Hello all,
I've gotten so much info and advice on this forum that I thought I'd share my landing experience...maybe it'll help someone else. I'm a QSW so I decided to land at the Champlain/Lacolle border which is about 45 minutes away from downtown Montreal. I boarded a bus from NYC and arrived at the border this past Sunday around 4 pm. Those who have crossed the border via bus know that everyone must clear the bus and go inside to go through immigration. Because I thought that the bus would likely not wait for me (thought my process could take longer than average), i had asked friends to come fetch me at the border. One of the officer came aboard the bus and asked if there was anyone who needed special attention because they wanted to do special immigration process. I along with another gal said yes and we were told to get off the bus first, get our luggage and go into the office. Once there, the whole process went very smoothly. One officer looked at my passport with visa and my COPR and directed me toward another person. That officer asked if I had an address in Canada where my PR card could be sent and also asked for POF. I did have the address and I also had a printout of my bank statement. He barely looked at it tho. Input everything in his system and started telling me what my rights were as a new PR of Canada. Then another officer asked me about goods to follow and accompanying lists. I had made copies of each (had both B4 forms and excel table for each) and he stamped them and gave me a copy. He also thanked me for being ready and having everything filled up. He then told me I could get back on the bus! my friends didn't have to come get me as the whole process took about 20 minutes. I went to Service Canada the next morning and got a printout of my SIN number. All done! Hope this helps...
I've gotten so much info and advice on this forum that I thought I'd share my landing experience...maybe it'll help someone else. I'm a QSW so I decided to land at the Champlain/Lacolle border which is about 45 minutes away from downtown Montreal. I boarded a bus from NYC and arrived at the border this past Sunday around 4 pm. Those who have crossed the border via bus know that everyone must clear the bus and go inside to go through immigration. Because I thought that the bus would likely not wait for me (thought my process could take longer than average), i had asked friends to come fetch me at the border. One of the officer came aboard the bus and asked if there was anyone who needed special attention because they wanted to do special immigration process. I along with another gal said yes and we were told to get off the bus first, get our luggage and go into the office. Once there, the whole process went very smoothly. One officer looked at my passport with visa and my COPR and directed me toward another person. That officer asked if I had an address in Canada where my PR card could be sent and also asked for POF. I did have the address and I also had a printout of my bank statement. He barely looked at it tho. Input everything in his system and started telling me what my rights were as a new PR of Canada. Then another officer asked me about goods to follow and accompanying lists. I had made copies of each (had both B4 forms and excel table for each) and he stamped them and gave me a copy. He also thanked me for being ready and having everything filled up. He then told me I could get back on the bus! my friends didn't have to come get me as the whole process took about 20 minutes. I went to Service Canada the next morning and got a printout of my SIN number. All done! Hope this helps...
