Rainbow Bridge PR Landing FAILED

[bennybr]

Anyone who landed last week at Rainbow Bridge or Peace Bridge?

I am planning my landing this Wednesday morning (10am) in one of those bridges in Niagara Falls.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bennybr]

Landing experience at Rainbow Bridge - Peace Bridge - Niagara Falls, ON

I know many of you guys are about to proceed with landing process, so here is my experience today ...

I would like to share my experience at Rainbow bridge today Wednesday August 9, 2017. I decided to complete the landing procedure on working days (Tuesday to Thursday) as recommended by CBSA, but to my surprise the officers at Rainbow bridge said that they have stopped landing at 8:50 am for today because they had received enough applications. I arrived there at 9 am (just 10 minutes after).

They also apologized because they wouldn’t be doing landing as their priority job anymore because summer has lot of tourist rush. I counted that around 20 people were sitting in the waiting area for theirs PR/Study/Work permits.They advised me to contact the call center and make an appointment in the office near my place as they wouldn't receive any applications today.

So as I read all these posts here about some people sharing bad experience at Rainbow Bridge, I decided to try again at Peace bridge (half an hour from Rainbow Bridge). As I went to Niagara Falls by bus from Toronto, I decided to call an uber to drive me to the other bridge. It costed me about $108 CAD round trip (Rainbow Bridge to Peace Bridge) - my uber was amazing and waited for my landing procedures since it would be very hard to call an uber from there.

I arrived at Peace Bridge around 10am. It tooked me around 10 minutes to get my flagpole paper in the USA side and 3 minutes at Peace bridge to complete my paperwork. The border was completed empty. The officers were so polite and asked me about the standard questions (if I had criminal record, dependents, etc). Also, after they signed my CoPR, they told me that my PR card would arrive in 6-8 weeks.

Thank you very much guys for all your help.

Good luck for those who are waiting for approval and I strongly recommend to go to Peace bridge or super early to Rainbow Bridge.

 

[PK_11]

Landing experience at Rainbow Bridge - Peace Bridge - Niagara Falls, ON

I know many of you guys are about to proceed with landing process, so here is my experience today ...

I would like to share my experience at Rainbow bridge today Wednesday August 9, 2017. I decided to complete the landing procedure on working days (Tuesday to Thursday) as recommended by CBSA, but to my surprise the officers at Rainbow bridge said that they have stopped landing at 8:50 am for today because they had received enough applications. I arrived there at 9 am (just 10 minutes after).

They also apologized because they wouldn’t be doing landing as their priority job anymore because summer has lot of tourist rush. I counted that around 20 people were sitting in the waiting area for theirs PR/Study/Work permits.They advised me to contact the call center and make an appointment in the office near my place as they wouldn't receive any applications today.

So as I read all these posts here about some people sharing bad experience at Rainbow Bridge, I decided to try again at Peace bridge (half an hour from Rainbow Bridge). As I went to Niagara Falls by bus from Toronto, I decided to call an uber to drive me to the other bridge. It costed me about $108 CAD round trip (Rainbow Bridge to Peace Bridge) - my uber was amazing and waited for my landing procedures since it would be very hard to call an uber from there.

I arrived at Peace Bridge around 10am. It tooked me around 10 minutes to get my flagpole paper in the USA side and 3 minutes at Peace bridge to complete my paperwork. The border was completed empty. The officers were so polite and asked me about the standard questions (if I had criminal record, dependents, etc). Also, after they signed my CoPR, they told me that my PR card would arrive in 6-8 weeks.

Thank you very much guys for all your help.

Good luck for those who are waiting for approval and I strongly recommend to go to Peace bridge or super early to Rainbow Bridge.

Hey did u crossed peace bridge in car or by walking ? I am planning to go there. Thank you for ur valuable info

 

[ssvijay]

Landing at Niagara - Rainbow bridge

Why not do the landing in CIC Office :

I got my Passport back on July 14th and on the very same day, I called CIC Helpdesk to book an appointment with the nearest CIC Office.
The agent was very helpful and told me I should be hearing back about an appointment within 2 weeks but the appointment could take close to 7 weeks. I was not in any hurry ,so I decided to wait…
Even after 3 weeks , I didn’t hear back from CIC Etobicoke , so I called CIC Helpdesk and I was told that they cannot do anything for another 3 months. So I decided to flagpole
At least CIC cannot blame me for not trying!!!!

Research

I went through most threads that dealt with Flagpoling at Niagara and was clear that the best time to go is on Weekdays (specifically Tuesday to Thursday) before 8 am in the morning .
I also had a Plan B, In case I was refused the landing at Canadian end at rainbow bridge, I had a plan to go to Peace Bridge after 9 am(I do not have a car , so I was planning to take cab)

Let us go over the DO’s

• Be polite to authorities at both the side(I did flagpoling twice within 2 hrs and the authorities at US end were friendly, welcoming and polite.)
• Have at least 4 quarters (25 cents) per person (2 times flagpoling)

• After flagpoling in the US end, come near the Canadian end only around 7:45 am(for more details look under Dont’s)

• There will be other flagpolers(People who have come for work permit renewal and other PR landing candidates), try to coordinate with them, form a queue at the Canadian side and there by entering the Canada Border Service centre in an orderly fashion, there by not blocking the way for other regular travellers

Lets go over the DONT’s

• Don’t go too early (I went to the US Border at 5:30 am and was waiting very close to Canadian border around 6:30 am, the officers from Canadian side came outside and requested me to enter the Canadian side - they got the flagpole document from me and asked me to go to US side once again around 7:30 am)
• People who come to Canadian Border by 8:30 am might be asked to do landing on next day or at some other time(I also read in many posts that only 20 people will be allowed to do landing/WP renewal on the weekdays - but on the day I went, we had less than 20 members, so I cannot confirm this )

Flagpole/Administrative Refusal:

I know that this has been discussed multiple times, but I just want to share my experience

• US Border service officers gave me the flagpole document in less than 5 mins (after entering US end)
• The officer noted the passport number in the flagpole doc only and did not enter in anywhere in his system, so no need to worry about this showing up in US systems for your future visits

Was it a long wait at the Canadian end ?

I will let you be the judge of that.
Entered Canadian Immigration office at 8:10 am (was second in line )
Co PR was signed at 10:20 am​

Good to have Documents

I have applied for PR under Canadian Experience Class and so to be on on the safer side, I took all my original documents

1. WES Report
2. CELPIP Report
3. Bank Statement (Proof of Funds)
4. Experience letters (Inside and Outside of Canada)
5. Offer letter (for my current Job)
6. E-Medicals doc
7. Extra photos
8. Police Clearance Certificates (for all countries - including RCMP)
9. All my WP with Canada

Necessary docs

1. Passport
2. Conformation of PR docs
3. Ontario's Photo ID card (I do not have a license) for both ID and Address proof
4. Current valid WP

I was not asked for any other docs apart from those listed in 'Necessary docs'

Questions asked by Canadian Border service officer

1. Have you Committed any crime and was arrested for the same?
2. Are you bringing anything from the US?
3. Has your relationship status changed after PR was applied?
4. Do you have any new dependants (kids) after the PR application was filed?
5. Have you ever been denied entry into Canada ?
6. Have you ever been denied a VISA to Canada?

Words of wisdom from Canadian Border Service Officer

• Congratulations on becoming PR
• Please keep your copy of CO-PR safe as you will need it for many future CIC related things (I think he was referring to future PR renewals and Citizenship process)
• Please maintain an audit of all your travel outside of Canada after becoming PR as you will need it for many future CIC related things (I think he was referring to future PR renewals and Citizenship process)
• PR card will be delivered to your address in 2 months
• You cannot travel outside of Canada until you receive your PR Card
• However , you can travel by land using CO-PR. As a work around - if there is some emergency that you need to travel somewhere by Air, please select your return destination to US (Buffalo) and from there travel by Cab/Bus to enter Canada.(Not applicable for me as I do not have a American Tourist Visa)

Additional Activities

After Finishing my landing, I directly went to a Service Canada centre in Niagara (just 2.5 kms from Rainbow bridge - Transit option available) and finished my SIN update(Office was not crowded and as a result finished SIN update in less than 5 mins)
Service Canada Address FYR - (Service Canada Centre, 5853 Peer St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1X4)

 

[imacuser]

Hey did u crossed peace bridge in car or by walking ? I am planning to go there. Thank you for ur valuable info

My 2 cents, he said he went to Niagara by bus, so he walked as he didn't have a car

 

[heystop]

Landing at Niagara - Rainbow bridge

Why not do the landing in CIC Office :

I got my Passport back on July 14th and on the very same day, I called CIC Helpdesk to book an appointment with the nearest CIC Office.
The agent was very helpful and told me I should be hearing back about an appointment within 2 weeks but the appointment could take close to 7 weeks. I was not in any hurry ,so I decided to wait…
Even after 3 weeks , I didn’t hear back from CIC Etobicoke , so I called CIC Helpdesk and I was told that they cannot do anything for another 3 months. So I decided to flagpole
At least CIC cannot blame me for not trying!!!!

Research

I went through most threads that dealt with Flagpoling at Niagara and was clear that the best time to go is on Weekdays (specifically Tuesday to Thursday) before 8 am in the morning .
I also had a Plan B, In case I was refused the landing at Canadian end at rainbow bridge, I had a plan to go to Peace Bridge after 9 am(I do not have a car , so I was planning to take cab)

Let us go over the DO’s

• Be polite to authorities at both the side(I did flagpoling twice within 2 hrs and the authorities at US end were friendly, welcoming and polite.)
• Have at least 4 quarters (25 cents) per person (2 times flagpoling)

• After flagpoling in the US end, come near the Canadian end only around 7:45 am(for more details look under Dont’s)

• There will be other flagpolers(People who have come for work permit renewal and other PR landing candidates), try to coordinate with them, form a queue at the Canadian side and there by entering the Canada Border Service centre in an orderly fashion, there by not blocking the way for other regular travellers

Lets go over the DONT’s

• Don’t go too early (I went to the US Border at 5:30 am and was waiting very close to Canadian border around 6:30 am, the officers from Canadian side came outside and requested me to enter the Canadian side - they got the flagpole document from me and asked me to go to US side once again around 7:30 am)
• People who come to Canadian Border by 8:30 am might be asked to do landing on next day or at some other time(I also read in many posts that only 20 people will be allowed to do landing/WP renewal on the weekdays - but on the day I went, we had less than 20 members, so I cannot confirm this )

Flagpole/Administrative Refusal:

I know that this has been discussed multiple times, but I just want to share my experience

• US Border service officers gave me the flagpole document in less than 5 mins (after entering US end)
• The officer noted the passport number in the flagpole doc only and did not enter in anywhere in his system, so no need to worry about this showing up in US systems for your future visits

Was it a long wait at the Canadian end ?

I will let you be the judge of that.
Entered Canadian Immigration office at 8:10 am (was second in line )
Co PR was signed at 10:20 am​

Good to have Documents

I have applied for PR under Canadian Experience Class and so to be on on the safer side, I took all my original documents

1. WES Report
2. CELPIP Report
3. Bank Statement (Proof of Funds)
4. Experience letters (Inside and Outside of Canada)
5. Offer letter (for my current Job)
6. E-Medicals doc
7. Extra photos
8. Police Clearance Certificates (for all countries - including RCMP)
9. All my WP with Canada

Necessary docs

1. Passport
2. Conformation of PR docs
3. Ontario's Photo ID card (I do not have a license) for both ID and Address proof
4. Current valid WP

I was not asked for any other docs apart from those listed in 'Necessary docs'

Questions asked by Canadian Border service officer

1. Have you Committed any crime and was arrested for the same?
2. Are you bringing anything from the US?
3. Has your relationship status changed after PR was applied?
4. Do you have any new dependants (kids) after the PR application was filed?
5. Have you ever been denied entry into Canada ?
6. Have you ever been denied a VISA to Canada?

Words of wisdom from Canadian Border Service Officer

• Congratulations on becoming PR
• Please keep your copy of CO-PR safe as you will need it for many future CIC related things (I think he was referring to future PR renewals and Citizenship process)
• Please maintain an audit of all your travel outside of Canada after becoming PR as you will need it for many future CIC related things (I think he was referring to future PR renewals and Citizenship process)
• PR card will be delivered to your address in 2 months
• You cannot travel outside of Canada until you receive your PR Card
• However , you can travel by land using CO-PR. As a work around - if there is some emergency that you need to travel somewhere by Air, please select your return destination to US (Buffalo) and from there travel by Cab/Bus to enter Canada.(Not applicable for me as I do not have a American Tourist Visa)

Additional Activities

After Finishing my landing, I directly went to a Service Canada centre in Niagara (just 2.5 kms from Rainbow bridge - Transit option available) and finished my SIN update(Office was not crowded and as a result finished SIN update in less than 5 mins)
Service Canada Address FYR - (Service Canada Centre, 5853 Peer St, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 1X4)

Million thanks for your post!

 

[amhbala]

Hi, my employer has submitted an extension and right now i am in implied status(visa & wp expired two weeks ago). Can anyone please tell me whether its fine to do flagpole at niagara rainbow/peace bridge?

 

[cz.pkumar]

Hi, my employer has submitted an extension and right now i am in implied status(visa & wp expired two weeks ago). Can anyone please tell me whether its fine to do flagpole at niagara rainbow/peace bridge?

In that case, you need the proof of implied status. Carry below docs while flag-poling -

proof of implied status (if you applied to extend your stay before it ended). Proof of this status may include:

• payment receipt,
• copy of your application to extend your stay,
• printout of online application, or
• proof of mailing.

 

[amhbala]

T

In that case, you need the proof of implied status. Carry below docs while flag-poling -

proof of implied status (if you applied to extend your stay before it ended). Proof of this status may include:

• payment receipt,
• copy of your application to extend your stay,
• printout of online application, or
• proof of mailing.

Thanks for your information! That would be really helpful.

 

[ashu1710]

Landed at Toronto Pearson on Saturday. This was probably as smooth a landing as you could hope for.

There was only one other person waiting in the immigration room (the one you go to after the main). After about 2 minutes of waiting, I was called up to one of the counters. The officer just asked me the standard questions (criminal convictions, dependants etc. ) and after some smalltalk and congratulations, I was on my way. I wasn't asked to provide proof of funds and since I wasn't importing anything, I wasn't asked for the goods accompanying form either.

All in all, a very pleasant experience.

 

[lagoon19]

Landed at Toronto Pearson on Saturday. This was probably as smooth a landing as you could hope for.

There was only one other person waiting in the immigration room (the one you go to after the main). After about 2 minutes of waiting, I was called up to one of the counters. The officer just asked me the standard questions (criminal convictions, dependants etc. ) and after some smalltalk and congratulations, I was on my way. I wasn't asked to provide proof of funds and since I wasn't importing anything, I wasn't asked for the goods accompanying form either.

All in all, a very pleasant experience.

Hi dear,
Do you currently live in Toronto? Can you please give more detail how you done your landing at Pearson Airport?

 

[ashu1710]

Hi dear,
Do you currently live in Toronto? Can you please give more detail how you done your landing at Pearson Airport?

No, I don't live in Toronto.

When you fly into Canada from a foreign country, you'll have to go through immigration. When the officer asks you why you're coming to Canada, tell them you're there to land as an immigrant. They'll tell you what to do. It's easy.

You cannot land at an airport if you're already in Canada. You'd have to leave and then fly back in.

 

[anton5000]

Hey guys, thank you very much for all your input and information about the landing. I just received my COPR and I plan on going tomorrow Thursday to the Niagara Falls area. Seems like Rainbow bridge is a big hassle now, however, I´m still confused. So they aren't accepting people to do the Flag-poling once they're reached their daily quota, but what if you cross the border and enter the USA as a visitor (I have a valid US visa) and say you spend there a couple of hours going to the falls...

How would the process work when coming back to Canada? Can they reject you from entering Canada because you're going to do landing at a later time? (not 7-8 am). If so, are you supposed to be stuck in the USA side until next Tuesday when they open the landing process again???

Just quoting this post because I thought it would be relevant. Oh, and I'd be going by bus / walk, so I don't know if the Peace Bridge is walkable or you HAVE to cross by car? Anyone has experience on going to Kingston border instead?

Thank you guys very much in advance!

As previously explained, what you did was NOT flagpoling, so you were admitted. You had a valid US visa, and you entered the US, and your landing procedure was completed upon your return to Canada.
Flagpoling is usually done by people without US visas, or without processing by the US CBP--I have a US visa, and the CBP officer offered me the option to flagpole last summer, but I declined and requested an I-94 to enter the US.

 

[bellaluna]

Hey guys, thank you very much for all your input and information about the landing. I just received my COPR and I plan on going tomorrow Thursday to the Niagara Falls area. Seems like Rainbow bridge is a big hassle now, however, I´m still confused. So they aren't accepting people to do the Flag-poling once they're reached their daily quota, but what if you cross the border and enter the USA as a visitor (I have a valid US visa) and say you spend there a couple of hours going to the falls...

How would the process work when coming back to Canada? Can they reject you from entering Canada because you're going to do landing at a later time? (not 7-8 am). If so, are you supposed to be stuck in the USA side until next Tuesday when they open the landing process again??

I don't think it'll go to that extreme, since as a landing PR, you already have the right to enter Canada. The restriction is specifically for flagpoling, as you mentioned.

Just quoting this post because I thought it would be relevant. Oh, and I'd be going by bus / walk, so I don't know if the Peace Bridge is walkable or you HAVE to cross by car? Anyone has experience on going to Kingston border instead?

Yeah, there's no pedestrian entry point at Peace Bridge, I believe that's the same case with Queenston-Lewiston, which is why Rainbow Bridge is the most popular landing site for GTA residents who don't bring vehicles.

 

[anton5000]

I don't think it'll go to that extreme, since as a landing PR, you already have the right to enter Canada. The restriction is specifically for flagpoling, as you mentioned.

Yeah, there's no pedestrian entry point at Peace Bridge, I believe that's the same case with Queenston-Lewiston, which is why Rainbow Bridge is the most popular landing site for GTA residents who don't bring vehicles.

Thanks for the prompt reply, yes, I just checked that the pedestrian sidewalk for Peace bridge is closed until 2019.

So, I should be good entering the USA, and do my landing as a regular immigrant? The entire Flag-poleing had me worried as I don't want to travel all the way for nothing. How long did it take the entire process at the borders?

Thanks!!