Thread for outland Buffalo applicants!

[Mel_R]

Has anyone else gotten an email like this??

Dear Sir/ Madam:
This refers to your application for permanent residence in Canada.

In order to expedite the processing of your application, your file has been sent to:

Canadian Consulate General

550 South Hope Street, 9th floor

Los Angeles, California 90071

fax: 213-625-7154

e-mail: los-angeles-im-enquiry @ international.gc.ca

The Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles will complete the analysis of your application and determine if a personal interview with a visa officer is required. Your file number remains the same.

The Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo no longer has your file. Therefore we cannot acknowledge or respond to future correspondence from you. Please do not submit any further documents or correspondence to this office. If IELTS or TEF test results are sent to us, they will be forwarded to the Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles.

In the event of a change in your address, marital status or family composition, inform the office noted above immediately . Do not use the CIC e-Cas on-line change of address system. Your new address will not be downloaded to your file in Los Angeles.

Do not request the status of your file within ninety (90) days of the date of this letter.

All future correspondence you receive will be from the office noted above.

Sincerely,

Immigration Section

[AmericaninQuebec]

Has anyone else gotten an email like this??

Dear Sir/ Madam:
This refers to your application for permanent residence in Canada.

In order to expedite the processing of your application, your file has been sent to:

Canadian Consulate General

550 South Hope Street, 9th floor

Los Angeles, California 90071

fax: 213-625-7154

e-mail: los-angeles-im-enquiry  @  international.gc.ca

The Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles will complete the analysis of your application and determine if a personal interview with a visa officer is required. Your file number remains the same.

The Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo no longer has your file. Therefore we cannot acknowledge or respond to future correspondence from you. Please do not submit any further documents or correspondence to this office. If IELTS or TEF test results are sent to us, they will be forwarded to the Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles.

In the event of a change in your address, marital status or family composition, inform the office noted above immediately . Do not use the CIC e-Cas on-line change of address system. Your new address will not be downloaded to your file in Los Angeles.

Do not request the status of your file within ninety (90) days of the date of this letter.

All future correspondence you receive will be from the office noted above.

Sincerely,

Immigration Section

Other people have posted that their files were transfered to satellite offices in order to "expedite" the process. I put expedite in quotes, because I'm not certain if it really helped speed anything up or not for them. So now you'll have to contact L.A. for info, and deal directly with them while they handle your file. I don't think it means anything other than Buffalo has too many cases, and has shared some of them with its satellite offices to make it easier to handle it all.

[ddobro2]

I still don't see what the problem is. Your state, Michigan, issues enhanced driver's licenses that also act as legal proof of U.S. citizenship if the problem is crossing the border without the passport.

I guess I could do that, but that's really cutting it close! I was also hoping to be able to stay with her for New Year's, too.

I'm probably fretting a bit, though. Who knows? I might not even see a PPR for at least another month yet. I'm also scratching my head with the part where I thought they were doing away with the PPRs as of December 1st., but I guess they're really just doing away with the counterfoils and are still doing the PPRs after all. Beats me how any of that makes sense.

[mjh49783aa]

I don't have an enhanced driver's license. That's the thing. When I renewed my license, I didn't ask for an enhanced license because my wife and I were just getting engaged at that time, and we had already discussed where we were going to live, so it didn't make any sense to get it at that time when I could've just been turning it in for an Ontario licence within the next couple of years or so.

I do have a NEXUS card though, and I've just renewed it recently. I suppose I could use that. However, I did read somewhere that I still need to carry proof of citizenship along with my NEXUS card when entering Canada, and I still remember all the brouhaha back when they were implementing the WHTI, that Canada was going to require US Citizens to get passports to enter Canada. (or at least that was the rumor) But, I guess that never happened, either. But yet I can reenter the US with just my NEXUS card alone, because it's a WHTI approved document. Go figure!

I think the next time I cross the border into Canada, I think I'll just ask a border officer point blank if I can still use my birth certificate to enter Canada after the point where I submit my passport to Buffalo for the COPR.

I still don't see what the problem is. Your state, Michigan, issues enhanced driver's licenses that also act as legal proof of U.S. citizenship if the problem is crossing the border without the passport.

[AmericaninQuebec]

I don't have an enhanced driver's license. That's the thing. When I renewed my license, I didn't ask for an enhanced license because my wife and I were just getting engaged at that time, and we had already discussed where we were going to live, so it didn't make any sense to get it at that time when I could've just been turning it in for an Ontario licence within the next couple of years or so.

I do have a NEXUS card though, and I've just renewed it recently. I suppose I could use that. However, I did read somewhere that I still need to carry proof of citizenship along with my NEXUS card when entering Canada, and I still remember all the brouhaha back when they were implementing the WHTI, that Canada was going to require US Citizens to get passports to enter Canada. (or at least that was the rumor) But, I guess that never happened, either. But yet I can reenter the US with just my NEXUS card alone, because it's a WHTI approved document. Go figure!

I think the next time I cross the border into Canada, I think I'll just ask a border officer point blank if I can still use my birth certificate to enter Canada after the point where I submit my passport to Buffalo for the COPR.

You know I never thought of it, because I assumed you needed a passport now to get into Canada since you need it to enter the U.S., but this says otherwise: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/security-securite/admiss-eng.html

Looks like if you have photo I.D. and your birth certificate you should be fine. I'd probably double check with the border guard next time you enter for peace of mind, but I'm a worrier.

[mjh49783aa]

Okay. After doing more research, I've just learned that the NEXUS card can now be used as a citizenship and identity document for entering Canada, too!

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/proofid-preuveid-eng.html
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2009/nr20091124-eng.aspx?rss=true

So basically, I was fretting for nothing, and now I know I can just mail it off and relax when the time comes.

You know I never thought of it, because I assumed you needed a passport now to get into Canada since you need it to enter the U.S., but this says otherwise: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/security-securite/admiss-eng.html

Looks like if you have photo I.D. and your birth certificate you should be fine. I'd probably double check with the border guard next time you enter for peace of mind, but I'm a worrier.

And yes, I'm kind of a worrier, too. Certainly so for a major life change moment such as moving to a new country!

[ddobro2]

You'd also preferably have the passport request email from Buffalo printed out to show the border agent that you are awaiting your passport and visa from CIC and that is why you are traveling without a passport.

Okay. After doing more research, I've just learned that the NEXUS card can now be used as a citizenship and identity document for entering Canada, too!

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/proofid-preuveid-eng.html
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2009/nr20091124-eng.aspx?rss=true

So basically, I was fretting for nothing, and now I know I can just mail it off and relax when the time comes.

And yes, I'm kind of a worrier, too. Certainly so for a major life change moment such as moving to a new country!

[mjh49783aa]

Good idea. I think I'll do just that.

You'd also preferably have the passport request email from Buffalo printed out to show the border agent that you are awaiting your passport and visa from CIC and that is why you are traveling without a passport.

[yooper]

I still don't see what the problem is. Your state, Michigan, issues enhanced driver's licenses that also act as legal proof of U.S. citizenship if the problem is crossing the border without the passport.

Just remember that the rules are different for land/sea vs. air.  My passport is now enroute to CIC.  But I have my US Passport Card.  That will work on land borders, but not I understand by air.  By air the issue is not just border, but also the rules of the airlines.

[mjh49783aa]

The passport card. - Another thing I thought to get, but never did. However, I'm thinking about applying for one once I land, and we get situated in our new lives as my passport book is showing some wear and tear, and I want it to last me another five years before I need to renew it. Or maybe I could just bite the bullet and apply for a new passport and passport card. Not sure I really want the expense of all that, though.

Just remember that the rules are different for land/sea vs. air.  My passport is now enroute to CIC.  But I have my US Passport Card.  That will work on land borders, but not I understand by air.  By air the issue is not just border, but also the rules of the airlines.

[ddobro2]

Okay, I profess to not know much about the border travel stuff but the passport card is valid of *re-entry* into the United States by U.S. passport holders via land or sea from the northern or southern border, no? I thought his rhetorical issue was entering Canada for the purpose of visiting his wife, after he had mailed the passport. How would a passport card be better than an enhanced DL.

Just remember that the rules are different for land/sea vs. air.  My passport is now enroute to CIC.  But I have my US Passport Card.  That will work on land borders, but not I understand by air.  By air the issue is not just border, but also the rules of the airlines.

[AmericaninQuebec]

On a different note, I saw a poster on another thread claiming that you have to export your car (i.e. contact U.S. authorities at the U.S. border crossing before arriving) before you can take it with you to Canada. I looked at the resources about this, and I swear it says that an export is only a vehicle that will be put into commerce in the new country (i.e. it is being taken there to be sold). Can someone who has landed with a car confirm to me that I don't have to worry about exporting my car prior to landing?

[Bargeld]

PR card arrived finally, just in time for the xmas vacation to Michigan!

[mjh49783aa]

I don't believe it would be, but it is another option to have. Basically, the only reason why I didn't go for the enhanced license is because I'll end up trading it away for an Ontario licence at some point in the future. That would make a passport card a better option for me. Meanwhile, I've never heard of Canada refusing to recognize a passport card, or an enhanced driver's license just on the basis of the document alone. And apparently, Canada has been recognizing the NEXUS card as an identity and citizenship document since 2009. I think that's the only other document besides the passport book that you can use for travel by air (to the USA) to prove citizenship, but you'll need to have an iris scan done to use the special kiosks, and you'll still need to carry your passport anyway just in case they want to see it.

But no. The border crossing rules for land and sea are less stringent than it is for air travel, largely because there was a lot of people in border towns just bellyaching about how they have to get passports for just a day trip to the casino, how cross border trade would be hampered, etc.... That's how the enhanced driver's licences, and the US passport card came into being, and that's likely how the NEXUS/FAST/SENTRI cards were made to fit in with the WHTI scheme as well.

Okay, I profess to not know much about the border travel stuff but the passport card is valid of *re-entry* into the United States by U.S. passport holders via land or sea from the northern or southern border, no? I thought his rhetorical issue was entering Canada for the purpose of visiting his wife, after he had mailed the passport. How would a passport card be better than an enhanced DL.

[AtHomeInMontreal]

On a different note, I saw a poster on another thread claiming that you have to export your car (i.e. contact U.S. authorities at the U.S. border crossing before arriving) before you can take it with you to Canada. I looked at the resources about this, and I swear it says that an export is only a vehicle that will be put into commerce in the new country (i.e. it is being taken there to be sold). Can someone who has landed with a car confirm to me that I don't have to worry about exporting my car prior to landing?

According to http://www.riv.ca/HelpFAQs.aspx (emphasis is mine):

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) require notification of all self-propelled vehicles being permanently exported from the United States. You must provide CBP with your vehicle title documents, registration and sales receipts.

CBP regulations state that at land border points:
 1.required documentation must be submitted at least 72 hours prior to export; and
 2.the vehicle must be presented to U.S. Customs at the time of export.

CBP recommends that you contact the border crossing directly to verify all required documentation and the hours of operation."

There's a lot of info on the site that you should be very familiar with.  The process isn't difficult but you must follow all of the steps for both Canada and the U.S. in the proper order.

Here's the contact info for the U.S. crossings:

http://www.riv.ca/USCustoms.aspx

There is an important note on the website at http://customs.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml :

"Exportation at land border crossing points. For those vehicles exported by rail, highway, or under their own power.

  -  The required documentation must be submitted to Customs at least 72 hours prior to export; and
 
  -  The vehicle must be presented to Customs at the time of exportation"


I hope this helps!