US outland applicants' thread :)

[itsasyn17]

I exported/imported my car, and while there are many many steps to the process it's relatively easy and it wasn't very expensive. luckily i did not have to make a ton of modifications to my car, so i only had to pay for the daytime running lights to get installed/turned on.

you don't have to import it the same day you land, and it can be listed on your goods to follow form as a conveyance. i would recommend splitting it up, because both are stressful enough on their own. i imported my car on my way back to canada when i went to the states for thanksgiving. that way i didn't have to worry about the 72 hour restriction. if you have something planned in the future, then it's good to consider doing it then.

there are some threads in the settlement issues board on this forum that practically give a step by step guide to how to get it done. again, lots of little steps. since my car is old and not worth much, it was significantly cheaper and easier to import my car.

people need to use a broker to initiate the export on the US side because the documentation system requires a person to be certified to use it. it's much easier to pay someone already certified to enter the information and create the documentation than going through the process of doing it yourself. all other steps to the process are done by the person importing the car, the broker can't do this for you (unless you pay $$$ money).

The car modifications aren't dealt with until AFTER the export is done and the import is initiated in canada. When the car is taken to the designated mechanic for the inspection (usually a canadian tire), the modifications will be done then. other mechanics won't have a clue about what you're talking about, and will most likely refer you to canadian tire anyway. if there's more than one designated mechanic in your area, it's best to shop around because there are some horror stories out there about having to pay $$$ for repairs. i was lucky and only paid $150 + tax.

I purposely purchased a car that would meet all of the criteria for importing to Canada including daytime running lights. I needed a vehicle that could tow a trailer across the US and through two sets of mountain ranges. Besides having to now replace the windshield (they use pebbles on the roads during the winter months here), I believe my car will pass inspection. I have followed all of the steps including registering for the electronic system that the brokers use. It is relatively easy compared to filing for PR, lol.

Driving back to the lower 50 is a two day drive from here, it is only four hours to Alaska. So perhaps my answer is listing it as goods to follow and take my car up to Alaska. I will have to take another look at the border offices there. I know Hyder is a really small town. Visiting family in the US is a flying thing for us. I have family in Michigan, Texas, and Arizona.

Do you know how long you have to bring 'goods to follow' into Canada?

 

[CDNPR2014]

Do you know how long you have to bring 'goods to follow' into Canada?

there's no time limit for goods to follow. the time limit you'll run into is driving a us plated car in canada. yes, if alaska has offices that will do exports (i don't see why they wouldn't), then that sounds like a good option. i'd recommend calling the border offices on both sides to make sure they are familiar with and can initiate the process.

 

[itsasyn17]

there's no time limit for goods to follow. the time limit you'll run into is driving a us plated car in canada. yes, if alaska has offices that will do exports (i don't see why they wouldn't), then that sounds like a good option. i'd recommend calling the border offices on both sides to make sure they are familiar with and can initiate the process.

Thank you for the option I hadn't considered.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Thank you for the option I hadn't considered.

if you registered with AES, you may want to consider offering the service for a minimal fee to other importers. every little bit helps!

 

[proudCanadian15]

Hey Guys,

I applied for my wife's PR a in June'2016. I checked the ecas this morning. On the PA side it says decision made. But there is no update in my wife's MyCiC acc( we were able to link the application). She is currently residing in USA for studies and her application was forwarded to cpc-ottawa.

I called cic call center a few minutes ago and the call center agent said it can mean anything. It can even go back to in process. Before it turned to decision made, we got an email saying that my wife's background check was started through MyCIC.

Just wondering what all these means. If anyone of you have any insight. please share. Thanks.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Hey Guys,

I applied for my wife's PR a in June'2016. I checked the ecas this morning. On the PA side it says decision made. But there is no update in my wife's MyCiC acc( we were able to link the application). She is currently residing in USA for studies and her application was forwarded to cpc-ottawa.

I called cic call center a few minutes ago and the call center agent said it can mean anything. It can even go back to in process. Before it turned to decision made, we got an email saying that my wife's background check was started through MyCIC.

Just wondering what all these means. If anyone of you have any insight. please share. Thanks.

you won't receive any notification, update or further information in ECAS about the decision made. i'm not sure what happens in MyCIC, though i doubt there would be much more information. your wife should be keeping her eye out for a brown envelope in regular mail. for ottawa, DM usually means the COPR has been (or will be) mailed out.

 

[itsasyn17]

Hey Guys,

I applied for my wife's PR a in June'2016. I checked the ecas this morning. On the PA side it says decision made. But there is no update in my wife's MyCiC acc( we were able to link the application). She is currently residing in USA for studies and her application was forwarded to cpc-ottawa.

I called cic call center a few minutes ago and the call center agent said it can mean anything. It can even go back to in process. Before it turned to decision made, we got an email saying that my wife's background check was started through MyCIC.

Just wondering what all these means. If anyone of you have any insight. please share. Thanks.

It took a couple of days for MyCIC to change for me after decision made on ecas.

 

[proudCanadian15]

you won't receive any notification, update or further information in ECAS about the decision made. i'm not sure what happens in MyCIC, though i doubt there would be much more information. your wife should be keeping her eye out for a brown envelope in regular mail. for ottawa, DM usually means the COPR has been (or will be) mailed out.

Thanks for the reply. She is not a US Citizen. In her case, I think she will get a PPR email first. But I will tell her to keep an eye out.

 

[itsasyn17]

if you registered with AES, you may want to consider offering the service for a minimal fee to other importers. every little bit helps!

Perhaps I will do that.

I just checked Hyder/Stewart border and the only patrol they have is a phone on the Canadian side. No patrol for the US at all. *shrugs*

Back to camping for three days on the coast, lol. Maybe we'll see some whales.

 

[proudCanadian15]

It took a couple of days for MyCIC to change for me after decision made on ecas.

Thanks a lot for the reply. Let's hope that would be the case for my wife as well. Fingers crossed.

 

[hmks]

Hi All,

I just paid my PR fee and sent a copy of my passport to Ottawa last week via email. How long does it usually take for them to issue entry documents once they've received those? My husband is hopefully starting a job in Ontario soon and we'd like to all move together with our kids (husband and kids are Canadian citizens). If I don't have my entry documents how hard is it to set up bank accounts and do the basic things of life without it? I've read that you can enter as a visitor while you're waiting for your PR to come through. Not sure if this is correct but would love people's experiences or advice.

Thanks for any replies.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Hi All,

I just paid my PR fee and sent a copy of my passport to Ottawa last week via email. How long does it usually take for them to issue entry documents once they've received those? My husband is hopefully starting a job in Ontario soon and we'd like to all move together with our kids (husband and kids are Canadian citizens). If I don't have my entry documents how hard is it to set up bank accounts and do the basic things of life without it? I've read that you can enter as a visitor while you're waiting for your PR to come through. Not sure if this is correct but would love people's experiences or advice.

Thanks for any replies.

it generally takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks to receive your COPR from ottawa after status has changed to DM, and DM can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks after PPR is submitted and the RPRF fee is paid.

How long it takes to get the approval paper (COPR) depends on how long it takes to mail something from ottawa to where you are. The COPR will come in regular mail and will be in a brown envelope. If your ECAS status changed to DM, that generally means the COPR has been mailed. If it's still listed as "in process", then your application hasn't been officially approved yet.

Yes, you can enter canada as a visitor while your application is being processed. it's important to not use the terms "living" or "moving" when speaking to cbsa or showing up with your worldly possessions. it is perfectly acceptable to say: "I am here to visit my husband. my pr application is being processed."

The COPR will be mailed to the address CIC has on file, so if that' s your us address, you'll want someone to keep an eye out for it if you leave for canada before it arrives. they can forward it to you in canada. you will still need to "land" as a pr, which means you need to either a) call CIC to schedule a landing appointment at an office (not recommended as it can take weeks to get an appointment) or b) drive to the us border, get turned around and "flagpole" back to canada. (this is the most common way to land).

 

[Pontianak]

Yes, DHL would be ok.

For whatever it's worth to others, I found DHL unusable for this. When entering in the address in their system I wasn't allowed to enter in the address. If I cut parts of the address off, the cost was quite high. UPS no issue, and I could enter in as many letters as I want. I guess for documents international, ups is the way to go. Usually DHL is cheaper so I was surprised. Ah well.

 

[Amalthea]

Hey all,

I don't use the forums much anymore. However, I helped a friend fill out an application - Outland. She received COPR in 3 months. They never even received her corrected FBI check (she included a letter of explanation and a letter of dismissal from the court, her original FBI check did not show the dismissal). Was a very pleasant surprise. She hasn't even gotten the FBI check and has already landed, lmao.

Best of luck to everyone!

 

[mruhomau]

Hi everyone,

As per my previous posts (about a month or so ago ), I mentioned that I will take a stab at filling all the forms for the US PR spousal outland application for my wife and will ask all of my question at once. I figured this will be easier this way to get help. I went through the guide for both the sponsor and principal applicant (wife) and completed my wife and I filled out all the forms required and gathered all the documents and below are my questions :

(i) in form IM1344 , question 1, I am not sure which option is better. That is, should I check " all processing fees less $75 will be refunded " or should I check the other option " proceed with application and processing fees will be retained " . I am unsure why they give these two options and what is the benefit of checking proceed with the application

(ii) I am assuming when submitting the application , both the sponsor forms part and the principal applicant ( spouse) forms will be submitted in one application. Is that correct ? if yes, is the whole application supposed to be mailed from the US or from Canada ? At this point we have all the forms filled out and signed, I am not sure if there is a preference as to where the application needs to be mailed from

(iii) We are including a cover letter in the application, does the cover letter needs to be addressed from me or my wife ? or can we used "We " , i.e both of us are writing the cover letter


thanking you all in advance for your help and time and hope that everyone is having a great weekend ! I have not looked into how to pay the fees and instructions on how to mail the application yet, I will ask my questions if I have any. But for now, I only need clarifications for the three questions I posted above