gave my biometrics right after it. The system that they had over was quite laggy and we (me and the officers) had a friendly conversation about the lag as I told them I will be working in the IT industry. It slowly ended up becoming a geek up session when I suggested solutions for the issues they were encountering. After giving my biometrics, I was told to wait for a few more minutes. 15 minutes later, the officer came back with my work permit and told me that I was all set. Before issuing my work permit, she told me that she would issue it for 3 years as I finished a 2-year program; however, when I received my work permit, I noticed that it was valid only for 2 years. I was so glad that I caught it early and I politely asked her if there were any reasons behind it. She looked at the permit, apologized immediately for an honest mistake, took my passport with my work permit, and told me that she would be back with another work permit. I think it took her another 15 or 20 minutes but she came back with the new work permit which was issued for 3 years like she originally told me. She apologized once more time for the mistake for which I told her it was all good. As I was examining my new work permit, we were talking about my TRV(s) and future plans. For those who don't know, I have a visitor TRV valid until 2025 while my student TRV expires in 2020. She told me that I could just use my visitor TRV until it expires and added that it was a little redundant to have the TRV for my study permit. I thanked her for everything and I left the building.
My advice to people who consider flag poling for PGWP:
1. Make sure you have the right documents before you start (Study Permit, Passport, and Graduation letter & Consolidate mark sheet in a sealed envelope)
2. Check if there are any time restrictions applicable to the port of entry that you are intending to go. Most POEs in southern Ontario have these time restrictions. In my case, the POE had no such restrictions.
3. Once you get your work permit, check for any mistakes like I did in my case.
4. Last but not least, be polite and courteous to the officer in charge of your case. It goes a long way.
My thoughts:
I have heard from many people about their horrendous experience at the border and I don't deny them at all. Having been to the US so many times, my experience with CBP officers in Detroit has been nothing but awful. Once, they made a mistake in reading my i94 expiration date and made me sit in their building for additional questioning and more searches in my car. Eventually, they found nothing in my car or phone and told me that they thought suspicious because I was trying to re-enter the US on the next day of my previous I94 expiration. I think this happened on the 5th of May 2018 and my I94 expired on the 5th of March 2018 which they totally misread. All they had to do was to ask me an obvious question. Instead, they made things hard by going through everything on my phone, car, and person. When I pointed out to them that it expired on the 5th of March 2018, not the 5th of May 2018 like they thought. They did not admit to their mistake but instead tossed their passport back to me.
When I compared this experience with my flagpoling experience in Sault Ste. Marie, they are polar opposites and the CBSA officers were thoroughly professional and friendly at the same time. So, if anyone is considering of going to the Detroit border, avoid it at all costs as the CBP officers over there clearly suffer from Hero syndrome and would pull anything out of their asses to make your life hell even when you have everything right. My experience with CBP officers in all other port of entries have been nothing but pleasant. Just avoid Detroit and you should be fine.
I received my graduation documents in a sealed envelope from my college on 2nd of May 2019 and I decided to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to get my post-graduation work permit. I hold a US visitor visa and I already had a valid i94 form from my previous visit to the US during the Christmas of 2018. Fast forward to the border kiosk, I handed over my Indian passport to the US CBP officer. As expected, he asked me a couple of general questions before letting me into the US. I crossed the border, pumped gas, had a gas station burger, and headed back for the Canadian border at around 9 PM. At the border kiosk, the CBSA officer asked me about my status in Canada for which I told him that I recently graduated from a College in Ontario and that I needed to get my work permit in order to transition from an International student to a foreign worker. He gave me a yellow slip and asked me to park my car under the canopy of the nearby CBSA building and go inside the building. As instructed, I went to the building where I was directed to take my documents to an officer assigned to my case. Like always, I greeted the officer and politely told her that I was there to apply for my work permit. She asked me for my passport and job offer right away. I handed over my passport and showed my job offer letter to her for which she asked me for an LMIA as well. Realizing that there was some confusion, I told her that I was there for the post-graduation work permit and I did not have an LMIA. It was an awkward moment for both of us but she laughed it off, congratulated me on getting a job out of school, and asked me for the documents from my college. I handed over my consolidated mark sheet and graduation letter to her. She did not bother to get the sealed envelope from. She just asked me for my old study permit and graduation letter before asking me to take a seat as it would take a while. I was also told that I would have to give my biometrics as well. Approximately 30 minutes later, I was asked to pay 340 dollars for the work permit and I gave my biometrics right after it. The system that they had over was quite laggy and we (me and the officers) had a friendly conversation about the lag as I told them I will be working in the IT industry. It slowly ended up becoming a geek up session when I suggested solutions for the issues they were encountering. After giving my biometrics, I was told to wait for a few more minutes. 15 minutes later, the officer came back with my work permit and told me that I was all set. Before issuing my work permit, she told me that she would issue it for 3 years as I finished a 2-year program; however, when I received my work permit, I noticed that it was valid only for 2 years. I was so glad that I caught it early and I politely asked her if there were any reasons behind it. She looked at the permit, apologized immediately for an honest mistake, took my passport with my work permit, and told me that she would be back with another work permit. I think it took her another 15 or 20 minutes but she came back with the new work permit which was issued for 3 years like she originally told me. She apologized once more time for the mistake for which I told her it was all good. As I was examining my new work permit, we were talking about my TRV(s) and future plans. For those who don't know, I have a visitor TRV valid until 2025 while my student TRV expires in 2020. She told me that I could just use my visitor TRV until it expires and added that it was a little redundant to have the TRV for my study permit. I thanked her for everything and I left the building.
My advice to people who consider flag poling for PGWP:
1. Make sure you have the right documents before you start (Study Permit, Passport, and Graduation letter & Consolidate mark sheet in a sealed envelope)
2. Check if there are any time restrictions applicable to the port of entry that you are intending to go. Most POEs in southern Ontario have these time restrictions. In my case, the POE had no such restrictions.
3. Once you get your work permit, check for any mistakes like I did in my case.
4. Last but not least, be polite and courteous to the officer in charge of your case. It goes a long way.
My thoughts:
I have heard from many people about their horrendous experience at the border and I don't deny them at all. Having been to the US so many times, my experience with CBP officers in Detroit has been nothing but awful. Once, they made a mistake in reading my i94 expiration date and made me sit in their building for additional questioning and more searches in my car. Eventually, they found nothing in my car or phone and told me that they thought suspicious because I was trying to re-enter the US on the next day of my previous I94 expiration. I think this happened on the 5th of May 2018 and my I94 expired on the 5th of March 2018 which they totally misread. All they had to do was to ask me an obvious question. Instead, they made things hard by going through everything on my phone, car, and person. When I pointed out to them that it expired on the 5th of March 2018, not the 5th of May 2018 like they thought. They did not admit to their mistake but instead tossed their passport back to me.
When I compared this experience with my flagpoling experience in Sault Ste. Marie, they are polar opposites and the CBSA officers were thoroughly professional and friendly at the same time. So, if anyone is considering of going to the Detroit border, avoid it at all costs as the CBP officers over there clearly suffer from Hero syndrome and would pull anything out of their asses to make your life hell even when you have everything right. My experience with CBP officers in all other port of entries have been nothing but pleasant. Just avoid Detroit and you should be fine.