Land crossing - Toronto to Buffao

[kimmbo 0]

Krystin, sorry to hear about your bad experience at the Peace Bridge.. when I was in a Canadian Immigration group (I Immigrated 5 years ago) there were always compliaints about the bridges, mostly the Rainbow, but alot did have some bad experiences at the Peace Bridge as well.. at that time the Queenston/Lewiston was the preferred crossing...but then again it just all depends on who you get and what kind of mood they are in!

[misa 2]

Just wanted to update people on the Peace Bridge crossing on March 23, 2007.

We arrived at about 2 p.m. with a car full of animals (3 cats and 1 dog), their supplies and food and some clothes and valuables (printer, digital video camera, digital camera). Really not that much stuff since the rest is coming with a moving company separately.

Told the guy at the booth that we were activating a K3 and he took our passports, told us to go to park in the lot and go to building number 1 where they'd call our names. He gave us a slip where he had written down the license plate, number of occupants and circled "CBPI" on it (there is CBPC, CBPI and CBPA" which I assume is CBP Immigration.

My husband stayed in the car with the animals (they had his passport too) and I went inside. After a few minutes I went back outside to grab him since I figured they'd need him inside too. I didn't like leaving the animals in the car but there were 2 officers patrolling the lot. When he was outside with the animals the officers said hi to my dog, didn't look at the cats, didn't ask for the animals' paperwork and didn't ask for a itemised list of what was in the car. They did look briefly in the trunk and commented that we brought too much dog & cat food across the border since there's meat in it but they let it slide and I think their comment was more of an aside (Kimmbo, you should call and ask how much dog food you can bring across with you).

Anyway, it wasn't crowded inside but I think the majority of the people that had been pulled inside were for customs checks since there were whole families in there who looked like they were doing cross border shopping. Maybe a few TNs in there too that had been pulled aside. After about 45 mins an officer came out asked if I had the sealed envelope (which by the way, I had guarded with my life along with my passport since the visa issuance!) and I gave it to him. He told us to go to building 3 which was reserved for checking people from buses but it was empty. He took a fewminutes at the window, called us back up, told me the terms of the visa, the I-94 ($6 USD, silly me asked "Canadian or US?" duh!), what forms to fill out for AOS and EAD and wished us a good day. He was extremely nice and helpful and we chatted about how he sees a lot more K1s and CR-1/IR-1 visas over K3s. No biometrics or anything else taken.

And that was pretty much it! When we got back to the car, my dog was asleep on the driver's seat.

Everyone we encountered at the Peace Bridge was super nice, from the first officer, to the parking lot officers, to the officer that did my paperwork and entered me in the system. I think the key is to cross when it is NOT rush hour or a busy day (like a Canadian or US holiday).

Edited March 27, 2007 by misa

[kimmbo 0]

Thanks for the review Misa, I wish we were crossing in Buffalo when we move but we will end up crossing near Detroit...

Im not too happy either about having to leave my cats in the car...since its my husband they will be talking to, Im sure I will keep going in and out to check on them.. Cant leave him alone for too long though he always gets nervous around customs even though he hasnt done anything wrong..LOL..If I leave him alone too long he will start telling corny jokes and may end up with a cavity search..LOL

My cats eat dry food, so I plan on taking a couple bags with me. Had a FULL bag taken from me at the airport before! Usually when we go on vacation and come home I have a full unopened bag waiting...but I knew that I didnt this time so I bought a full bag at PetSmart before we flew home so I would have it here... When they took the bag I explained to Mr Customs that my cats are both diabetic and if possible could I please take a couple handfuls of the food so I could feed them when we got home..we usually arrive around 630 in the morning so nothing was opened (at least no place that sells their food)...he actually opened the bag and let me poor some into a baggy I had in my purse, filled it as full as I could get it...meanwhile my husband who had about 300 bags of beef jerky in his bag and was already figuring out a plan to sit in a corner and eat it all because he wasnt gonna give it up...LOL...they didnt even ask about the jerky.. (ok so he didnt have 300 more like 12...he LOVES Jack Links Carne Asada Jalapeno jerky which they JUST STARTED carrying here at the Canadian SuperStore)

We have small car so must of the stuff we take in it will be for the cats, water, paperwork, cameras and snacks ...we plan on taking some Tim Hortons coffee, Passion Flakies, Ketchup Chips and Wunderbars..those are things my husband MUST have so hopefully they will let us take them..!!

Glad to hear that you got in and out fairly quickly and all went well on your drive HOME..

[misa 2]

They *may* be more lax about the food for the critters since you'll be pulled in for Immigration, not Customs. I had brought 10lbs of dog food, 8lbs of cat food and 3 cases of canned canned cat food with me along with a ton of rawhide chews and dog cookies and they let it slide. Have all their vet paperwork with you too (which I'm sure you will have on hand) and hopefully they'll let you bring food across. They didn't even ask to see my paperwork which was good. I know cats don't need their shots but I was worried since one of them isn't vaccinated because he's INSANE at the vet. Believe me, we tried to no avail. But I also had the CDC page printed out about the "importation of pets" in case we ran into problems with the unvaccinated kitty.

What you could also do is contact vet offices along the route to see if you can pickup their prescription food along the way since you'll have a VERY long drive ahead of you.

[EmilyRugBurn 0]

Great review, misa! 2 quick questions... (I hope you don't mind! I'm practically stalking you today -- that's what you get for being only a few steps ahead of me in this process!):

1. Did they ask you for a list of everything you brought with you? (Did they ask about how the rest of your belongings were getting to the US?)

2. What exactly is the I-94?

Okay, so that was more like 3 questions...

[misa 2]

Heh, no problem!

1. They didn't ask me for a list of what I brought (I had a list though) and they didn't ask if my other belongings were coming later. I assume it's because the ABF Upack driver will have to deal with that when he gets to the border.

2. The I-94 is the departure record which basically states when you have to leave the U.S. on that particular visa (K3, 2 years multiple entry). It's just a passport sized sheet stapled on the page adjacent to your visa page in your passport.

[kimmbo 0]

Emily Im glad youre asking these questions... Were still at the *waiting for NOA1 for the I-129F stage* but Im TRYING to be as organized as I can... I have one folder of stuff I need to know now and one folder of stuff I will need to know for our move... so please keep asking!..LOL

[misa 2]

Emily and Kimmbo, feel free to ask me anything you guys need to know.

[EmilyRugBurn 0]

Heh, no problem!

1. They didn't ask me for a list of what I brought (I had a list though) and they didn't ask if my other belongings were coming later. I assume it's because the ABF Upack driver will have to deal with that when he gets to the border.

2. The I-94 is the departure record which basically states when you have to leave the U.S. on that particular visa (K3, 2 years multiple entry). It's just a passport sized sheet stapled on the page adjacent to your visa page in your passport.

Perfect! Thanks! Yes, I figured I'd make a list too, just in case.

Ah-ha, it's a departure record. Gotcha!

And lol at kimmbo! I'm happy to do your dirty work for ya!

(Oh, btw -- I grew up in Brampton. My folks still live there. Small world, eh?!)

[misa 2]

Emily, they also offer "terminal to terminal" service which is cheaper than door to door. The closest terminal in Toronto is Brampton but you have to haul your stuff there and load the trailer or cube and then you do the same at your destination. So if you know someone who has a truck or something you can borrow, that will shave hundreds off your price. For example, terminal to terminal service with me would have cost about $700 USD but door to door is $1,100 USD.

[EmilyRugBurn 0]

Emily, they also offer "terminal to terminal" service which is cheaper than door to door. The closest terminal in Toronto is Brampton but you have to haul your stuff there and load the trailer or cube and then you do the same at your destination. So if you know someone who has a truck or something you can borrow, that will shave hundreds off your price. For example, terminal to terminal service with me would have cost about $700 USD but door to door is $1,100 USD.

Ooo, thanks! Very good info! I like that they give you lots of options on how you want to do things.

(Oh, and misa? You rule the school!! Thanks SO much for all your help!!)

[kimmbo 0]

anytime I can get someone to do my dirty work Im happy..LOL..

Before I found VJ I tried another Immigration group..I looked over all paperwork and had a couple questions that I just wanted to verify.. the response I got was that I should "look over all forms and paperwork BEFORE asking a question" because they dont "spoon feed" people... thank goodness I found VJ!!

Misa thats a great pretty good price...our move is a bit farther so were quoted from U-Pack with $1900 (US) Terminal to Terminal or $2100 (US) door to door... it may seem like alot but its much better than the $4000-$5000 for U-Haul!

Kimmbo

Edited March 27, 2007 by kimmbo

[kimmbo 0]

*timeline update* woo hoo...just got our NOA-1 for the I-129F!

just re-reading my previous post, hope it didnt sound like Im glad I found VJ so people can spoon feed me..LOL..I just meant that everyone has been so nice here and Im not afraid to ask a question so I can clear things up in my head..LOL

Edited March 27, 2007 by kimmbo

[EmilyRugBurn 0]

*timeline update* woo hoo...just got our NOA-1 for the I-129F!

just re-reading my previous post, hope it didnt sound like Im glad I found VJ so people can spoon feed me..LOL..I just meant that everyone has been so nice here and Im not afraid to ask a question so I can clear things up in my head..LOL

Heh, I'm sure no one took it that way, kimmbo! I feel the same way about this place.

And congrats on your NOA-1! You're on your way!

I just hope your I-130 goes through faster than ours has. (I see we've both gone through Vermont.) I'm moving in a few weeks and I've not yet received my NOA-2 -- I can't even Adjust Status until that happens! SO frustrating. I can't wait `til we get into the US so we call the USCIS and see what the heck is going on with it. 7 months and no touches - nothing! VERY frustrating!

[misa 2]

*timeline update* woo hoo...just got our NOA-1 for the I-129F!

just re-reading my previous post, hope it didnt sound like Im glad I found VJ so people can spoon feed me..LOL..I just meant that everyone has been so nice here and Im not afraid to ask a question so I can clear things up in my head..LOL

Congrats on getting the NOA1 for the I-129F!

And don't be silly, no one took that the wrong way. We're all here to help each other!