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Nexus Card and Stamps

spyfy

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May 8, 2015
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As I suspected, Natan was referring to travel documents which need to be included with a citizenship application (and then presented at the interview), rather than in making unnecessary ATIP requests looking for information the PR should already have.
In my post I clearly quoted this question (boldprint by me):
"What documents do I need to scan and attach in the online request? It is not clear."

That is the question I answered and my point stands: In your online request for ATIP, you do NOT need to include any travel documents you never used.

Also I don't get why you are warning people who want to get their ATIP report. We are all aware that we need to report all absences but it's nice to have an additional source to run your own list by to check if you forgot something in your own list.
 

dpenabill

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Apr 2, 2010
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Also I don't get why you are warning people who want to get their ATIP report. We are all aware that we need to report all absences but it's nice to have an additional source to run your own list by to check if you forgot something in your own list.
The topic is about anticipating an interviewer's questions when there are not stamps in the applicant's passport for some entries into Canada (and in particular for a PR who uses Nexus).

To the extent my posts constitute any warning, it is a well-warranted warning that PRs should keep complete and accurate records of their international travel, including to the U.S., and NOT rely on any other sources to be complete, including government records. This is not complicated. The why underlying this warning or caution is simple and obvious, reflected widely in posts and in the official Federal Court decisions: a lot of applicants fail to completely and accurately declare travel dates, leading to non-routine processing, delays, even challenges and sometimes rejection. My sense is that second to problems related to not following the instructions and making mistakes in the application generally, the failure to completely and accurately report all travel dates is perhaps the next most common cause of problems for legitimate, qualified applicants.

Thus, again for the OP here, the core response to the query is that the OP need not worry about the absence of stamps, but this is largely dependent on the OP completely and accurately declaring all travel outside Canada, including day trips to the U.S.

(Explaining the background for why PRs need to keep such records, however, can be complicated, but mostly because more than a few discussions in this and similar forums have tended to confuse, understate, and in some instances even misstate the import of keeping personal records and reporting all travel dates accurately.)

As for the off-topic tangent about making ATIP requests, largely unnecessary requests, I am reminded of another recent discussion in the forum in which an applicant (if I recall correctly, might be the same as the OP here) asked about notifying IRCC of a planned month-long absence which will be within a period of time when that individual might be scheduled for the test & interview. That applicant had been advised by her Canadian citizen spouse to, in effect, not bother IRCC, that IRCC did not need or want to deal with what would amount to a lot of extra paperwork if applicants gave notice of their holiday plans.

The spouse's advise is actually contrary to IRCC guidelines, which encourage applicants to notify IRCC of absences longer than two weeks (to assure applicants have sufficient notice to attend scheduled events). That noted, that advice was characteristically Canadian, recognizing that many if not most Canadians are cognizant and conscientious about imposing unnecessary demands on government services, in significant part in recognition of the cost to taxpayers. While Canada is a large country, it nonetheless has a relatively small population, a fairly limited funding base (there are, for example, at least two U.S. states which separately, each alone, have a larger economy than all of Canada).

There are a number of occasions and circumstances which do indeed warrant using the ATIP and ATI procedures for obtaining personal or general information from the government. So it is not as if I discourage using these procedures across the board. The extent to which the government is burdened by unnecessary requests, however, is widely apparent in this and other similar forums.

And, this is not to discourage requests by individuals who are conducting research, including for example obtaining such information for the purpose of expanding their understanding of these processes so that they can contribute useful information and share personal experience, such as in this forum or other venues (some participate in local community groups or organizations which provide support, assistance, or information sharing for immigrants).

But overall this and other similar forums tend to encourage unnecessary, superfluous ATIP requests. While, again, sometimes these requests are warranted, important to make even, the vast majority of such requests reflected in forum posting provide little or no information the individual does not already know (or could easily figure out), and virtually nothing which the individual can actually use to promote or advance his or her application.
 

spyfy

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But overall this and other similar forums tend to encourage unnecessary, superfluous ATIP requests. While, again, sometimes these requests are warranted, important to make even, the vast majority of such requests reflected in forum posting provide little or no information the individual does not already know (or could easily figure out), and virtually nothing which the individual can actually use to promote or advance his or her application.
OK, got your point. In fact, I also didn't expect any new information on my ATIP, but it gave me a lot of piece of mind because early on I didn't track my border crossings. I then reconstructed them from my calendar, plane tickets and memory. And then later ran them by the ATIP info I received. It turned out that I got it all right down to the day. That was a big relief for me in fact.

But I also get your point regarding unnecessary requests. I think sometimes it's just something people do because there's nothing else they can do while waiting for IRCC to process their applications.
 

Natan

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May 22, 2015
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As I cross the Canadian border over 300 times a year, I have always kept meticulous records of my travel. I nonetheless ordered both an ATIP from CBSA and a FOIA from CBP in preparation for my citizenship application. I received many hundreds of pages of data (the FOIA report was in date-random order -- ouch). Neither country kept accurate records: both reports had missed entries; and both had reported entries that I had not made. What's worse, the U.S. report went back decades, despite my having asked for only the previous four years. The ATIP report was in Pacific Time, while the FOIA report was in Eastern Time; so some day trips appeared to be overnight trips (I applied on the very day I was eligible, with no days to spare), and if counted as overnight trips, I would not have met the physical presence requirements.

As a way to collect evidence of presence, while I had PR status, I tried very hard to obtain at least one receipt in Canada for every day I was present; and at least one receipt in the USA for every day I was in the USA (95% of all purchases were done with credit/debit cards). I was, of course, RQ'ed, but the hundreds of pages of supporting documentation and evidence we provided with the RQ, and a well written cover letter by our attorney, convinced CIC (as it was then known) that I had met the residency requirements.

I should note that I have always maintained a spreadsheet (or journal, in the days preceding spreadsheets) of all my international travels, regardless of whether I need to meet residency requirements or not. I am of the firm opinion that anyone who travels more than 28 days a year ought to maintain such a spreadsheet. When it comes to international travel, immigration services, border patrols, and government officials, few things establish credibility better than seeming organized, prepared and possessing well maintained documentation to support one's statements.
 

ch671

Star Member
Mar 22, 2017
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Just out of curiosity: I travel regularly on my Nexus card, particularly when I enter Canada. Therefore, I do not get stamps in my passport.

I assume they can check my absences online? When it comes to the interview, I assume there are no issues?

Any thoughts?
Stef.
Just go into the CBP website for I-94 records (entry exit records) at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ . Enter your info and you should see your last entry, the relevant number, and a brief travel history that you can print and carry along just in case you get pulled into questioning.
 

Stef.

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Apr 5, 2017
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Just go into the CBP website for I-94 records (entry exit records) at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ . Enter your info and you should see your last entry, the relevant number, and a brief travel history that you can print and carry along just in case you get pulled into questioning.
Thanks for the info. My process to become Canadian is successfully over. Best of luck to you
 
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