So, I officially became a permanent resident of Canada yesterday (2/4/2021) after competing soft landing at Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY.
I had initially received my CoPR document with stamped visa in the first week of March 2020 with an expiry date in the last week of July 2020. I knew I wouldn't be able to travel to travel to Canada because of Covid so I asked for an extension in June 2020. IRCC asked me to let them know whenever I was ready to travel. About 2 weeks ago, I received an email from IRCC asking me if I was able to travel anytime soon and if I was they would extend the validity of my expired CoPR and visa to fist week of June 2021. I answered yes and told them I would ideally like to travel in May. They replied to my email within a few days informing me of the extension of the validity of my CoPR and visa, and also informed me that I was required to travel before 3/26/2021 failing which they would keep my application open.
Last week PM Trudeau announced new travel restrictions for air travel into Canada and said land travel restrictions were coming soon. That's why I decided to take a chance at soft landing. I started from Philadelphia in a rental car and reached the Peace Bridge CBSA entry point (Fort Erie, ON) around 7:40 pm EST. There was only one lane open and mine was the only vehicle in sight. The officer asked me why I was there and I told him I was there to complete landing formalities for my CoPR and that I would turn back to the US right after. After checking my passport and documents and asking a few standard questions he directed me to park in a spot near their office building. I went inside the building and spoke to a different officer. He took my documents and asked a bunch of questions. He also asked for the Goods to Follow list (which I had prepared) and a Canadian address to mail my PR card. The whole process took about 30 minutes. The CBSA officer congratulated me at least three times on becoming a permanent resident and was very patient and helpful. I had some questions for him which he was more than happy to answer. When I was about to leave he told me he would send another officer out to show me the way to turn back to the US. To my surprise, not one but two officers showed up one after the other to help me. Well done, CBSA! You guys are great!
I turned around and the US CBP officer also let me pass after a few questions. His questions felt more like a short interrogation and at one point I felt he wouldn't let me back into the US (I had a valid non-expired H1B stamp in my passport). All in all, everything worked out great.
Good luck to anyone else who is trying to attempt a soft landing at one of the land borders!
