Hi man_80_n!
OK. Sounds like our situations are very similar. We even have a dumb cat. We made a couple of mistakes you might benefit from knowing about so I'll tell you our whole story over the last year, so get ready, Mr Bedelia says I have a tendency to be wordy!
We moved to Canada last July. We had been married that spring and had made only a little bit of progress with figuring out the PR application. I had been living back in the US for a few years (we met in Canada while I was a student there) and my husband had been back and forth a lot during that time and as of July had only been a US resident for about 9 months. He's a dual Canadian-US citizen and I'm a US citizen.
So in July we packed up all of our stuff. We didn't have a place in Montreal yet; we were going to live at an apartment owned by his parents while we searched for our own place, which was nice because we wouldn't have to bring all of our worldly belongings across the border at once. We made up The List of all of our belongings. (Do you have that? What is your plan for getting the moving truck across the border?). We had a big U-Haul trailer on a pickup truck that was also full of stuff.
We put most of the stuff into a storage unit in St. Albans, Vermont (we went up I-89 on that trip--we have used both the 91 and 89 crossings many other times and I don't know of any significant differences between them). Then we went across the border with a pickup truck full of stuff, mostly clothes, some minor furniture and household things, nothing expensive. Plus the cat. Also, the truck is in my name. (My husband is a contractor so it's really his, but we bought it in my name, and that is our only vehicle. More on that later.) It was early evening by then. I don't think the time of day matters, but I would avoid holiday weekends if you can, you might be in for a long line.
They wanted to know: whose truck is this, what is all of this stuff. We said that we are moving back to Canada, this is our stuff and I am about to apply for PR. We got sent inside. What we learned inside is that because he hadn't been away for at least a year, he wasn't allowed to have a list of goods returning with him. But if he had (it sounds like you won't have that issue), we would have had to say all of it was "his" (which we didn't do when they asked us) in order for it to count. Since visitors can't just move all of their worldly possessions into Canada for free. So that's something to keep in mind. In the end, they let us go without paying duty (we didn't have much of value, but it looked like a lot of stuff so they weren't that happy. We just kind of pleaded ignorance and it was OK). Since our first crossing, we've slowly emptied the storage unit--we've gone to St. Albans a few times and picked up what we estimate to be the limit of my husband's exemption as a resident of Canada, and it's been fine.
Then, they wanted to know about my status. I said that I'm about to put in the PR application. The guy was really nice and seemed really genuinely excited that I was about to apply to immigrate. Very nice guy. I don't remember exactly what he asked me but at some point I did have to explain that I was going to be working remotely at my job in the US and that satisfied, I think, any concerns about finances and/or ties to the US, I'm not sure which. I didn't have to show proof of that (although I had brought it). Then, they came back with a visitor record stapled in my passport with a 6-month expiration. I suspect you will get one of these. I like having it because it sort of speaks for itself in terms of what my status is and it's sort of documentation that I'm "legal" here, which I like. I've had to renew it once since I got it and it was easy and quick. We probably spent about 30 minutes inside at the border.
Since the car is in my name, we didn't import it. We'll do it when I land I guess. One thing we've learned on that end: my husband can't really drive the car to the US and back without me with him since it's my car and it's plated in the US and he is a Quebec resident. I'm not sure how that translates to your situation, but it's one of the hazards of the two of you having 2 different resident statuses.
The cat we have brought across the border a few times and we carry a rabies vaccine certificate for her and I just hand it over upfront with my passport.
Also, I've gone back to the US several times since last summer by land and by air, both before and after I actually submitted my application and I've never had a problem. They usually want to know where I am in the PR process but that's it. One time I was flying back and my visitor record was about to expire so they sent me in to immigration (the only time). And the guy just basically said, you should probably renew that, and I said, don't I have up until the day it expires to submit the renewal online, and he said, yes, and I was like, OK! Thanks! And he sent me on my way.
So, I don't know if I've been lucky or what, but my experience has been pretty good as far as waiting out the process here. My actual PR application has caused me a little frustration as you can see, but I'm hoping that is going to work itself out and not be a problem in the end. I think you're in good shape. It sounds like you have the documentation and proof that you need. I would not worry and just enjoy having the rest of the summer in Quebec!!! The weather is great!
Good luck with everything!!!!
