US outland applicants' thread :)

[americaninlove]

Those who have PR?
How long did it take to get the card in the mail? I got PR at the border on March 7th and haven't gotten anything in the mail... Where did they mail your PR Card, how long did it take to get to you?

 

[rhcohen2014]

It takes 6-8 weeks typically to get the results back from the FBI.

current processing time on the FBI site is 26 days, so it's possible to get them within a month's time.

 

[squishypenguin]

Hi all,

Just checked ecas after getting back from a trip and it says decision made! Hopefully this is good news as we did not receive anything beforehand such as PPR or requesting more documents.

I had some questions about landing and wanted to get some opinions on our plan so far. We are planning on landing at Queenston-Lewiston if possible and he is coming from US (NY) to Ontario.

Our plan is to 'flag pole', and have him land with his list of goods/goods to follow ASAP and then apply for a SIN. This is because he needs to initiate a work location transfer with his job so he needs the number. At the same time, it would be nice to also apply for OHIP as well since I think it's all done at Service Ontario and I was wondering if we would run into any trouble with it? We already have a joint account so I don't know if they will think that the bank statement is a bit funny if the date of it is before his landing date? It would also be nice to get that 90 day clock running for coverage but I was never clear on if it was 90 days from application or 90 days from landing.
After applying for SIN/OHIP he would go back for a couple weeks to await work transfer.

We were also considering whether or not we should import his car (5 years old) versus sell it and buy a new one before he comes because cars are cheaper in the US and take advantage of the tax free situation. Not sure if we would run into any issues with having to drive it for a certain amount of time etc before importing?

When should we change to a Canada driver's license? I know we need it to get Canadian car insurance but we also want to shop around a bit for it first.

Is there anything I'm missing on our list of to do things?

1. Make list of goods/goods to follow
2. SIN
3. OHIP
4. Get recall letter, valid 30 days
-> Import car
-> Declare with US export 72 hr before
-> Import
-> RIV inspection/modifications
5. Canada driver's license (before or after import car?? not sure when is best to do this)
->Get US letter of experience from insurance company, US driving abstract
->Get Canada car insurance
-> License vehicle in Ontario/Canada (must be done within 30 days of obtaining car insurance or is it import? not sure)

Also would it be okay for me to accompany him on landing? He's the only one landing obviously and not sure if it's typical for us to go together or him to do it by himself.

Thank you!!

 

[Zarilenth]

Congrats Squishypenguin! I can't answer your questions because we're still waiting for our DM, but hopefully someone else can!

 

[saintsim1]

Hi all I received COPR yesterday!

 

[*Siren*]

Squishypenguin,

My husband just finished improting his car, so I can answer your questions.

In order to get a driver's license, you must get a copy of your driving history from Secretary of State. There is a form that you can find online to request this info. Get it mailed to you. They won't accept a faxed copy and the one that they can give you on the spot at Secretary of State doesn't have all of the information that you need.

Step two, call your U.S. insurance company and any insurance company that you have used in the last seven years and ask for a copy of your insurance history here. Most companies here will not insure you without it and the few that will would only insure you as a new driver and charge you a ridiculous amount of money. You may have to fight with your insurance company to get this, since they aren't very helpful when you are taking your business elsewhere. Hopefully you have better luck with this than my husband did.

Once you have your license and insurance, then you should finish importing the car. Once you import it, you can't drive it with U.S. plates on it, so it is very important to have your Canadian license and insurance first. You can start the process beforehand (US export, Canada Customs paperwork, RIV inspection, safety, e-test) just don't finalize everything with the Ministry of Transportation until you have insurance.

 

[Amalthea]

Ohhh I'm so eager to start this process! I've been waiting 8 months just to apply. My diversion (getting charges dropped for a DUI) in Oregon ends 7/1. Once the court officially drops the charges, I can apply for my criminal background check. Once I get that, I can send off the application package. I am so excited to begin the process.

I was originally going to apply Inland, but I JUST found out that Ottawa actually processes the US Outland applications (8 mo wait time.. vs 3 years @ NY or LA? Yes please!). So I will be applying Outland!

And the waiting game continues..

edit: 8 months? Either I made that # up in my head, or it jumped to 15. Oh well, nothing I can really do to speed up the process for us XD

 

[rhcohen2014]

And the waiting game continues..

edit: 8 months? Either I made that # up in my head, or it jumped to 15. Oh well, nothing I can really do to speed up the process for us XD

the processing times found on the CIC site are not totally accurate. For the most part, they are longer than the average. The current processing time, based on the tracking spreadsheets on this forum is approximately 8-10 months for US applicants. Each application month has a spreadsheet, as i believe so does most visa office threads. Currently us applicants from October 2013 are getting their approvals to land.

 

[katester]

the processing times found on the CIC site are not totally accurate. For the most part, they are longer than the average. The current processing time, based on the tracking spreadsheets on this forum is approximately 8-10 months for US applicants. Each application month has a spreadsheet, as i believe so does most visa office threads. Currently us applicants from October 2013 are getting their approvals to land.

I am an American applying and June 12th will mark my 10 month period of waiting......

 

[Amalthea]

the processing times found on the CIC site are not totally accurate. For the most part, they are longer than the average. The current processing time, based on the tracking spreadsheets on this forum is approximately 8-10 months for US applicants. Each application month has a spreadsheet, as i believe so does most visa office threads. Currently us applicants from October 2013 are getting their approvals to land.

Right on! I had noticed that it said 80% of cases or something like that, it's really reassuring that realistically it could be sooner! I couldn't find the spreadsheet for this thread, just the old buffalo one from 2010/2011

 

[rhcohen2014]

Right on! I had noticed that it said 80% of cases or something like that, it's really reassuring that realistically it could be sooner! I couldn't find the spreadsheet for this thread, just the old buffalo one from 2010/2011

i'm not sure this thread has one. it would most likely be in the ottawa visa office thread. usually it's the thread specifically for application submission months or the visa office.

 

[Zarilenth]

Right on! I had noticed that it said 80% of cases or something like that, it's really reassuring that realistically it could be sooner! I couldn't find the spreadsheet for this thread, just the old buffalo one from 2010/2011

I've got an up to date one in my signature

 

[squishypenguin]

Squishypenguin,

Step two, call your U.S. insurance company and any insurance company that you have used in the last seven years and ask for a copy of your insurance history here. Most companies here will not insure you without it and the few that will would only insure you as a new driver and charge you a ridiculous amount of money. You may have to fight with your insurance company to get this, since they aren't very helpful when you are taking your business elsewhere. Hopefully you have better luck with this than my husband did.

Once you have your license and insurance, then you should finish importing the car. Once you import it, you can't drive it with U.S. plates on it, so it is very important to have your Canadian license and insurance first. You can start the process beforehand (US export, Canada Customs paperwork, RIV inspection, safety, e-test) just don't finalize everything with the Ministry of Transportation until you have insurance.

Thank you so much for the reply!

Do I *have* to insure it before I import? Can he drive it with US insurance coverage, import it on US insurance and then get Canada insurance if it passes? I only ask because I am not 100% sure it will pass inspection so if we import it and if it costs too much to fix on inspection then we would just sell it in US and buy a new car in Canada. Then when we get insurance it won't be a huge hassle to change the car on it and get stuff requoted.

 

[kateee]

Thank you so much for the reply!

Do I *have* to insure it before I import? Can he drive it with US insurance coverage, import it on US insurance and then get Canada insurance if it passes? I only ask because I am not 100% sure it will pass inspection so if we import it and if it costs too much to fix on inspection then we would just sell it in US and buy a new car in Canada. Then when we get insurance it won't be a huge hassle to change the car on it and get stuff requoted.

I may be wrong but I believe that once you import the car at the border you can't sell it. You definitely can't sell it in Canada for a period of time and I doubt you could bring it back to the US easily to sell it since you have to officially export it from the US as the very first step of the import process. If I were you, I would be absolutely sure that the car is worth importing and will pass inspection before you arrive...

 

[Florida Bear]

Hi all I received COPR yesterday!

Congrats!!!! That is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!! 8) 8) 8)