Entry Exit Records from the US for Canadian Citizenship

[marako]

Hi,

I'm hoping that there's someone on this forum who's had experience obtaining entry and exit records from the U.S. to fulfill their physical presence for Canadian citizenship. My wife and I lived in the U.S. until 2018 before moving to Canada as permanent residents (permanent residency obtained in 2015). We applied for Canadian citizenship in September 2021 after staying in Canada for little over 1095 days.

We completed our citizenship test in April 2022. CIC contacted us a few weeks ago asking us to submit a FOIA request to US CBP to obtain our entry and exit records from the U.S. for Sep 2016-Sep 2021. We submitted the FOIA request right away and are awaiting the records. Has anyone else submitted such request? How long did it take to get the records from CBP?

Thanks

 

[wink]

Hi,

I'm hoping that there's someone on this forum who's had experience obtaining entry and exit records from the U.S. to fulfill their physical presence for Canadian citizenship. My wife and I lived in the U.S. until 2018 before moving to Canada as permanent residents (permanent residency obtained in 2015). We applied for Canadian citizenship in September 2021 after staying in Canada for little over 1095 days.

We completed our citizenship test in April 2022. CIC contacted us a few weeks ago asking us to submit a FOIA request to US CBP to obtain our entry and exit records from the U.S. for Sep 2016-Sep 2021. We submitted the FOIA request right away and are awaiting the records. Has anyone else submitted such request? How long did it take to get the records from CBP?

Thanks

Did they specifically asked you to submit FOIA record? Report from CBP website is not enough? I thought that's report everyone is submitting...

Also, looks like online FOIA requests are not possible any more:

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Notice
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ended participation in FOIAonline on September 30, 2022 for new requests. New requests can be sent in the physical mail to: 90 K ST NE MS 1181, Washington DC 20229 or submitted via FOIA.gov

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Did you submit a physical mail request? It is going to take longer than usual, I think.

 

[marako]

Did they specifically asked you to submit FOIA record? Report from CBP website is not enough? I thought that's report everyone is submitting...

Also, looks like online FOIA requests are not possible any more:

---------
Notice
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will end participation in FOIAonline on September 30, 2022. Requesters can use the DHS Portal to send requests to CBP beginning October 12, 2022. In the interim, requests can be sent in the physical mail to: 90 K ST NE MS 1181, Washington DC 20229. We encourage you to wait if possible to submit your request through the DHS Portal. Any requests sent to CBP during the transition will need to be manually entered by staff after the transition is complete and will divert resources away from processing records.

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Did you submit a physical mail request? It is going to take longer than usual, I think.

 

[marako]

CIC sent us a link for FOIA request submission with instructions. Does the report from CBP show records for 5 years? I thought it only shows the last 100 entry exit records. I work in the U.S. but live in BC so with my almost daily commute across the border I have much more than 100 records a year.

 

[marako]

Also, the FOIA request was through DHS website by selecting CBP as the agency for submission. I hope they'll return the records soon because CIC gave us a 30 day deadline which is just not reasonable given how slow every government agency is around the world post-COVID.

 

[Mounat]

The last time I got FOIA records on border crossings from DHS was early 2010s and it took over 6 weeks then. I'd be surprised if they respond to you sooner so you should probably plan to send CIC a letter showing that you sent the request as soon as practical and you are still waiting (with no ability to expedite or even find out how long it would take).

Good luck.

 

[marako]

The last time I got FOIA records on border crossings from DHS was early 2010s and it took over 6 weeks then. I'd be surprised if they respond to you sooner so you should probably plan to send CIC a letter showing that you sent the request as soon as practical and you are still waiting (with no ability to expedite or even find out how long it would take).

Good luck.

Thanks. That's what I'm going to do this coming week and request a deadline extension. Hope CBP is able to send me the records in under 60 days.

 

[wink]

CIC sent us a link for FOIA request submission with instructions. Does the report from CBP show records for 5 years? I thought it only shows the last 100 entry exit records. I work in the U.S. but live in BC so with my almost daily commute across the border I have much more than 100 records a year.

Yeah, that's a problem. CBP website has limitation on number of entries it shows. It is better to take a snapshot of it regularly. I am sure you might have multiple reports covering the entire eligibility period (which your might have used while filling the fill physical presence calculator form). If you have saved these (website) reports on multiple occations, I would suggest to share those while writing to the IRCC.

But as I posted the message from their (FOIA) website, looks like they don't support online requests since September. I am not sure when you submitted the request. Check it out.

 

[wink]

CIC sent us a link for FOIA request submission with instructions. Does the report from CBP show records for 5 years? I thought it only shows the last 100 entry exit records. I work in the U.S. but live in BC so with my almost daily commute across the border I have much more than 100 records a year.

If you don't mind, can you please share the FOIA link IRCC sent you? Just to understand whether the link is same as what we get (when googling it) or some other link. Thanks.

 

[wink]

Found this info on their website:

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Tips for submitting

• The person to reach out to about your FOIA request is:
  Sabrina Burroughs,FOIA Officer
  202-325-0150
  
  FOIA Requester Service Center
  202-325-0150
  
  Sabrina Burroughs,FOIA Officer
  202-325-0150
  
  U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Sabrina Burroughs, FOIA Officer
  90 K Street, NW, 9th Floor, Mail Stop 1181
  Washington, DC 20229-1181
  
  You can ask FOIA personnel about anything related to your request, including if what you’re asking for is clear. You can also reach out to follow up on your request after it’s been submitted.

------------

You can try calling them explain your situation and see whether they can expedite your request.

 

[Acorn450]

I would reach out to the requesting agent and explain that you are unlikely to be able to get the records in 30 days.

During my interview, the agent was considering asking me to get FOIA records, but ended up requesting other info because the lengthy wait for CBP to respond. My situation is a little different because I had very few border crossings, so it was much easier for me to gather the proof they requested.

However, I did apply for my border crossings under FOIA just in case. That was in mid-August. I am sorry to report that they have not yet arrived.

 

[wink]

I would reach out to the requesting agent and explain that you are unlikely to be able to get the records in 30 days.

During my interview, the agent was considering asking me to get FOIA records, but ended up requesting other info because the lengthy wait for CBP to respond. My situation is a little different because I had very few border crossings, so it was much easier for me to gather the proof they requested.

However, I did apply for my border crossings under FOIA just in case. That was in mid-August. I am sorry to report that they have not yet arrived.

If you don't mind, how many trips you had during eligibility period?

 

[bellaluna]

Thanks. That's what I'm going to do this coming week and request a deadline extension. Hope CBP is able to send me the records in under 60 days.

IRCC always grants extensions as long as you inform them you already made the request; they know certain agencies take forever.

 

[Acorn450]

If you don't mind, how many trips you had during eligibility period?

I would have to look, but maybe 7 to 10? At least 4 were day trips across the border. Because of the pandemic (and the fact that we have never been frequent travelers), I had 1700+ days in Canada when I applied.

Still have no clue why I ended up getting the CIT 0520. But I am happy that I am now just waiting for the oath invite.

 

[wink]

I would have to look, but maybe 7 to 10? At least 4 were day trips across the border. Because of the pandemic (and the fact that we have never been frequent travelers), I had 1700+ days in Canada when I applied.

Still have no clue why I ended up getting the CIT 0520. But I am happy that I am now just waiting for the oath invite.

Thanks. Yeah, that's not too many trips... Surprised about CIT0520 for this....