PR Status, driving to USA. Chinese passport. What to prepare?

[walter8299]

Hi,

My wife received PR status, but we are still waiting for her PR card, but we have the COPR. As well as, we still have the gov't issued copy of her study permit.

We are planning to drive to New York for the labor day long weekend before she starts classes again on Sept 3. She already has a US tourist Visa that was obtained last Dec 20 2012 which last for 1 year and its multiple entry if that matters. Last boxing day we travelled south on a tour bus, the bus has a dedicated bus lane, she and a few others who are holding a chinese passport with a US visa had to get off the bus to get a "white card" to allow entry (we had to pay a small fee too), and when we return to Canada, we surrender that to the custom officer.

Now that we are travelling on our own with our own car, will they tell us to stop at the inspection office to get the white card again? Anyone has this experience?

Thanks

 

[steaky]

Yes, your wife would need to get the white card again. That's what happened to my mother in law.

 

[walter8299]

How long did it took your in-law to get the white card at the border? Do we get it at the custom gate outside, or will we be advise to go into the custom building?

 

[Rossei]

Now that we are travelling on our own with our own car, will they tell us to stop at the inspection office to get the white card again?

Yes (explained below)

How long did it took your in-law to get the white card at the border? Do we get it at the custom gate outside, or will we be advise to go into the custom building?

The "white card" you referred to is called I-94. It's a record of admission for non-immigrant visitors to US. It costs you USD $6/person and is generally valid for 6 months. But you've to be careful to surrender it on your any/last trip to US within this 6 month window. You can surrender it at the booth (don't have to get out) either at US side or Canadian side of the border.

If you're admissible; it won't take much time depending on the rush/lineup. But you can't get it from the booth; you have to get down at the US custom office. FYI, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffs are very strict, so you can't take it lightly. The officer may ask you series of question like:

• Where are you going?
• What is the purpose of your visit?
• When did you last enter USA?
• What's your status in Canada?
• What you do in Canada?

So, carry some paperwork just in case (employment letter, hotel/friend's address etc.).

I-94 Info: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/i-94_instructions/

 

[steaky]

My in-law never surrendered the white card at land borders. The only time she surrendered was at the departure hall of LAX. If there is a line-up of travelers, you might have to take longer time to get the white card.

 

[walter8299]

Yes (explained below)

The "white card" you referred to is called I-94. It's a record of admission for non-immigrant visitors to US. It costs you USD $6/person and is generally valid for 6 months. But you've to be careful to surrender it on your any/last trip to US within this 6 month window. You can surrender it at the booth (don't have to get out) either at US side or Canadian side of the border.

If you're admissible; it won't take much time depending on the rush/lineup. But you can't get it from the booth; you have to get down at the US custom office. FYI, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffs are very strict, so you can't take it lightly. The officer may ask you series of question like:

• Where are you going?
• What is the purpose of your visit?
• When did you last enter USA?
• What's your status in Canada?
• What you do in Canada?

So, carry some paperwork just in case (employment letter, hotel/friend's address etc.).

I-94 Info: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/i-94_instructions/

Thanks for the detailed info.

Last time we went to US was Dec 2012 with a "tour bus" and we surrender the white card at the CDN custom. However, when we surrender it to the officer, it didn't seem like they did anything, they just put the card aside, not sure if they already punch in something on their computer system or not. I hope US knows we did surrender it and did not kept it. That's why scares me a little.

And in terms of the preparation, we will take this US staffs very seriously.
We have already had hotels booked, we already know where we will be going.
This time we will be having our baby with us, so we're driving our own car. The baby is 15 months old.
I will bring the following:
(1) Proof of our relationship with the child.
(2) Proof of our marriage.
(3) Proof of my wife going to school and her courses starts in Sept (so we're going on a trip before she gets busy with school).
(4) I will bring proof of her study permit and on-campus work permit, as well as she still has the page with TRV intact in her passport.
(5) Her passport still valid for the next 5 years.
(6) We're hoping she'll receive her PR card soon (as it has been 8 weeks already), but we will bring a copy of COPR as a proof she has been granted PR status.
(7) Banking statements that she has ties with Canada and she'll be returning.
(8) Also my sister and in-law's family will be travelling with us in a different car, so it'll be a big family trip.
(9) I am a realtor, so I will bring my business card and registration.

I hope that is good enough to convince the US Border protection officer.

 

[Rossei]

Thanks for the detailed info.

Last time we went to US was Dec 2012 with a "tour bus" and we surrender the white card at the CDN custom. However, when we surrender it to the officer, it didn't seem like they did anything, they just put the card aside, not sure if they already punch in something on their computer system or not. I hope US knows we did surrender it and did not kept it. That's why scares me a little.

And in terms of the preparation, we will take this US staffs very seriously.
We have already had hotels booked, we already know where we will be going.
This time we will be having our baby with us, so we're driving our own car. The baby is 15 months old.
I will bring the following:
(1) Proof of our relationship with the child.
(2) Proof of our marriage.
(3) Proof of my wife going to school and her courses starts in Sept (so we're going on a trip before she gets busy with school).
(4) I will bring proof of her study permit and on-campus work permit, as well as she still has the page with TRV intact in her passport.
(5) Her passport still valid for the next 5 years.
(6) We're hoping she'll receive her PR card soon (as it has been 8 weeks already), but we will bring a copy of COPR as a proof she has been granted PR status.
(7) Banking statements that she has ties with Canada and she'll be returning.
(8) Also my sister and in-law's family will be travelling with us in a different car, so it'll be a big family trip.
(9) I am a realtor, so I will bring my business card and registration.

I hope that is good enough to convince the US Border protection officer.

These are more than enough. US border police only cares about valid passport and US Visa. They don't care about PR cards, CoPR etc; but you would need them while crossing back to Canada. I can picturize an exact scene for you that you will/may encounter at border:

When you lineup with your car at the border, get your passports ready. Windows down, no sunglasses 8). The officer at the booth will ask about these things:

• Everyone's nationality
• Number of people traveling in the car
• Whereabouts of the trip
• Where you live & what you do
• Things/goods that you're carrying to US (they care about firearms, food/drinks)

Meantime, s/he will go thru each passport and verify the validity of passports and visas. When s/he will find that you would require I-94; h/she will give you direction where to park your car. S/he will keep your passports and send them to the office via a tunnel (you don't have to worry). When you drive forward, you'll see standing police officers waving you to park. You have to leave behind cell phones, bags & other electronics in the car. The officer(s) will ask for your car keys and give you a yellow slip. Take all paperwork with you inside. You have to wait if it's a busy time (any long weekend is busy). A officer will call your name and ask all the questions I mentioned in my previous post. They will probably register your wife and child into the system again. At the end, s/he will ask for the I-94 money. When you're done inside the office, gather everything properly (CBP won't care much if you lose something), come out and those officers will show you where your car has been parked.

Be prepared to wait for 2 hours or more. I don't know anything about Alberta border; but in Ontario it's always busy. I would still advise you to beat the rush hour especially when it's a long weekend and you're carrying a baby.

 

[steaky]

CBP also cares about pets and their vaccinations record. Be prepared if they examine the car trunk.

It also depends on the border location. Some have police officers waving you to park and some don't. Unless being told, I keep my car keys with me and entered the customs office with my in-law. I too don't know anything about Alberta border, but in BC it has always been at least a 15 minutes wait (again depending on location).

 

[walter8299]

These are more than enough. US border police only cares about valid passport and US Visa. They don't care about PR cards, CoPR etc; but you would need them while crossing back to Canada. I can picturize an exact scene for you that you will/may encounter at border:

When you lineup with your car at the border, get your passports ready. Windows down, no sunglasses 8). The officer at the booth will ask about these things:

• Everyone's nationality
• Number of people traveling in the car
• Whereabouts of the trip
• Where you live & what you do
• Things/goods that you're carrying to US (they care about firearms, food/drinks)

Meantime, s/he will go thru each passport and verify the validity of passports and visas. When s/he will find that you would require I-94; h/she will give you direction where to park your car. S/he will keep your passports and send them to the office via a tunnel (you don't have to worry). When you drive forward, you'll see standing police officers waving you to park. You have to leave behind cell phones, bags & other electronics in the car. The officer(s) will ask for your car keys and give you a yellow slip. Take all paperwork with you inside. You have to wait if it's a busy time (any long weekend is busy). A officer will call your name and ask all the questions I mentioned in my previous post. They will probably register your wife and child into the system again. At the end, s/he will ask for the I-94 money. When you're done inside the office, gather everything properly (CBP won't care much if you lose something), come out and those officers will show you where your car has been parked.

Be prepared to wait for 2 hours or more. I don't know anything about Alberta border; but in Ontario it's always busy. I would still advise you to beat the rush hour especially when it's a long weekend and you're carrying a baby.

We're from Toronto, and will be crossing at the Niagara Falls bridge to Buffalo. Only my wife is Chinese passport, our child is Canadian passport as well.
We'll be crossing the border at 6-6:30am on Aug 30 (Friday morning) before the weekend actually starts. And we'll be starting the trip at 5am in the morning. I hope that way we'll only spend a few minutes at the custom to obtain the card instead of a long wait. If we're not allow to bring anything into the office and there's a long wait, we'll have no diapers or crackers to keep the baby calm.

In terms of returning, I've heard about mixed answers. The COPR specifies that it is not a document for travelling. But I've read from others saying it is not valid if its "by air", and it can still work if it is "by land". We're concern the COPR doesn't allow my wife to get back into Canada, but we will have her school student card (George brown college), timetable, registration letter (payment proof), and her study permit and her TRV is still intact. But I suppose since she has PR status now, we should mention that and show the Canadian custom her COPR regardless.

Any insights? Thanks in advance again. And thanks for the detailed information.

 

[Rossei]

We're from Toronto, and will be crossing at the Niagara Falls bridge to Buffalo. Only my wife is Chinese passport, our child is Canadian passport as well.
We'll be crossing the border at 6-6:30am on Aug 30 (Friday morning) before the weekend actually starts. And we'll be starting the trip at 5am in the morning. I hope that way we'll only spend a few minutes at the custom to obtain the card instead of a long wait. If we're not allow to bring anything into the office and there's a long wait, we'll have no diapers or crackers to keep the baby calm.

Sorry, my bad. I assumed that you're from Alberta since your visa office is there. I've crossed Niagara border several times. Your timing is good; but I would still ask you to prepare for a long haul at the border.
Border wait time: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf/menu-eng.html#ext

In terms of returning, I've heard about mixed answers. The COPR specifies that it is not a document for travelling. But I've read from others saying it is not valid if its "by air", and it can still work if it is "by land". We're concern the COPR doesn't allow my wife to get back into Canada, but we will have her school student card (George brown college), timetable, registration letter (payment proof), and her study permit and her TRV is still intact. But I suppose since she has PR status now, we should mention that and show the Canadian custom her COPR regardless.

I believe this will make you smile: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=064&t=10

 

[steaky]

If we're not allow to bring anything into the office and there's a long wait, we'll have no diapers or crackers to keep the baby calm.

I don't think they will stop you from bringing diapers or crackers into the office.

 

[walter8299]

Sorry, my bad. I assumed that you're from Alberta since your visa office is there. I've crossed Niagara border several times. Your timing is good; but I would still ask you to prepare for a long haul at the border.
Border wait time: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf/menu-eng.html#ext
I believe this will make you smile: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=064&t=10

Thanks for the information and links.

I think I will use the Peace Bridge based on that website, it seem like it has better waiting time than Rainbow or Lewiston.
But I will keep that link handy on my iphone, so I can check the delay/waiting time before I get to the borders.

Also, that link really made us smile Thanks thanks!

And thanks to steaky for the encouragement. Diapers and crackers are a must during waiting time hahaha