In light of the new developments....

[Eric Parker]

I know I can not land until I get my Passport back. I will assume they will get the passport back to me by Dec 1st.

Now for the tricky part...

My oldest step daughter is going to be wed on Jan 2nd in Alberta. I plan to be there. With this in mind I will plan to Land in mid-December, stay at my new Canadian address until early January, then return to Portland, Oregon by plane (with my Canadian wife) to pick up the rest of my belongings and drive to my new residence in Alberta (with my car in tow..) through a land border.

Is this advisable to do? Any suggestions would help.

Thanks!

[PMM]

Hi

I know I can not land until I get my Passport back. I will assume they will get the passport back to me by Dec 1st.

Now for the tricky part...

My oldest step daughter is going to be wed on Jan 2nd in Alberta. I plan to be there. With this in mind I will plan to Land in mid-December, stay at my new Canadian address until early January, then return to Portland, Oregon by plane (with my Canadian wife) to pick up the rest of my belongings and drive to my new residence in Alberta (with my car in tow..) through a land border.

Is this advisable to do? Any suggestions would help.

Thanks!

Sure why not?  Don't forget that you have to export your car http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml  and then import it into Canada www.riv.ca Note the car has to be admissible and on your goods to follow list.

PMM

[Eric Parker]

Well aware of the car thing PPM. I already know my car is admissable. From reading these posts of others, I assume I will get a COPR as well.

Will I get to keep the COPR (or a copy) as proof of landing if I do not get my PR card in time to fly back to Portland to retrive the rest of my belongings? Or will they have the fact I already have landed in their database?

[welshiess]

There has been a slight delay with getting the PR cards out....mine took about 8 weeks after landing.  Worth bearing in mind that the COPR cannot be used as a travel doc or guarantee right of entry.

I'm from the UK and I had to return to the UK after landing.  I then came back to Canada before my PR card had arrived and had to go to the visa office in London to get a returning resident visa (not sure if same applies to US), even though we have a visa waiver agreement with Canada.

[PMM]

Hi

There has been a slight delay with getting the PR cards out....mine took about 8 weeks after landing.  Worth bearing in mind that the COPR cannot be used as a travel doc or guarantee right of entry.

I'm from the UK and I had to return to the UK after landing.  I then came back to Canada before my PR card had arrived and had to go to the visa office in London to get a returning resident visa (not sure if same applies to US), even though we have a visa waiver agreement with Canada.

As long you don't enter on a "commercial vehicle" your COPR will get you across the US/Canada border.

PMM

[Eric Parker]

Yo PMM!

Can you define what "commercial vehicle" is? Does it refer to the type of passenger car you use while crossing a land border?

My wife and I plan to cross into Canada with my goods to follow, including my own personal passenger car, at a land border. We are also going to have a rental vehicule (mini van) with us that we will drop off at a Canadian site when we are done. If the weather is bad (it would be January by then), we will only drive the rental across the border. Will this rental cause problems even though I would have a COPR.

Also, even if I have a copy of the COPR, wouldn't I still have the VISA items for permanent residency in my passport (the items they put into the passport when they issue the visa in the first place - like they are doing to my passport right now in Buffalo) and wouldn't the border people and CIC have their database on my case and passport updated to show I have already landed? Maybe I should tell the VO when I land that I plan to came back to get the rest of my stuff.

[Karlshammar]

Your personal vehicle is not considered a commercial vehicle so you are fine to cross with your COPR. That's the only case when that works; if you enter otherwise you need your PR card or the document from the consulate/embassy.

Commercial vehicles would be airplanes, boats, Greyhound buses... I.e. vehicles used for commercial purposes.

[PMM]

Hi

Yo PMM!

Can you define what "commercial vehicle" is? Does it refer to the type of passenger car you use while crossing a land border?

My wife and I plan to cross into Canada with my goods to follow, including my own personal passenger car, at a land border. We are also going to have a rental vehicule (mini van) with us that we will drop off at a Canadian site when we are done. If the weather is bad (it would be January by then), we will only drive the rental across the border. Will this rental cause problems even though I would have a COPR.

Also, even if I have a copy of the COPR, wouldn't I still have the VISA items for permanent residency in my passport (the items they put into the passport when they issue the visa in the first place - like they are doing to my passport right now in Buffalo) and wouldn't the border people and CIC have their database on my case and passport updated to show I have already landed? Maybe I should tell the VO when I land that I plan to came back to get the rest of my stuff.

Commercial planes, trains, buses taxis.  Cars/Trucks that you are driving or being driven don't count as commercial vehicles.
Yes, CBSA will have the details of your "landing" but if you were traveling by commercial carrier, the most commercial carriers would not take the chance that you would be refused admission without a PR card.  Because they would be responsible for your removal and any fines.  That is why they are loath to board (mostly planes) passengers on one-way tickets with no proof of PR status.

PMM

[Eric Parker]

Thats interesting being that I plan to have a one way ticket when I land in Vancouver in December, and a one way ticket to the states to pick up the rest of my belongings in Jan. Before I return home to Alberta.

What would be the implications then? Do I have to obtain a return ticket for my trip through landing in Vancouver to avoid the one-way hassles I could incurr both ways?

[Karlshammar]

Having a COPR there should be no one-way issues going to Canada if you plan to drive back. Are you not a U.S. citizen? In that case there could not possibly be any objections either way.