Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[spiritrac]

Thanks to all of you its been a long time and we are still waiting for my son's file to be completed, he is going through the Port of Spain Office.

 We begun this process in May 2010 assembling all the information looked at consultants and then settled on one, we contracted with them in June 2010 and they submitted our file in November it was returned to the attorney but the person handling our file was on vacation and never spoke to us until December when it was refiled, and here we are today. Throughout this process I have personally tried to maintain my composure there were times I was frustrated but realized that its a process and I did not control that process so it was no use me getting upset because that would not change things.

My wife can now concentrate her energies on beginning the Doctoral program in Education at the University of Toronto and would not have to think about being an international student with the cost associated with it. She is a Technology profession both her bachelors and Masters is with computer science and mathematics but she want to change careers and enter the Education arena (I posted before that she tutors mathematics to both inner city kids and middle and upper income Kids and have notice a big difference in the way they communicate) so she is embarking on a program using technology to enhance the teaching of Mathematics

[kourts]

Hi everyone, I'm an American married to a Canadian citizen and am applying through the buffalo office, my application is still in Mississauga, was received June 8th,started processing it July 19th,and still waiting on them to make a decision. I plan on going up in about a month to stay with my wife until we are approved. I was wondering if anyone else here whose done this could give me some tips and advice. I heard you have to cross with your sponsor so they can speak on your behalf if you plan on staying for that long, but this isn't possible,will i have any problems? any help is appreciated. good luck everyone.

[janamay1967]

Hi everyone, I'm an American married to a Canadian citizen and am applying through the buffalo office, my application is still in Mississauga, was received June 8th,started processing it July 19th,and still waiting on them to make a decision. I plan on going up in about a month to stay with my wife until we are approved. I was wondering if anyone else here whose done this could give me some tips and advice. I heard you have to cross with your sponsor so they can speak on your behalf if you plan on staying for that long, but this isn't possible,will i have any problems? any help is appreciated. good luck everyone.

This topic gets beat to death regularly here. I am also an American married to a Canadian citizen and I came up 6 weeks ago to stay out the process. It is not a crime to come across the border and as Americans we can stay 6 months without any questions ever being asked. The border officers and bored and really don't ask very many questions. Just say you are coming for an extended visit with friends and let that be enough. They won't even stamp your passport.
I think this forum makes us all a LOT paranoid! Don't panic and don't volunteer information that will just cause you more hassle. Don't mention your wife. They won't ask for specifics of who you are visiting if you just say family and friends. We really don't need to panic or act like we are criminals just because we are applying for immigrant status.
Enjoy Canada! It is SO much better than waiting out this process alone!!!!

[mrswolfe]

This topic gets beat to death regularly here. I am also an American married to a Canadian citizen and I came up 6 weeks ago to stay out the process. It is not a crime to come across the border and as Americans we can stay 6 months without any questions ever being asked. The border officers and bored and really don't ask very many questions. Just say you are coming for an extended visit with friends and let that be enough. They won't even stamp your passport.
I think this forum makes us all a LOT paranoid! Don't panic and don't volunteer information that will just cause you more hassle. Don't mention your wife. They won't ask for specifics of who you are visiting if you just say family and friends. We really don't need to panic or act like we are criminals just because we are applying for immigrant status.
Enjoy Canada! It is SO much better than waiting out this process alone!!!!

Keep in mind that border guards often make notes when you cross the border of things you say, so if you say you're going to go visit friends, and then later use that trip as relationship evidence, CIC has access to your records of crossing and may see a note that you're merely visiting "friends." This does not lend credibility to your case.

[Love_Young]

This topic gets beat to death regularly here. I am also an American married to a Canadian citizen and I came up 6 weeks ago to stay out the process. It is not a crime to come across the border and as Americans we can stay 6 months without any questions ever being asked. The border officers and bored and really don't ask very many questions. Just say you are coming for an extended visit with friends and let that be enough. They won't even stamp your passport.
I think this forum makes us all a LOT paranoid! Don't panic and don't volunteer information that will just cause you more hassle. Don't mention your wife. They won't ask for specifics of who you are visiting if you just say family and friends. We really don't need to panic or act like we are criminals just because we are applying for immigrant status.
Enjoy Canada! It is SO much better than waiting out this process alone!!!!

This isn't the greatest of advices. You should not lie about your purpose for visiting. As mrswolfe mentions, border officers do make notes on your file from visiting. Ordering FOSS notes will show you that. Anyway as long as you have proof of funds, ties to your home country, proof of return, etc. you should be fine in telling your true intentions. However, I do agree not to volunteer too much information than what is needed from you. This forum shouldn't make people too paranoid about it, they are just simply trying to prepare people with the best way to go about this circumstance. They should know what to go prepared with and what they could be up against such as the fact that you can get turned around if the border officer just happens to be in a bad mood, doesn't believe you can provide for your stay, doesn't believe your intentions, doesn't believe you will return, etc.

It happens.  But thing is to remember it isn't a right but a privilege to visit Canada. Even myself as an American was given a visitor record for only 4 1/2 months and this was my first/only time ever crossing. If I had been prepared or even known more about crossing the border I could have gone through so much easier. However, I was very young at 19 (still young now) and naive that "hey I am an American with my Canadian BF, everything will be fine" attitude. The border was not rude at all to me (actually very inviting and friendly) but just more or so wanted to make sure I would leave when I said and did have family supporting me then I was off and later had successful extensions which the IO told me how to do. However, this type of situation does not need to happen unnecessarily at all if you are prepared. Best to expect that you will need evidence and have it with you then need it and not have any with you. It definitely is recommended to have the sponsor travel and speak on your behalf by the way.

For more information kourts please read this link below and also use the search function to your advantage on here. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Have a joyous and safe trip to Canada. This process is definitely something that is better handled being by each others side. Here is the link: http://www.us2canada.com/visitor_record.html I also recommend you glance a bit more around the site. Very helpful tips and advice. Good luck.

[jayde]

Hi everyone, I'm an American married to a Canadian citizen and am applying through the buffalo office, my application is still in Mississauga, was received June 8th,started processing it July 19th,and still waiting on them to make a decision. I plan on going up in about a month to stay with my wife until we are approved. I was wondering if anyone else here whose done this could give me some tips and advice. I heard you have to cross with your sponsor so they can speak on your behalf if you plan on staying for that long, but this isn't possible,will i have any problems? any help is appreciated. good luck everyone.

When my husband drove up to wait out the rest of our application time, he had all of his documents showing our application file date, sponsor approval, receipt that we paid our fees, a receipt showing his stuff is in storage, and even had his daughter's birth certificate showing that he had ties in the states to go back to.

Be honest.  Explain that you are coming up to visit during the application process.  If you are only coming up for a few weeks, say that.  If you are coming up to remain during the rest of the process, explain that as well. 

The border agent was very happy with how knowledgeable my husband was of the process (thanks to these forums) and they didn't even bother looking at the list of goods he was bringing.  They actually told him he could have brought everything but we still think it was better to leave his big furniture down there in storage, you just never know what border crossing agent you will get.

It was not necessary for me to be with him when he crossed but they do recommend that your spouse be available by phone in case they have any questions and need to call and ask.

Simply put, have all of your documents ready, be prepared and they will put a 6-month visit visa thingy right in your passport.  They even explained the easiest way to get an extension if our application takes longer than six months.

Don't lie... it can really screw things up later.

[kourts]

Thanks for the advice Now im not to worried to cross on my own. I know showing a bank statement to show proof that you can support yourself is good but what if you have the money on you? I plan on taking it an putting  it in my savings account in Canada. I'll also provide them with the receipt that we paid and with the sponsorship approval letter when my wife gets it. I've crossed 5 times now to visit her and never had a problem,so hopefully this time goes good as well. good luck everyone on their application processing.

[Kaycee1]

They definitely do know what's going on and have records of things. We had to cross the border twice after my husband got his PPR, before we could send in his passport and both times they asked if we had applied for Permanent residency. They had NEVER mentioned it before as he is here on a work visa. I'm pretty sure it came up on their screens when they scanned his passport, and they asked us to see what we'd say!!

Don't ever lie to them!!

[jayde]

Thanks for the advice Now im not to worried to cross on my own. I know showing a bank statement to show proof that you can support yourself is good but what if you have the money on you? I plan on taking it an putting  it in my savings account in Canada. I'll also provide them with the receipt that we paid and with the sponsorship approval letter when my wife gets it. I've crossed 5 times now to visit her and never had a problem,so hopefully this time goes good as well. good luck everyone on their application processing.

Keep in mind you will have to declare any kind of currency you bring with you across the border if it is a significant amount, whether it is bank draft, cheque or cash etc... any physical form of money (I think it's over $10k but I could be mistaken)... you might want to look into it.

[eletyl]

going to Buffalo tomorrow!  I could swear that I once saw a few recommendations for nearby hotels on this forum.. can anyone help point me in the right direction?  I am having second thoughts on the one I reserved for tomorrow.. any urgent help much appreciated! 

[sshelton]

going to Buffalo tomorrow!  I could swear that I once saw a few recommendations for nearby hotels on this forum.. can anyone help point me in the right direction?  I am having second thoughts on the one I reserved for tomorrow.. any urgent help much appreciated! 

Tomorrow is a holiday in most provinces. Not sure about Buffalo. You may want to go on Tuesday instead. Sorry, don't know about hotels.

[sshelton]

And of course when I say 'not sure about buffalo' I mean, not sure about the VO being open.

[Rinnerz]

As far as I know, only Tuesdays and Thursdays at Buffalo are days when they allow and process walk-in passport submissions for PRs.

[eletyl]

yes, I realize.  I am driving there tomorrow (all day) to spend the night Monday night, to go to the consulate Tuesday morning.

[Rinnerz]

yes, I realize.  I am driving there tomorrow (all day) to spend the night Monday night, to go to the consulate Tuesday morning.

I wonder if you and I will land the same day. We were able to get last minute ferry and hotel plans made for St. Pierre for both us and the in-laws. So, we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning and will be back Tuesday evening. If all goes well, I should be landing when we cross back into Fortune Tuesday afternoon. I'll post back here after the trip to let everyone know how it went.