Flagpoling questions...

[xxdieselxx]

Hey all,

My wife just got her PPR from the Manila office, so it's just a matter of time before she will get her visa issued. She is currently here with me in Alberta on an extended 6 month TRV (visitor visa).

From what we have read so far, she will need to "flagpole" to become an official landed immigrant because she is already in Canada. Because she is a filipino passport holder, she would require a USA visa to cross the border (she does not have a US visa). Can someone with experience with this topic please respond with what the process is and what she will have to do and where to go being that we are in Alberta.

Thanks!

 

[user828]

Hey all,

My wife just got her PPR from the Manila office, so it's just a matter of time before she will get her visa issued. She is currently here with me in Alberta on an extended 6 month TRV (visitor visa).

From what we have read so far, she will need to "flagpole" to become an official landed immigrant because she is already in Canada. Because she is a filipino passport holder, she would require a USA visa to cross the border (she does not have a US visa). Can someone with experience with this topic please respond with what the process is and what she will have to do and where to go being that we are in Alberta.

Thanks!

No, thats the whole point of flagpoling, you are not entering US - you are going to it only to re-enter so they do formalities of administrative refusal and let you make a u-turn back,. Don't worry, all border officers are familiar with it

 

[xxdieselxx]

No, thats the whole point of flagpoling, you are not entering US - you are going to it only to re-enter so they do formalities of administrative refusal and let you make a u-turn back,. Don't worry, all border officers are familiar with it

If she goes to the border and gets an "administrative refusal", will that affect her in the future for when she wants to get a US visa for actual travel to the USA? A standard question whenever applying for a visa for pretty much every country is "have you ever been refused entry to the country before".

Any ideas where to go being that we are in Alberta?

 

[user828]

If she goes to the border and gets an "administrative refusal", will that affect her in the future for when she wants to get a US visa for actual travel to the USA? A standard question whenever applying for a visa for pretty much every country is "have you ever been refused entry to the country before".

Any ideas where to go being that we are in Alberta?

No, thats why its an admin refusal - for the formalities of flagpoling and it's not recorded anywhere. You tick NO to "ever been refused for" for US visa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coutts,_Alberta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border_crossings#Alberta.E2.80.93Montana

 

[mikeymyke]

Doesn't your spouse need to go back to her home country to get back the rest of her belongings anyway?

 

[xxdieselxx]

No, thats why its an admin refusal - for the formalities of flagpoling and it's not recorded anywhere. You tick NO to "ever been refused for" for US visa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coutts,_Alberta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border_crossings#Alberta.E2.80.93Montana

Thanks user828. That was helpful. It's good to know that this does not affect any future visa applications to the US. It sounds as though "flagpoling" is a common practice. Looking forward to the road trip!

 

[xxdieselxx]

Doesn't your spouse need to go back to her home country to get back the rest of her belongings anyway?

Nope. we are keeping our house and stuff in the Philippines and we have more than enough stuff here already.

 

[user828]

Thanks user828. That was helpful. It's good to know that this does not affect any future visa applications to the US. It sounds as though "flagpoling" is a common practice. Looking forward to the road trip!

They will know what to do even before you end the word "flapol..."

They basically, take the passports - put a sticker on the vehicle, give you a piece of paper and ask you to go inside the office. The officer inside will see why you are in there, and then do his stuff, give you a piece of paper which says "reason for refusal" Flagpoling, then will wait near roadblock with passport and let you return to Canada ( procedure might be different at borders ) and then when you are back to Canada - you show the paper, they ask for any goods to follow and you then go to office inside, where you show COPR + passport and they confirm few things , make you wait for 15-20 mins ( depending on queue ), blackout stamped IM visa on passport and will tell you PR card will be in mail

 

[xxdieselxx]

They will know what to do even before you end the word "flapol..."

They basically, take the passports - put a sticker on the vehicle, give you a piece of paper and ask you to go inside the office. The officer inside will see why you are in there, and then do his stuff, give you a piece of paper which says "reason for refusal" Flagpoling, then will wait near roadblock with passport and let you return to Canada ( procedure might be different at borders ) and then when you are back to Canada - you show the paper, they ask for any goods to follow and you then go to office inside, where you show COPR + passport and they confirm few things , make you wait for 15-20 mins ( depending on queue ), blackout stamped IM visa on passport and will tell you PR card will be in mail

This is exactly the type of information we are looking for user828! Kudos to you, muchas gracias! This eases the mind tremendously as to what we are to expect.