I got my PR visa after a long wait and I knew I wanted to land at a border that would be pretty easy, especially because I was importing my car. Based on my destination province, I decided on the Thousand Island Bridge, New York (Alexandria Bay/ Lansdowne) since most people said it had very little traffic and less cranky officers. I landed on 8th November. Got there around 8:30am. The officer at the booth asked why I was there and what my status was in the US. I am still a student so I told her that. She asked if I had any documentation for that and I said yes, reaching for my i20, but she did not ask for it. She asked about goods to follow, how much cash I had on me and if I was landing permanently. I answered and she directed me to the parking lot a few meters from the booth. She called the office to tell them I was coming in.
I parked, went in and met two officers. The main officer attending to me asked again what my status in the US was and what course I was studying. To be honest I didn't know that that information was important to them. She gave me a few documents that I filled my addresses in and she asked if I was importing my car. She directed me to another officer who had now appeared behind the booth. He was a lot more friendly and nice. He asked if I did my RIV online and I said no. He said it was no problem and he brought out the form and filled it in himself. He was chatting with me the whole time and the small talk took away the tension that I did not realize was building up. He had me confirm all the details on the form and walked with me to confirm the manufacturing date on my car. After, he directed me to another officer towards the entrance to make a $100 environmental fee payment for my car's Air Conditioning unit.
Apart from me, there was only one other client in the entire office. I gathered they were trying to export something. Once I was done with the import process, I went back to the officer and she told me I can travel to Canada (by air) with my existing visitor visa pending when my PR card arrived. That was a surprise because I thought they always canceled previous visas. The other officer also chipped in that I can always use my COPR provided I am using a land border. She crossed out and signed my PR visa and congratulated me on being a PR. That was it! I was done by 9:27.
I parked, went in and met two officers. The main officer attending to me asked again what my status in the US was and what course I was studying. To be honest I didn't know that that information was important to them. She gave me a few documents that I filled my addresses in and she asked if I was importing my car. She directed me to another officer who had now appeared behind the booth. He was a lot more friendly and nice. He asked if I did my RIV online and I said no. He said it was no problem and he brought out the form and filled it in himself. He was chatting with me the whole time and the small talk took away the tension that I did not realize was building up. He had me confirm all the details on the form and walked with me to confirm the manufacturing date on my car. After, he directed me to another officer towards the entrance to make a $100 environmental fee payment for my car's Air Conditioning unit.
Apart from me, there was only one other client in the entire office. I gathered they were trying to export something. Once I was done with the import process, I went back to the officer and she told me I can travel to Canada (by air) with my existing visitor visa pending when my PR card arrived. That was a surprise because I thought they always canceled previous visas. The other officer also chipped in that I can always use my COPR provided I am using a land border. She crossed out and signed my PR visa and congratulated me on being a PR. That was it! I was done by 9:27.