Here's my account of my Buffalo trip, as promised.
I took the 7:30pm Greyhound bus from Toronto. The ride was uneventful, but somewhat stressful. There was some rude guy talking on his cellphone the entire trip there. It's funny how much you learn listening to someone talk for 3 1/2 hours! There was a little bit of trouble at the border. One passenger from our bus was stopped at customs, and we had to wait until the person was let into the country. We waited for about an hour, then the bus driver was told the person wouldn't be let in the US. I suppose they had a criminal record, who knows. We were supposed to get to Buffalo at 9:45pm, and we ended up getting to the station at 10:45pm. The station is indeed quite... sketchy. We took a cab to our hotel, Doubletree Hilton, and it came to $7. I am still amazed at how cheap cab fares are! I paid double the price for that same distance in Toronto.
The hotel was great, but the location was kinda out in the boondocks. The hotel is surrounded by a bunch of hospitals, and there's really not much to see. Check-in was very friendly. The rooms come equipped with a kitchenette and a microwave, so it's very convenient.
The best thing about the hotel is that they have a free shuttle service that takes you anywhere within a 5 mile radius. So we booked a shuttle to the HSBC tower, and ended up getting there at 8:45am, or so. When you get there you have to show your passport to a guard in the lobby, and he places a sticker on you and tells you to go to floor 30. When you get there you have to stand in line; it wasn't very long. It took about 20 minutes to get to the window. When you get to the window, you hand in your passport, PPR letter/email request, and your pictures, then they give you a number and tell you to have a seat. I waited for about 2 hours, then my number was called. I went up to the window, and the lady gave me my passport back, a white envelope with a letter and the confirmation of permanent residence. She told me to read over it to make sure everything was correct, and congratulated me on becoming a permanent resident. We got out of there at 11:00am, or so.
The hotel shuttle picked us up, and we went back to the hotel to check out, then on to the Greyhound bus station. We still had a few hours until our bus, so we went to a little mall that's across the station. I don't know if you can even call it a mall; it only had a handful of stores.... Before I knew it, we were on the bus on our way back to Toronto. Landing was very quick. If you are landing via Buffalo, they take you to a room in the back, then they confirm that all the information on the "confirmation of permanent residence" sheet is correct. They ask you if have any dependents, and if you have a criminal record, then they ask you to sign. That's pretty much it. They staple the confirmation of permanent residence on your passport, tell you that the permanent resident card will arrive in the mail in 8 weeks, congratulate you, then you are on your way!
That's pretty much my story. I went and got my SIN number today at Service Canada. It took 30 minutes! I was amazed at how quick it was. I faxed my confirmation of permanent residence to my university, and they changed my status to domestic and adjusted my fees. Now I'm on the hunt for a summer job.
I hope this helps anyone that is planning on going to Buffalo.
