Unsure about an upcoming trip...

[Logan289]

My wife is Canadian, sponsoring me, an American. We submitted the application back in January of this year, but the application is still In Progress. So far, during this time frame, my wife has been granted Sponsorship Status and I have been granted a Work Permit that lasts for 2 more years.

I have been informed that I am legally allowed to leave the country while the application is in progress still, though my chances of being let back in vastly improve as long as I'm abiding by the rules and the trip is relatively short.

So here's the thing. My wife and I plan to fly down to the USA for a 2-week vacation to the Outer Banks with my Sister and her family. The first week is the actual vacation, but the second week is what I'm concerned about.

Long story short, the rest of my belongings (a bedroom's worth) are in a storage unit in North Carolina. The second week of this 2-week vacation was going to involve my wife and I loading my stuff into a 10' U-Haul to bring back up to Canada. This is where information I've gathered has been mixed. Some say it's absolutely a Red Flag and I'll absolutely be denied. Others have stated it'll be perfectly fine.

Unfortunately our circumstances don't allow for a U-Box delivery, so we have to drive it ourselves. But I wanted to ask for the advice of those here. Will I have a lot of trouble at the border with a U-Haul containing my things while still waiting for the Spousal Sponsorship to complete? Or will my Work Permit and in-status application (Approved in Principal with completed biometrics and the like) be enough for everything to go relatively smoothly?

 

[scylla]

My wife is Canadian, sponsoring me, an American. We submitted the application back in January of this year, but the application is still In Progress. So far, during this time frame, my wife has been granted Sponsorship Status and I have been granted a Work Permit that lasts for 2 more years.

I have been informed that I am legally allowed to leave the country while the application is in progress still, though my chances of being let back in vastly improve as long as I'm abiding by the rules and the trip is relatively short.

So here's the thing. My wife and I plan to fly down to the USA for a 2-week vacation to the Outer Banks with my Sister and her family. The first week is the actual vacation, but the second week is what I'm concerned about.

Long story short, the rest of my belongings (a bedroom's worth) are in a storage unit in North Carolina. The second week of this 2-week vacation was going to involve my wife and I loading my stuff into a 10' U-Haul to bring back up to Canada. This is where information I've gathered has been mixed. Some say it's absolutely a Red Flag and I'll absolutely be denied. Others have stated it'll be perfectly fine.

Unfortunately our circumstances don't allow for a U-Box delivery, so we have to drive it ourselves. But I wanted to ask for the advice of those here. Will I have a lot of trouble at the border with a U-Haul containing my things while still waiting for the Spousal Sponsorship to complete? Or will my Work Permit and in-status application (Approved in Principal with completed biometrics and the like) be enough for everything to go relatively smoothly?

You're not allowed to import your belongings until you have PR. If you try now, you should expect to pay taxes and duties. That's one thing to consider.

Yes, arriving with all of your personal belongings can also sometimes cause problems at the border, even for Americans. It's impossible to guess if you will have problems or not which is why you are hearing mixed stories.

You should keep these items in storage until you have PR and then bring them to Canada.

 

[steaky]

My wife is Canadian, sponsoring me, an American. We submitted the application back in January of this year, but the application is still In Progress. So far, during this time frame, my wife has been granted Sponsorship Status and I have been granted a Work Permit that lasts for 2 more years.

I have been informed that I am legally allowed to leave the country while the application is in progress still, though my chances of being let back in vastly improve as long as I'm abiding by the rules and the trip is relatively short.

So here's the thing. My wife and I plan to fly down to the USA for a 2-week vacation to the Outer Banks with my Sister and her family. The first week is the actual vacation, but the second week is what I'm concerned about.

Long story short, the rest of my belongings (a bedroom's worth) are in a storage unit in North Carolina. The second week of this 2-week vacation was going to involve my wife and I loading my stuff into a 10' U-Haul to bring back up to Canada. This is where information I've gathered has been mixed. Some say it's absolutely a Red Flag and I'll absolutely be denied. Others have stated it'll be perfectly fine.

Unfortunately our circumstances don't allow for a U-Box delivery, so we have to drive it ourselves. But I wanted to ask for the advice of those here. Will I have a lot of trouble at the border with a U-Haul containing my things while still waiting for the Spousal Sponsorship to complete? Or will my Work Permit and in-status application (Approved in Principal with completed biometrics and the like) be enough for everything to go relatively smoothly?

Prepare a plan B just in case there's problem at the border - get a storage near the border on the US side until you became PR.

 

[armoured]

So far, during this time frame, my wife has been granted Sponsorship Status and I have been granted a Work Permit that lasts for 2 more years.
...
Long story short, the rest of my belongings (a bedroom's worth) are in a storage unit in North Carolina. The second week of this 2-week vacation was going to involve my wife and I loading my stuff into a 10' U-Haul to bring back up to Canada. This is where information I've gathered has been mixed. Some say it's absolutely a Red Flag and I'll absolutely be denied. Others have stated it'll be perfectly fine.

As a visitor, it is entirely up to CBSA whether they think what you're bringing in is consistent with 'visiting.' The advice to applicants in your situation is essentially based on this interpretation. In practice it goes both ways but often enough not well.

The wrinkle may be that you have a two year work permit; does that make you a visitor or ... someone residing in Canada? To me the latter makes sense.

I honestly don't know. You could try calling CBSA and asking - but keep in mind that no answer they give you is binding on an officer at the border.

All this said: it is safer and probably more convenient to bring no more than you think you actually need. CBSA mostly isn't going to bother if your car is somewhat full, as long as not too obvious or excessive, esp if some of the stuff is (plausibly) your spouse's.

 

[Ponga]

Long story short, the rest of my belongings (a bedroom's worth) are in a storage unit in North Carolina. The second week of this 2-week vacation was going to involve my wife and I loading my stuff into a 10' U-Haul to bring back up to Canada. This is where information I've gathered has been mixed. Some say it's absolutely a Red Flag and I'll absolutely be denied. Others have stated it'll be perfectly fine.

Unfortunately our circumstances don't allow for a U-Box delivery, so we have to drive it ourselves. But I wanted to ask for the advice of those here. Will I have a lot of trouble at the border with a U-Haul containing my things while still waiting for the Spousal Sponsorship to complete? Or will my Work Permit and in-status application (Approved in Principal with completed biometrics and the like) be enough for everything to go relatively smoothly?

I would be in the former camp. Bringing a U-Haul into Canada with your personal effects while you are still a Visitor to Canada is probably not the best plan. Until your PR has been approved, you're likely better off storing your belongings close to the Canadian border, IMHO. Think about the possibility of the officer telling you that YOU can enter, but your goods cannot. Suddenly you have a real mess on your hands, right?

 

[armoured]

I would be in the former camp. Bringing a U-Haul into Canada with your personal effects while you are still a Visitor to Canada is probably not the best plan. Until your PR has been approved, you're likely better off storing your belongings close to the Canadian border, IMHO. Think about the possibility of the officer telling you that YOU can enter, but your goods cannot. Suddenly you have a real mess on your hands, right?

Yes, to be clear, although I'm the one who pointed out that with a 2-year work permit you could conceivably argue to be 'settling' / residing in Canada, and possibly they have some policy on this - but it still strikes me as opening a can of worms and I'd avoid. After all they can (probably) still decide entering this way is contrary to status of visitor (with or without work permit).

* I understand 'settling' is the term CBSA uses as distinct from entering as a permanent resident (technically not all those with PRs are actually 'resident') and as a catch all to include other non-Canadians 'entering to reside' (which I assume would include those entering to work etc). How they apply in practice to this specific case, I've no idea.