Merry Christmas everyone!!
I'm happy to share that we've brought my mom for landing at Queenston-Lewiston Bridge (near Niagara Falls) yesterday (Christmas Eve) and everything went smoothly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My mom and I headed out early in the morning at 7 am, from Richmond Hill, Ontario. There's no traffic on the way, it's 8:45am when we reached US custom on Queenston-Lewiston Bridge. It's not busy at all, only about 2-3 cars waiting in each lane. The officer asked what we're here for, I told him we're here to do a flagpole landing. He took our passports, instructed us to make a left turn ahead and park in front of the immigration office. He specifically reminded us "to stay in your car the whole time". He then called his colleague via walkie talkie and have him show us the way. We waited for a minute or so, an officer came out from the office with our passports and a white sheet with names and passport info on it. It's a Refusal of Entry to US but it has also stated the reason, ie. for immigration landing purpose. So don't get panic when you see the refusal of entry part. We then headed back to Canada.
It's 8:50am when we reached Canada custom. Same as US custom, only a few cars waiting on each lanes. I handed the officer our passports and Refusal of Entry and told him we just did a flagpole. He asked a bunch of mandatory questions like, how much money you carrying, tobacco and alcohol...etc. He then returned our passports and Refusal of Entry, along with a yellow custom sheet. He showed us where's the immigration office located and where to park. It's basically just right next to the custom booths.
After we parked, we took a little break in the car, had some coffee and a few bites of sandwiches. When we entered the immigration office, it's around 9:05am.
There's 3 groups (total 6 people) there waiting, but only one officer was on duty. It's too early I guess. Glad that 3 -4 more officers started to show up 5 minutes later. I put together my mom's passport, COPR, Refusal of Entry (white), Canada custom sheet (yellow) and handed to the officer when we're called. She told us to wait and even nice enough to add where the restroom is just in case. Here's the waiting started.
The couple came in before us seemed having problems with their case. I felt bad for them coz the lady was sobbing (They're still waiting when we left. I hope they're ok. God Bless). And on the other hand there's a man with a silly hat, his case looked a bit complicated too. So two officers were occupied already. Other than these two cases, we're second in line. It's not bad at all.
When we sat down it's around 9:15am. At 9:45:am, my mom's name was called. The officer confirmed my mom's info against the COPR and made sure everything is correct. He had us wait just a little more while he processed our case. The processing part took no more than 5 minutes. The second time he called us, he had my mom signed the two COPR (one for immigration, one for us). He then informed us what to do after landing, ie. get SIN number, health card...etc. He asked me to translate it for my mom. The officer stapled the signed and stamped COPR on my mom's passport, and handed it back to us.
Taaa Daaaa!!! The whole landing process was DONE!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did my research about PR landing for weeks since MYCIC showed "Background Check in Progress". My original plan was going to Rainbow Bridge. But unfortunately most landing experiences I found regarding Rainbow Bridge are pretty bad (long custom booth waiting time, bad services from officers, waiting time in office up to 6 hours...). That's why I made my decision to do the landing at Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, and I'm glad I did.
The whole process from reaching US custom to leaving immigration office took less than 1 hour. Consider it's a Saturday and Christmas Eve, with less officer on duty, and there's 2 problematic cases before us, it's pretty darn efficient.
Many reviews online said officers on Queenston-Lewiston Bridge are very nice. I wouldn't say "VERY" (the only smile we got was from the female officer), but it's definitely nice with decent service. They focus on making sure you understand everything and get the job done. At least they don't talk to you like you're some kinda disgusting creature.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Complete Timeline:
Application Received: Jan 2, 2015
Received File No.: March 21, 2015
Sponsorship Approved: May 20, 2016 (case forwarded to Ottawa)
Medical & PCC Request: Sep 1, 2016
Medical & PCC Received: Oct 7, 2016 (Medical passed on Sept 21. PCC was sent directly from Hong Kong to CIC on Sept 28. It took about 5-10 business days to arrive)
Background Check In Progress: Nov 11, 2016
ECAS Decision Made: Nov 21, 2016
Passport Request: Dec 7, 2016
Passport Sent to Ottawa CPC: Dec 8, 2016 (We sent passport copy coz we're from visa waiver country)
Passport Arrived in Ottawa CPC: Dec 9, 2016
Passport Return from Ottawa CPC: Dec 16, 2016 (Tracking info of return envelope showed up online)
Received COPR: Dec 20, 2016
Visa Issue Date: Dec 15, 2016
PR Landing Date: Dec 24, 2016
Our MYCIC now shows "Approved", Case Status "Closed", Background Check "Complete", Final Decision "This application has been approved"
Our ECAS now shows "Complete". The last line is "You entered Canada at the Niagara Falls-Queenston-Lewiston Bridge office on December 24, 2016 and became a Permanent Resident."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks everyone here for all the supports and helps throughout the process since 2014. It's a chapter took me almost 20+ years in the making. And I wouldn't make it without your help.
Big shout out to Rossei for all the hard work you put on maintaining the spread sheets.
Best wishes for everyone to have a smooth sail with their cases.
