mmshock said:
Hi Fizzlefunk and anyone else who might have some insight......
Just read your post about heading to Canada to start your wait. I have been doing some serious stressing about getting in to the country (ha, not until August but I like to be prepared!) and just have a couple questions on this...
Hey mmshock, sorry for the late reply, just catching up on old posts!
When you crossed the border in the car did you have a lot of furniture or luggage or anything that you were moving her to Canada with? Everyone has warned me that it cant look like we are moving back, but how on earth do we get around that! We will have our dog, living room and bedroom furniture. The car is in my name and I'll be exporting/importing when I land as an immigrant. Too complicated to get it in my husbands name before we go. So it looks like I'll be driving it across with him and the u-haul......
I did not bring all my stuff, actually. I U-Haul'd everything to a storage unit just across the border and crossed in my car with just a suitcase, a bike, a backpack or two, and three cats.
I won't have a job in the states to go back to, but I do have a wedding to attend one month after we get to Canada and own a house and have some bank accounts in the states. Would that be enough evidence? I have paid all my fees, sponsorship has been approved, and fingers crossed, by August i'll for sure have my AOR and hopefully initial assessment....
The officer explicitly asked me to prove that I'm going to return to the US. I told him that I have a lease on my apartment that isn't up til October. I had a file prepared with all sorts of documents in preparation for this, including the receipt from my immigration fees, copy of my lease, utility bill with my name on it for that apartment, marriage cert, recent bank statements, etc. To be honest, it was kind of iffy feeling and I'm hesitant to try another border crossing until I get PR.
I don't think the officer I dealt with would have let me through if I had a car full of goods and a U-Haul with my furniture. Everybody's experience is different, though...
Best of luck, mmshock! Hope my experience helps you a bit