Visa run? Extending a three month allowed visit (due to IO opinion of me!)

[samiam2310]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a simple question - I can't find an answer anywhere:

I arrived in Canada, planning to stay 6 months as a tourist. As I didn't have enough proof for the immigration officer that I could fend for myself ($10k in bank statements, and a father who works for Air Canada so no return ticket, but the ability to leave at any time) she gave me roughly two and a half months (until March 1) on a "visitor record" attached in my passport, which stipulates it must be "surrendered to a CBSA immigration officer on departure from Canada" and "does not authorise re-enter".
She told me to apply for an extension online (obviously a bit of a nightmare) if I wanted to stay longer.

I'm from the UK, so can stay for 6 months (at their discretion), so I'm wondering what the legalities are of crossing the boarder to the USA, and coming back that day or after a certain amount of time: will I get a 6 month visa if I bring proof of funds and proof of a ticket home? Will it be 6 months from when I first arrived in Canada this trip?

Alternatively I could fly home to the UK, and back to Canada a couple of days later, is that allowed?

The easiest thing for me would be to rent a car, cross to the US, surrender my Canada "Visa Record" on the boarder, and apply for a tourist visa on reentry that same day. Surely it's not that simple.
The boarder I'm thinking of doesn't have a Canadian exit side (as far as I've noticed), you just drive across the bridge and you're in the states. Would I explain my plan to a Canadian officer before I cross? Do I come clean and explain what I'm doing? Is it the US IO that would take the Canadian Visa Record out of my passport?
Any chance I can just apply for a regular tourist visa at the Canadian office before I even cross into the States (to save the trip).

What's best? I don't really want to spend $75 to wait months on implied status - I'd like the freedom of having peace of mind that I can nip into the states or home and back without any problem.

Any help would be really appreciated. If there's any links to the CIC site that backup your advice that would certainly give me more peace of mind.

Thank you so much for your time,

Sam

 

[scylla]

There's a very simple answer. It's not black and white - and no one can tell you what will happen at the border.

As you've learned, everything is at the discretion of the immigration officer you encounter when you enter Canada. That officer decides if you are allowed in (or not) and for how long. If you go to the States, there's no guarantee you will be allowed back in. If you are allowed back in, there's a chance they may not give you an extension and leave the three months as is. You could also be allowed back into Canada and given an extra six months to visit. Same goes for flying back home and returning - no guarantee you will be allowed back in or for how long.

Your best bet is to spend the $75 and apply for the extension close to the end of your three month visit. I believe the extension will take 2-3 months to process and as you said, you will have implied status while CIC is processing the application. If you're given an extension then you can stay even longer than planned. If you're refused, then you'll have to leave - but by that time your total visit should have reached around six months.

 

[samiam2310]

Thanks very much for that - Will try the boarder run and see what happens.

Will let you know!