Question About Traveling out of Canada

[Stephen_W]

Hi, I hope this is the right place to post this. I've been in Canada with my girlfriend (a Canadian citizen) for just over 6 months, and today I was notified by the CIC that my application to extend my stay another 6 months was approved. I was told that they would be sending a secured document in the mail, and that it would take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

My girlfriend and I were hoping to travel to the US to visit my parents at the end of March (I put my application for extension in at the beginning of January; we were hoping it wouldn't take this long). She's a teacher and this is during her spring break, so it's the best time to do this. If my new document hasn't arrived, should we cancel our trip? I don't want to run into any issues at customs when we return to Canada (we would be flying). Would they need to see my new visitor document?

For what it's worth, we flew out of Canada to the US twice during my first 6 months, and I had no issues upon return.

 

[scylla]

The extension has no bearing on whether you'll be allowed back into Canada or not. Whether you'll be allowed back into Canada and for how long is entirely up to the CBSA officer you encounter at the border.

The extension is only good while you remain in Canada. As soon as you leave, it's effectively canceled.

When you re-enter Canada after your visit to the US, this will be treated as a new entry into Canada.

 

[Stephen_W]

So, have I been doing this wrong then? When we traveled to the US before, I always based my days to remain on Canada based on my visitor record that is stapled in my Passport. The CBSA officer checked that document each time and then let me through.

This has been a bit confusing for us, as a lot of the information on the CIC website that references travel visas also mention that the US is a visa exempt country. We've seen info about multiple entry visas, but again, because the US is considered visa exempt, we're not sure how to apply for that.