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Landing as 'Settler' and using AVR

saitejk

Newbie
Jul 6, 2021
4
0
Detroit
Category........
Other
Hey Everyone,

I am planning on moving to Windsor, Ontario from Detroit, MI by road using ambassador bridge on 7/11/21. I have a couple of questions regarding the process.

1) I am driving a U-Haul with my car on auto transport along with it. I plan on taking a loan from a Canadian bank and paying off my US auto loan and then doing the import process. So for now, I'm taking a letter of authorization from my bank allowing me to travel to Canada legally since I plan on coming back again before the 30 days period. That should go smoothly right?
2) Can I bring my mattress along with me? I read that you can as long as you are coming in a settler you don't need the fumigation certificate(https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Mattress_Fumigation-Canada).
3) I want to travel back to Detroit if it is possible, I plan on using AVR. What documents would I need cause I don't have my H1B stamping but have an approved 797? And would I get a stamp on the passport?
4) I also want to apply for a NEXUS card to make travel easier eventually. I read that(https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/application-demande-eng.html) 'Permanent residents of Canada and the U.S. must have resided as legal residents of Canada or the U.S. for a minimum of three years before the day of application', so when I get my PR card I can apply for NEXUS card cause I was a legal resident of US(6 years of stay f+h1b) and am a permanent resident of Canada?
5) I read that we have 60 days to get a Canadian license, and if I show proof of 3 years of driving experience I can get a G2 License. My current license has about 1 year on it of experience dated on it. I have all of my older licenses too, can I use them as proof or should I get a driving record from SOS. And would they provide it for 3 years?

Sorry for the long thread, any and all help is appreciated. Also, I plan on documenting my experience for anyone who has similar doubts and am preparing a checklist for all the steps to do for landing that I found through extensive research(so many hours when I should have been working)

Long Time Lurker,
Sai
 

padmavis1990

Member
Apr 17, 2020
14
4
Hey Everyone,

I am planning on moving to Windsor, Ontario from Detroit, MI by road using ambassador bridge on 7/11/21. I have a couple of questions regarding the process.

1) I am driving a U-Haul with my car on auto transport along with it. I plan on taking a loan from a Canadian bank and paying off my US auto loan and then doing the import process. So for now, I'm taking a letter of authorization from my bank allowing me to travel to Canada legally since I plan on coming back again before the 30 days period. That should go smoothly right?
2) Can I bring my mattress along with me? I read that you can as long as you are coming in a settler you don't need the fumigation certificate(https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Mattress_Fumigation-Canada).
3) I want to travel back to Detroit if it is possible, I plan on using AVR. What documents would I need cause I don't have my H1B stamping but have an approved 797? And would I get a stamp on the passport?
4) I also want to apply for a NEXUS card to make travel easier eventually. I read that(https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/application-demande-eng.html) 'Permanent residents of Canada and the U.S. must have resided as legal residents of Canada or the U.S. for a minimum of three years before the day of application', so when I get my PR card I can apply for NEXUS card cause I was a legal resident of US(6 years of stay f+h1b) and am a permanent resident of Canada?
5) I read that we have 60 days to get a Canadian license, and if I show proof of 3 years of driving experience I can get a G2 License. My current license has about 1 year on it of experience dated on it. I have all of my older licenses too, can I use them as proof or should I get a driving record from SOS. And would they provide it for 3 years?

Sorry for the long thread, any and all help is appreciated. Also, I plan on documenting my experience for anyone who has similar doubts and am preparing a checklist for all the steps to do for landing that I found through extensive research(so many hours when I should have been working)

Long Time Lurker,
Sai
Hi @saitejk
I am planning to move in September'21. Did you get answers to your questions? Were you able to move to Windsor?

Context: I will be moving my family from California to Windsor next month, stay there to set everything up for 3 weeks, and I'll join them again after 2 months. My current work location is in California, but will soon work out of the Detroit office (Auburn Hills, MI). I got my PR card by mail sometime in Feb'21.

I had a few questions and was wondering if you'd be able to help.
  1. We are planning to fly into Detroit and use public transport to get to Windsor, ON
    • Is there any reliable public transportation available now to cross the border?
    • Can you take an uber across the border?
    • If not, can you cross by foot? walkable/possible?
    • Car rental is super expensive in DTW right now and I'd rather put that money toward buying a car in Windsor as soon as possible.
    • Are there Uber services once we get into Canada?
  2. I have been looking at apartments to rent near Walkerville/Forest Glade area. The budget is around $1500 for a 1B1B or 2B1B
    • Are there safer areas with close-by daycare facilities for a 2-year-old toddler?
    • How fast are the services like gas/electricity/water/internet activated when we move into any house?
    • How bad would my everyday commute to Auburn Hills be? Traffic/border crossing etc...
  3. I am also planning on travelling with just the I797 approval notice using AVR.
    • Did you run into any issues?
Thank you in advance
 

saitejk

Newbie
Jul 6, 2021
4
0
Detroit
Category........
Other
Hi @saitejk
I am planning to move in September'21. Did you get answers to your questions? Were you able to move to Windsor?

Context: I will be moving my family from California to Windsor next month, stay there to set everything up for 3 weeks, and I'll join them again after 2 months. My current work location is in California, but will soon work out of the Detroit office (Auburn Hills, MI). I got my PR card by mail sometime in Feb'21.

I had a few questions and was wondering if you'd be able to help.
  1. We are planning to fly into Detroit and use public transport to get to Windsor, ON
    • Is there any reliable public transportation available now to cross the border?
    • Can you take an uber across the border?
    • If not, can you cross by foot? walkable/possible?
    • Car rental is super expensive in DTW right now and I'd rather put that money toward buying a car in Windsor as soon as possible.
    • Are there Uber services once we get into Canada?
  2. I have been looking at apartments to rent near Walkerville/Forest Glade area. The budget is around $1500 for a 1B1B or 2B1B
    • Are there safer areas with close-by daycare facilities for a 2-year-old toddler?
    • How fast are the services like gas/electricity/water/internet activated when we move into any house?
    • How bad would my everyday commute to Auburn Hills be? Traffic/border crossing etc...
  3. I am also planning on travelling with just the I797 approval notice using AVR.
    • Did you run into any issues?
Thank you in advance
1. As of now there is no public transport between Detroit and Windsor. The border is set to open on 8/9/21, maybe they will start the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel bus. (refer: https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/transitwindsor/Pages/Transit-Windsor-COVID-19-Service-Update.aspx).
  • And you cant walk across the border, it has to be a motor vehicle.
  • I attempted the Uber idea but a lot of ubers cancel cause it's across the border and it's only essential travel. Maybe that will change after the border is open but I'm not optimistic.
  • I would say look for monthly rentals till then cause that is the only way if you are not driving your car
2. Am I not sure about the daycare facilities, google is the way to go I think.
  • They are usually pretty fast. Tho I had only experience with Bell Internet and it was pretty smooth and they had it installed before I came in. Just check with your property manager regarding it as they would suggest you the best ones.
  • The border crossing is a mixed bag i.e on some days you can just drive by in 5-10 mins on some days it takes up to an hour. But once you cross the border it's pretty much about 30-40 mins drive not accounting for traffic and it does get bad so aim for early hours so that you can miss the morning rush.
3. I didn't run into any issues as of now. I used only my passport and i797, and COPR for the travel. They issued me an i94 valid till my i797 date the first time since it was my first time entering the country. One thing I noticed is the processing at the bridge was a lot quicker and they didn't even stamp my passport on entry. (they did so in the tunnel the second time I used it).

Hopefully, I cleared some doubts. Good luck on the move.:)
 

padmavis1990

Member
Apr 17, 2020
14
4
1. As of now there is no public transport between Detroit and Windsor. The border is set to open on 8/9/21, maybe they will start the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel bus. (refer: https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/transitwindsor/Pages/Transit-Windsor-COVID-19-Service-Update.aspx).
  • And you cant walk across the border, it has to be a motor vehicle.
  • I attempted the Uber idea but a lot of ubers cancel cause it's across the border and it's only essential travel. Maybe that will change after the border is open but I'm not optimistic.
  • I would say look for monthly rentals till then cause that is the only way if you are not driving your car
2. Am I not sure about the daycare facilities, google is the way to go I think.
  • They are usually pretty fast. Tho I had only experience with Bell Internet and it was pretty smooth and they had it installed before I came in. Just check with your property manager regarding it as they would suggest you the best ones.
  • The border crossing is a mixed bag i.e on some days you can just drive by in 5-10 mins on some days it takes up to an hour. But once you cross the border it's pretty much about 30-40 mins drive not accounting for traffic and it does get bad so aim for early hours so that you can miss the morning rush.
3. I didn't run into any issues as of now. I used only my passport and i797, and COPR for the travel. They issued me an i94 valid till my i797 date the first time since it was my first time entering the country. One thing I noticed is the processing at the bridge was a lot quicker and they didn't even stamp my passport on entry. (they did so in the tunnel the second time I used it).

Hopefully, I cleared some doubts. Good luck on the move.:)
Thank you, @saitejk
Yes, this really helped. I will share my experience once I make the move.