Inland applicants wait time after DM?

[Ponga]

Just curious to know how long Inland applicants wait between receiving their DM email, to actually having their PR cards in their hands? It looks like it's ~4 months +?

From what I've seen in previous posts, it could be several months (i.e. Vancouver). Unlike Outland applicants that can flagpole at a land border the same day they receive their COPR (then wait 6-8 weeks for their card), Inland applicants don't receive their COPR until they have their landing interview at their local office. It appears that those of us in Vancouver may have a lonnnnng wait just to have our interviews.

So, having DM is great (obviously) but it's likely only temporary euphoria...especially for those anxious to travel (by air)! I have read that COPR FINALLY allows you to cross the border by car, so...Seattle's an option I guess to catch that tropical flight.

 

[QuebecOkie]

I'm in Québec. Got DM 30 August 2013. My landing was a little unusual, in that I landed at a "traveling" office (there's only one permanent office, as far as I know, in Québec, which is in Montreal, so sometimes they do a "traveling" office to other regions). I was contact by phone in early October, landed 10 October 2013. Received PR card sometime just after Xmas 2013, most likely (we were out of town; I physically had it in hand January 7, when our mail service resumed). So, from DM to PR card in hand, around 4 months, but I waiting less than a month and a half to land after receiving DM. That's where some local offices seem to be very, very slow.

 

[Ponga]

Thanks!

It's important for us Inland applicants to realize that after DM, we still have a few months to `nap' ;D.

 

[OhCanadiana]

So, having DM is great (obviously) but it's likely only temporary euphoria...especially for those anxious to travel (by air)! I have read that COPR FINALLY allows you to cross the border by car, so...Seattle's an option I guess to catch that tropical flight.

As a US citizen, once you have your CoPR you should be fine traveling by air too, Ponga =) The airline will let you travel back to Canada based on your passport and the immigration officer will use your CoPR as proof of status. Those who are not from visa exempt countries do not have this benefit.

 

[QuebecOkie]

It's yet another reason that those from visa-exempt countries who are likely able to stay with their spouse in Canada either way reallllllly need to think about inland versus outland. I'm from the U.S., and it would have likely been MUCH faster to apply outland. Of course, I was clueless at the beginning.

Also, I *did* travel to the U.S. between landing and when my PR card arrived. I had no issues. On the way back, I went through customs and immigration in Montréal. I went through the "visitor" line, as I didn't have my PR card. Answered questions honestly (listed my Canadian address, wrote "indefinite" for length of stay, etc). I had a copy of my COPR to show them. I was sent along to immigration, and the guy there quickly pulled up my status, stamped my passport, wrote "PR" instead of a date on the line on the stamp, and sent me on my way.

I wouldn't have risked a trip any country other than the U.S. without my PR card, though. My (now-hubby, then-)boyfriend got held up at customs in Mexico, when we vacationed there together. He had two passports, a normal blue one and a green diplomatic one. The diplomatic passport was in his checked luggage, as he was traveling as a civilian, not on military business. His visa (he was living in the U.S. at the time for a period of several years) was in his green passport, and the guy at customs in Mexico did NOT want to let him get on a plane to the U.S. Luckily, he remembered the type of visa, and the guy was able to pull up my boyfriend's info, but we were delayed for around 45 minutes, and I was just starting to ask myself when I should just leave the poor boyfriend there to fend for himself, before I missed my flight! :-D (We hadn't been dating that long when we went on vacation together.)