My landing experience @Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

[J.M.]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

That's nice too, but if you want to get rid of going through all hassle of US immigration or you do not have US visa then i strongly recommend you to go to the Peace bridge, so that you can take U trun and land and you can avoid going to US side and then come back to Canada.

You can see a Sing post before entering the Peace bridge ( Return to Canada) and u can take U turn there...

Just wanted to point out that "U-turning" is no longer a permitted practice. You must flagpole (I.e. actually attempt to enter the USA).

 

[Cruiser55]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Hi guys,
today I became permanent resident of Canada.
first of all, I will never find the right words to express to this forum how thankful I am right now. Great helpers, great atmosphere, great online community!

So this his my landing story:

- Briefly my timeline

Category........: CEC
Visa Office......: CCP-O
App. Filed.......: june 8th 2012
Doc's Request.: N/A
AOR Received.: Oct 25th
IELTS Request: Sent with app
Med's Request: March 2nd 2013
Med's Done....: March 4th 2013
Passport Req..: April 4th 2013
VISA ISSUED...: April 17th 2013
Passport received: April 19th 2013
Landed: April 21st 2013 @ Niagara falls rainbow bridge point of entry.

- Landing Experience:

so I drove to Niagara falls, the weather was gorgeous this Sunday, then I decided to walk off the bridge as pedestrian to land. Why I decided that? I was so confused with all the posts here regarding U-turn or not. At Rainbow bridge there is no U-turn availability. once you pass the bridge entry you have no choice to go and say hi to the USA Immigration officers (IO). So the bridge is next to Casino Niagara. I parked my car in a available paid parking place $5 for the day outside the casino somewhere on Victoria St, 5 mins walk to the bridge. the downtown NF was crowded of tourists. Then I walked to the CBSA building on the Canadian side( next to the casino); the Canadian IO instructed that I cannot land just by entering their building, I must seek entry to Canada coming from a foreign country( in this case the USA) then she(a nice lady) instructed me to cross the bridge and go to the US side to have either an administrative refusal to enter the USA or the I-94 sticker if you have a US-visa. the bridge is only 286 meters so guys please save your gas and some security check of your car and your stuff by the USA IO and walk the bridge. the good point :you have a gorgeous view of the falls. By the way there is a fee $0.50 to cross the bridge that you must pay on the Canadian side.

So when I reached the US building. the guy asked me the reason why I was there, I said I came because I need to exit Canada and re-enter for landing purposes and that they kinda need to give some kind of paper( in my case the I-94). I saw some posts of people saying that those lads were somehow rude. Absolutely not they were actually nice to me, I am not sure if it is because I have my valid US visa though. Anyways the guy was helpful. He took my fingerprints. he asked me where was my last I-94 sticker ...I lost it for some reasons...Anyways I had to pay $6 to have a new one valid for 6 months.

Then I exited the building and came back to the Canadian side. In the CBSA building the booth was crowded of tourists coming from USA that needed to pass the border as well. so I was wondering about how longer I would have waited. Then things went okay! the first IO at the gate asked me usual questions: where were I? do I carry $10000 cash money with me? did I buy goods on the US side? all went good and she called a colleague to advise that a pedestrian was coming inside the building to complete landing and gave a kinda yellow paper saying on it that I was entering to land. Then her colleague made me pass the long waiting line of tourist that cases were different of mine and sent me right away to the immigration booth. at that booth there were just few other people coming to land as well. I waited 5-8 mins to be interviewed by an IO. I presented my work permit, my passport and the COPR document. Then I confirmed my current address where my PR card will be sent. She sent me to seat while she does security verification then 5 mins later she called me back to her booth: -
-She congratulated me to become a new PR;
- she read me my rights as PR.
-she made me sign my COPR
-she instructed me to contact immediately all government level to confirm my status change( CRA, SIN, health card...)
and then asked me If I had questions for her. Well I just asked how long before I receive my PR card...she said 4 to 8 weeks...

then I walked outside and enjoyed the falls before I hit the road back home lol

Then this is my story. thanks again guys.
I will stick around to help out with my experience.

Rosty2, I did my landing today at the Rainbow bridge. Thank you for all the tips in this message, it helped me a lot!

 

[Aarora]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Hi guys,
today I became permanent resident of Canada.
first of all, I will never find the right words to express to this forum how thankful I am right now. Great helpers, great atmosphere, great online community!

So this his my landing story:

- Briefly my timeline

Category........: CEC
Visa Office......: CCP-O
App. Filed.......: june 8th 2012
Doc's Request.: N/A
AOR Received.: Oct 25th
IELTS Request: Sent with app
Med's Request: March 2nd 2013
Med's Done....: March 4th 2013
Passport Req..: April 4th 2013
VISA ISSUED...: April 17th 2013
Passport received: April 19th 2013
Landed: April 21st 2013 @ Niagara falls rainbow bridge point of entry.

- Landing Experience:

so I drove to Niagara falls, the weather was gorgeous this Sunday, then I decided to walk off the bridge as pedestrian to land. Why I decided that? I was so confused with all the posts here regarding U-turn or not. At Rainbow bridge there is no U-turn availability. once you pass the bridge entry you have no choice to go and say hi to the USA Immigration officers (IO). So the bridge is next to Casino Niagara. I parked my car in a available paid parking place $5 for the day outside the casino somewhere on Victoria St, 5 mins walk to the bridge. the downtown NF was crowded of tourists. Then I walked to the CBSA building on the Canadian side( next to the casino); the Canadian IO instructed that I cannot land just by entering their building, I must seek entry to Canada coming from a foreign country( in this case the USA) then she(a nice lady) instructed me to cross the bridge and go to the US side to have either an administrative refusal to enter the USA or the I-94 sticker if you have a US-visa. the bridge is only 286 meters so guys please save your gas and some security check of your car and your stuff by the USA IO and walk the bridge. the good point :you have a gorgeous view of the falls. By the way there is a fee $0.50 to cross the bridge that you must pay on the Canadian side.

So when I reached the US building. the guy asked me the reason why I was there, I said I came because I need to exit Canada and re-enter for landing purposes and that they kinda need to give some kind of paper( in my case the I-94). I saw some posts of people saying that those lads were somehow rude. Absolutely not they were actually nice to me, I am not sure if it is because I have my valid US visa though. Anyways the guy was helpful. He took my fingerprints. he asked me where was my last I-94 sticker ...I lost it for some reasons...Anyways I had to pay $6 to have a new one valid for 6 months.

Then I exited the building and came back to the Canadian side. In the CBSA building the booth was crowded of tourists coming from USA that needed to pass the border as well. so I was wondering about how longer I would have waited. Then things went okay! the first IO at the gate asked me usual questions: where were I? do I carry $10000 cash money with me? did I buy goods on the US side? all went good and she called a colleague to advise that a pedestrian was coming inside the building to complete landing and gave a kinda yellow paper saying on it that I was entering to land. Then her colleague made me pass the long waiting line of tourist that cases were different of mine and sent me right away to the immigration booth. at that booth there were just few other people coming to land as well. I waited 5-8 mins to be interviewed by an IO. I presented my work permit, my passport and the COPR document. Then I confirmed my current address where my PR card will be sent. She sent me to seat while she does security verification then 5 mins later she called me back to her booth: -
-She congratulated me to become a new PR;
- she read me my rights as PR.
-she made me sign my COPR
-she instructed me to contact immediately all government level to confirm my status change( CRA, SIN, health card...)
and then asked me If I had questions for her. Well I just asked how long before I receive my PR card...she said 4 to 8 weeks...

then I walked outside and enjoyed the falls before I hit the road back home lol

Then this is my story. thanks again guys.
I will stick around to help out with my experience.

Is it okay for landing even if you dnt have a US visa to exit Canadian side..??

 

[nov1061]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Rosty2, I did my landing today at the Rainbow bridge. Thank you for all the tips in this message, it helped me a lot!

Yes, but you have to get the "Administrative refusal" from the US side. So no U turn before the US border as it was allowed some time before. And also don't try to land during the rush hours. The officers are nervous that time and they might refuse to land you and send you for landing to your local CIC office instead.

 

[india_369]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Thanks All!!

I did my landing this weekend at Rainbow bridge and all went well.

1. Directly went to US side and told them that we are there for flagpoling. They immediately gave a administrative refusal letter (white color). The entire process took less than 10 minutes as there is no one else in the line. Just to note, the officer didn't even ask us to get down from car.
2. Now entered Canada border after paying $3.50 per each person.
3. It was around 9PM. Again no line at all. The officer was very nice. Just asked for copr, passports and advised us to seat in the chairs while the processing is on.
4. It took some 20 mins...and we are done....back to home

 

[DirectEnergy]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

India_369,

Did they fingerprint you at the US side? Thanks.

 

[india_369]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

India_369,

Did they fingerprint you at the US side? Thanks.

No. We didn't even get down from the car.
The officer mentioned our names WITH A PEN on a pre-printed white slip that states we didn't intend to get into US and we are just there for Canada immigration.

 

[Djpolarbear]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Since you got PR under FSW, this would be a little different than CEC, you might need to show the bank statement with some funds as per the limit for FSW.. in that case, it would be even better to carry your T4 and NOA too....

Ok guys here is my question. What if we don't have Work Permit? For example, my WP expired on March 14 2014. We applied for LMO to extend my WP but we didn't get positive LMO. Since then Ive been waiting for my PR process to be completed. In this case will it be ok to show on the Passport with the stamp on it in order to come back to Canada?

And I would like to make sure that we can complete this walking from Canada to US side and come to activate the PR without US Visa.

Thanks

 

[henaras]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Today I became a permanent resident at Rainbow Bridge.
I walked through the bridge and went directly to the USA side and asked for flagpole.
It took an hour to get the white paper and then return to the Canada side.
Surprisingly, nobody asked for the refusal form from USA entry point!!!???
So I think if you go to Rainbow bridge, you just need to pass the Canada gate and then immediately return from another door and say that you are there for landing.
Just show your passport. I believe they don't care if you had crossed the bridge and met the US side or not.
So, do not waste your time at USA side.

Best of luck for everyone,
Henaras

 

[nov1061]

Re: My landing experience @ Rainbow bridge, Niagara Falls

Today I became a permanent resident at Rainbow Bridge.
I walked through the bridge and went directly to the USA side and asked for flagpole.
It took an hour to get the white paper and then return to the Canada side.
Surprisingly, nobody asked for the refusal form from USA entry point!!!???
So I think if you go to Rainbow bridge, you just need to pass the Canada gate and then immediately return from another door and say that you are there for landing.
Just show your passport. I believe they don't care if you had crossed the bridge and met the US side or not.
So, do not waste your time at USA side.

Best of luck for everyone,
Henaras

Hi,
It was probably an error from the Canadian side. I don't thing someone would like to try it without the refusal paper. It's better to be sure than sorry later.

 

[Matt-NL]

Hi guys,
today I became permanent resident of Canada.
first of all, I will never find the right words to express to this forum how thankful I am right now. Great helpers, great atmosphere, great online community!

So this his my landing story:

- Briefly my timeline

Category........: CEC
Visa Office......: CCP-O
App. Filed.......: june 8th 2012
Doc's Request.: N/A
AOR Received.: Oct 25th
IELTS Request: Sent with app
Med's Request: March 2nd 2013
Med's Done....: March 4th 2013
Passport Req..: April 4th 2013
VISA ISSUED...: April 17th 2013
Passport received: April 19th 2013
Landed: April 21st 2013 @ Niagara falls rainbow bridge point of entry.

- Landing Experience:

so I drove to Niagara falls, the weather was gorgeous this Sunday, then I decided to walk off the bridge as pedestrian to land. Why I decided that? I was so confused with all the posts here regarding U-turn or not. At Rainbow bridge there is no U-turn availability. once you pass the bridge entry you have no choice to go and say hi to the USA Immigration officers (IO). So the bridge is next to Casino Niagara. I parked my car in a available paid parking place $5 for the day outside the casino somewhere on Victoria St, 5 mins walk to the bridge. the downtown NF was crowded of tourists. Then I walked to the CBSA building on the Canadian side( next to the casino); the Canadian IO instructed that I cannot land just by entering their building, I must seek entry to Canada coming from a foreign country( in this case the USA) then she(a nice lady) instructed me to cross the bridge and go to the US side to have either an administrative refusal to enter the USA or the I-94 sticker if you have a US-visa. the bridge is only 286 meters so guys please save your gas and some security check of your car and your stuff by the USA IO and walk the bridge. the good point :you have a gorgeous view of the falls. By the way there is a fee $0.50 to cross the bridge that you must pay on the Canadian side.

So when I reached the US building. the guy asked me the reason why I was there, I said I came because I need to exit Canada and re-enter for landing purposes and that they kinda need to give some kind of paper( in my case the I-94). I saw some posts of people saying that those lads were somehow rude. Absolutely not they were actually nice to me, I am not sure if it is because I have my valid US visa though. Anyways the guy was helpful. He took my fingerprints. he asked me where was my last I-94 sticker ...I lost it for some reasons...Anyways I had to pay $6 to have a new one valid for 6 months.

Then I exited the building and came back to the Canadian side. In the CBSA building the booth was crowded of tourists coming from USA that needed to pass the border as well. so I was wondering about how longer I would have waited. Then things went okay! the first IO at the gate asked me usual questions: where were I? do I carry $10000 cash money with me? did I buy goods on the US side? all went good and she called a colleague to advise that a pedestrian was coming inside the building to complete landing and gave a kinda yellow paper saying on it that I was entering to land. Then her colleague made me pass the long waiting line of tourist that cases were different of mine and sent me right away to the immigration booth. at that booth there were just few other people coming to land as well. I waited 5-8 mins to be interviewed by an IO. I presented my work permit, my passport and the COPR document. Then I confirmed my current address where my PR card will be sent. She sent me to seat while she does security verification then 5 mins later she called me back to her booth: -
-She congratulated me to become a new PR;
- she read me my rights as PR.
-she made me sign my COPR
-she instructed me to contact immediately all government level to confirm my status change( CRA, SIN, health card...)
and then asked me If I had questions for her. Well I just asked how long before I receive my PR card...she said 4 to 8 weeks...

then I walked outside and enjoyed the falls before I hit the road back home lol

Then this is my story. thanks again guys.
I will stick around to help out with my experience.

This is a very nice personal story, motivating! Thank you very much that you shared it with us.

 

[biz]

Guys, does the officer asked for proof of address and drivers license when landing at the border? Or, they just confirming the address at the COPR?
My brother is thinking about crossing the border for landing

 

[nikhil.bhatia]

Landed yesterday at Rainbow Bridge around 7:30 pm. I was the only one there to Land so in total took me 10-15 mins. Everyone was friendly. The officer on the US side looked at me and said you are here for Landing right. I said yes, then he gave me the refusal entry paper, went back to canadian side, he asked me few general questions like why i am flagpolling, do i have any goods to declare etc. Then he guided me to the immigration officer. The lady asked for my copr, passport and any piece of paper which has my current address on it. then asked me to wait and after 5 mins called me and its done.

Super easy.

 

[Fizar]

Landed yesterday at Rainbow Bridge around 7:30 pm. I was the only one there to Land so in total took me 10-15 mins. Everyone was friendly. The officer on the US side looked at me and said you are here for Landing right. I said yes, then he gave me the refusal entry paper, went back to canadian side, he asked me few general questions like why i am flagpolling, do i have any goods to declare etc. Then he guided me to the immigration officer. The lady asked for my copr, passport and any piece of paper which has my current address on it. then asked me to wait and after 5 mins called me and its done.

Super easy.

Hi.
As CEC inland do we need to carry proof of funds? And do i need to have a US visa as well?

Second
Are these the only documents required for landing
1. Copr
2. Passport
3. Work permit/visitor record
4. PR pictures

Your help is much appreciated