Canadian PR + US H1-B returning to US via road using AVR rule

[Thinkin]

I am a Canadian permanent resident and currently in the US on H1-B Visa. I plan to go to Canada for less than 30 days. My H1-B Visa stamp in my passport has expired, but have a valid I-797, so was thinking to use the automatic visa re-validation feature to re-enter USA. My intention to go to Canada is to buy some time by increasing my physical presence in Canada before I move there permanently + give some job interviews there. I have used the AVR feature to return to US when I first landed in Canada via road, but at that time the CBSA recorded my landing in my passport and the CoPR.

Now since I have a Canadian PR card, will the CBSA make an entry in my passport when I enter Canada? Reason I am asking is because if they don't capture my entry in my passport, then what proof do I have to show i was in Canada and for how long? From a Canadian permanent residency perspective (when I permanently move to Canada), for doing the PR requirement test do the Canadian authorities accept hotel, restaurant receipts, car rental paperwork from the US, flight itinerary in the US etc to estimate my physical presence in Canada?

Most probably plan to enter Canada and return to US by road using the visa automatic visa re-validation (AVR) feature. I have a mental bias that road is safer as opposed to flight for using the AVR feature. Not sure if my thinking is correct. If the CBSA does not stamp my passport when I enter Canada, then how will the US border folks know I spent less than 30 days in Canada when I return to US? Again could the hotel bookings, car rental bookings etc be used here?

Alternatively would traveling by flight be safer and will any enter be made on my passport when I enter Canada by flight? Not sure whether US immigration would put any stamp on my passport when I return to US using AVR feature by flight. In this case, can I use the flight itinerary as proof of stay in Canada for my PR status in Canada?

 

[francaispourquebec]

I am on a visa in the US and traveled to Canada recently on my PR. Nobody stamped my passport in Canada. There was this automated machine that read the PR card and that was it. I am hoping those machines record my date of entry and exit from the country. Nevertheless, I have kept all my hotel bills, boarding passes etc. from the trip. They may prove handy in future.

 

[harirajmohan]

1.
I am a Canadian permanent resident and currently in the US on H1-B Visa. I plan to go to Canada for less than 30 days. My H1-B Visa stamp in my passport has expired, but have a valid I-797, so was thinking to use the automatic visa re-validation feature to re-enter USA. My intention to go to Canada is to buy some time by increasing my physical presence in Canada before I move there permanently + give some job interviews there. I have used the AVR feature to return to US when I first landed in Canada via road, but at that time the CBSA recorded my landing in my passport and the CoPR.

2.
Now since I have a Canadian PR card, will the CBSA make an entry in my passport when I enter Canada? Reason I am asking is because if they don't capture my entry in my passport, then what proof do I have to show i was in Canada and for how long? From a Canadian permanent residency perspective (when I permanently move to Canada), for doing the PR requirement test do the Canadian authorities accept hotel, restaurant receipts, car rental paperwork from the US, flight itinerary in the US etc to estimate my physical presence in Canada?

3.
Most probably plan to enter Canada and return to US by road using the visa automatic visa re-validation (AVR) feature. I have a mental bias that road is safer as opposed to flight for using the AVR feature. Not sure if my thinking is correct. If the CBSA does not stamp my passport when I enter Canada, then how will the US border folks know I spent less than 30 days in Canada when I return to US? Again could the hotel bookings, car rental bookings etc be used here?

4.
Alternatively would traveling by flight be safer and will any enter be made on my passport when I enter Canada by flight? Not sure whether US immigration would put any stamp on my passport when I return to US using AVR feature by flight. In this case, can I use the flight itinerary as proof of stay in Canada for my PR status in Canada?

1. As long as its less than 30 days then its fine. As long as you can prove that you still have the job in US for the employer you work. Have the payslips.
2. Both sides make entry for entry and exit (most of the time realistically). Its not under our control on not recording. Worst case you would be sent to secondary inspection and clear you. (same happened for my family members. they dont have any issue for my record but they could not see my wife's and son's record on being on status from previous entry. dont know why border official was worried on the previous entry (the visit/period before the recent I94 stamp) ). So imagine, we 3 travelled together in both visits but they have not captured my other 2 guys. So cant help it. They sent us to secondary inspection and cleared. One mistake was that their extension papers were not there with me to clear at the post itself hence take your extensions/transfer docs too even though it belongs to previous visits.
3. I dont see that mode of travel makes any difference. worst case secondary inspection.
4. same as #3. The issue in flying is that they delay in issuing boarding pass (depending on the agent how well she/he is trained it will take time to verify from her/his boss on issuing boarding pass to a visa expired candidates). Same delay happened to me but they issue eventually once we show and they verify the extended i94.

 

[Thinkin]

1. As long as its less than 30 days then its fine. As long as you can prove that you still have the job in US for the employer you work. Have the payslips.
2. Both sides make entry for entry and exit (most of the time realistically). Its not under our control on not recording. Worst case you would be sent to secondary inspection and clear you. (same happened for my family members. they dont have any issue for my record but they could not see my wife's and son's record on being on status from previous entry. dont know why border official was worried on the previous entry (the visit/period before the recent I94 stamp) ). So imagine, we 3 travelled together in both visits but they have not captured my other 2 guys. So cant help it. They sent us to secondary inspection and cleared. One mistake was that their extension papers were not there with me to clear at the post itself hence take your extensions/transfer docs too even though it belongs to previous visits.
3. I dont see that mode of travel makes any difference. worst case secondary inspection.
4. same as #3. The issue in flying is that they delay in issuing boarding pass (depending on the agent how well she/he is trained it will take time to verify from her/his boss on issuing boarding pass to a visa expired candidates). Same delay happened to me but they issue eventually once we show and they verify the extended i94.

harirajmohan, you mentioned that both sides record exit/entry. My experience in my previous visit by road was different. First of all would like to confirm that the travel that you mentioned about was by road, right?

When I went last time to Canada, I never faced US Border officials while exiting US, and only had to face the Canadian border officials. While returning to the US, similar thing happened, I never had to face Canadian border officials and only had to face US border officicals. The US border officer said that since we are using AVR feature, they don't need to stamp anything and let us in. I think he must have seen the Canadian landing documents to figure out entry into Canada, so must have calculated that the stay was less than 30 days.

 

[harirajmohan]

harirajmohan, you mentioned that both sides record exit/entry. My experience in my previous visit by road was different. First of all would like to confirm that the travel that you mentioned about was by road, right?

When I went last time to Canada, I never faced US Border officials while exiting US, and only had to face the Canadian border officials. While returning to the US, similar thing happened, I never had to face Canadian border officials and only had to face US border officicals. The US border officer said that since we are using AVR feature, they don't need to stamp anything and let us in. I think he must have seen the Canadian landing documents to figure out entry into Canada, so must have calculated that the stay was less than 30 days.

Yes, SI happened in one of times while crossing the border by car. Multiple times we travelled but for some reason these guys cant verify and miss some visits hence it was looking like more than 30 days return for my wife's visit. So they had confusion and of course trouble for us but we dont have control over it.
We cant stop crossing borders and we cant avoid trouble too sometimes. So mainly keep the extension documents to prove that you were in status when you exited last few visits.

Mainly i think that's because of the officer she was taking lot of time to verify everyone and sending multiple people for SI. Even though she consulted the other officer in other booth and he told that they can clear us but still this officer sent us for secondary review. So mainly it depends on the officer.

 

[washington.state]

I am a Canadian permanent resident and currently in the US on H1-B Visa. I plan to go to Canada for less than 30 days. My H1-B Visa stamp in my passport has expired, but have a valid I-797, so was thinking to use the automatic visa re-validation feature to re-enter USA. My intention to go to Canada is to buy some time by increasing my physical presence in Canada before I move there permanently + give some job interviews there. I have used the AVR feature to return to US when I first landed in Canada via road, but at that time the CBSA recorded my landing in my passport and the CoPR.

Now since I have a Canadian PR card, will the CBSA make an entry in my passport when I enter Canada? Reason I am asking is because if they don't capture my entry in my passport, then what proof do I have to show i was in Canada and for how long? From a Canadian permanent residency perspective (when I permanently move to Canada), for doing the PR requirement test do the Canadian authorities accept hotel, restaurant receipts, car rental paperwork from the US, flight itinerary in the US etc to estimate my physical presence in Canada?

Most probably plan to enter Canada and return to US by road using the visa automatic visa re-validation (AVR) feature. I have a mental bias that road is safer as opposed to flight for using the AVR feature. Not sure if my thinking is correct. If the CBSA does not stamp my passport when I enter Canada, then how will the US border folks know I spent less than 30 days in Canada when I return to US? Again could the hotel bookings, car rental bookings etc be used here?

Alternatively would traveling by flight be safer and will any enter be made on my passport when I enter Canada by flight? Not sure whether US immigration would put any stamp on my passport when I return to US using AVR feature by flight. In this case, can I use the flight itinerary as proof of stay in Canada for my PR status in Canada?

One thing you all should remeber, when you H1B/Canadian PR travel to Canada for landing and use AVR, make sure to keep as many as proof of travel for Citizenship application in Canada. Lots of H1B's travel to Canada is never recorded in CBSA or USCBP and later it is very hard to prove to CIC during Canadian Citizenship application process that you were in Canada for 1 day to finish landing and later gain moved to Canada for forever.