This may sound frivolous, but I was crossing from the US into Canada through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel the other day and there was a long line. I got to the Canadian side of the river at 11:50pm and sat there waiting. By the time the officer got to me, it was already the second day and that was my recorded day of entry (as per I-94 and presumably CBSA records). Do I have a legal claim if I would like to count both days towards my RO?
Definition of "Physical" Presence in Canada at a Port of Entry
- Thread starter steven_wuqida
- Start date
No.
Obviously a PR is not in Canada (or as some may couch it, in terms of "lawfully" present in Canada, or "legally" or "officially" or "technically," whatever) until their application to enter Canada has been granted and they are allowed to proceed into the country. Same for a PR aboard an international flight, even if it is sitting on the tarmac at an airport in Canada well before midnight, the passengers are not "in Canada" until their applications for entry have been granted. (Note: an application for entry is made by just showing up at the Port-of-Entry, and even Canadian citizens are required to make an application for entry before proceeding into Canada.)
By the way. For purposes of RO compliance it would be highly unusual for a single day in the calculation to make a difference. In looking at scores and scores of RO enforcement cases I have yet to see a PR lose status for being one month short (although there is probably some risk for certain PRs falling any more short than this), let alone one week, let alone one day.
In contrast, for purposes of a grant citizenship application, one day short would mean the application must be denied.
