Hi all,
Since I've been a long-time lurker on these forums, I thought I'd share my most recent story and the knowledge that I just gained as a result.
I am a US Citizen that became a PR in Sept 2013. My PR card expired on Nov 7, 2018. I applied for my PR Card renewal back in April 2018. As I travel to and from the US for work almost weekly, having a current PR Card is important. My renewal application was rejected in September 2018 due to a minor photo issue that the photographer did not notice. I got a free retake from the photographer, and I sent it back the next day after receiving the rejection. I had not yet discovered this forum, so I assumed that when I sent it back, I wouldn't have to start all over, that I would get picked up at the same point of the process I was when the rejection was sent. Anyways, as it got closer to November, I got nervous, and started calling IRCC. They informed me about the Urgent processing request, so I filled that out online. 5 days later, they said they hadn't yet received my application so cannot process it for Urgent. Little did I know that when the application gets delivered, it just goes into a pile and sits there for months before they even open it. So they don't "receive" the application until months later...
Long story short, it got much closer to Nov 7 expiration date, so I had to send in a whole new application for Urgent processing. I sent it via FedEx overnight (due to the current Canada Post strike), and I still haven't heard anything (signed for at the CPC on Nov 2). As I have to take a trip to the US next week, and I no longer have my landing papers/COPR (lost them somehow), I called CBSA asking for advice on what my options were. Here's the knowledge I received:
They cannot and will not deny me entry at the border. The agent I spoke to even said that I can fly out of Toronto airport without issue since I'm a US Citizen - just to give the airlines my US passport both ways, and when I land at Pearson, I go to talk to an immigration officer, tell them my story about waiting on the PR card renewal, and they will let me enter Canada without issue. This was a big relief for me - hope that if anyone else is in a similar situation, it might set their mind at ease a bit.
Mind you - there may be some uniqueness here because of my US Citizenship and passport, which doesn't require any eTA or visa or anything for entry into the US nor Canada, but take it as you will. Again, hope it helps.
Since I've been a long-time lurker on these forums, I thought I'd share my most recent story and the knowledge that I just gained as a result.
I am a US Citizen that became a PR in Sept 2013. My PR card expired on Nov 7, 2018. I applied for my PR Card renewal back in April 2018. As I travel to and from the US for work almost weekly, having a current PR Card is important. My renewal application was rejected in September 2018 due to a minor photo issue that the photographer did not notice. I got a free retake from the photographer, and I sent it back the next day after receiving the rejection. I had not yet discovered this forum, so I assumed that when I sent it back, I wouldn't have to start all over, that I would get picked up at the same point of the process I was when the rejection was sent. Anyways, as it got closer to November, I got nervous, and started calling IRCC. They informed me about the Urgent processing request, so I filled that out online. 5 days later, they said they hadn't yet received my application so cannot process it for Urgent. Little did I know that when the application gets delivered, it just goes into a pile and sits there for months before they even open it. So they don't "receive" the application until months later...
Long story short, it got much closer to Nov 7 expiration date, so I had to send in a whole new application for Urgent processing. I sent it via FedEx overnight (due to the current Canada Post strike), and I still haven't heard anything (signed for at the CPC on Nov 2). As I have to take a trip to the US next week, and I no longer have my landing papers/COPR (lost them somehow), I called CBSA asking for advice on what my options were. Here's the knowledge I received:
They cannot and will not deny me entry at the border. The agent I spoke to even said that I can fly out of Toronto airport without issue since I'm a US Citizen - just to give the airlines my US passport both ways, and when I land at Pearson, I go to talk to an immigration officer, tell them my story about waiting on the PR card renewal, and they will let me enter Canada without issue. This was a big relief for me - hope that if anyone else is in a similar situation, it might set their mind at ease a bit.
Mind you - there may be some uniqueness here because of my US Citizenship and passport, which doesn't require any eTA or visa or anything for entry into the US nor Canada, but take it as you will. Again, hope it helps.
