To make a long story short, I was given quite a bit of trouble this weekend when I crossed the border via the Victoria Clipper and arrived in Seattle.
When you travel on the Clipper, you go through customs twice; once before you board, then again after arrival. The first officer was very nice and was perfectly fine with me visiting my husband.
The officer in Seattle however, was new (I think...since i have never seen him before, and I'm come to recognize most of them during this process,) and not so nice at all.
His response after finding out that the folder in my hand carried documents containing my CR1 visa was "Well I'm not supposed to let you visit now." I politely told him that I was sure he was wrong since I found a printout online from the NVC website stating that I was allowed to visit if I could prove ties to Canada. He asked to see the printout, so I pulled it out of the folder and he read it.
He pointed out the last part of the area I highlighted which stated "however, the CBP officer has the final say." I responded by informing him I was aware of that, and normally if I can produce ties to Canada as the form has stated, I am not given any trouble, since I have travelled back and forth many times during this process.
He then asked me for my ties to Canada (his supervisor was watching all this going on, and I was preparing to speak with him next if he still wasn't going to let me through.)
I pulled out a year's worth of pay stubs, an employment letter, some bank statements, which he sifted through and examined for a few minutes.
FINALLY... after a few more questions and pestering, he told me (with a big sigh) that I could go.

I can't even put into words how relieved I was after all that was over. The whole time he was looking over my documents and questioning me my heart was beating so hard I could feel it pounding in my chest. I don't think I showed my nervousness though, which I think is what saved me in the end. That and the endless amount of evidence I brought (my family always bugs me and tells me I worry too much when they see me preparing my folder for my travelling..now I think it's safe to say I proved them wrong.)

Anyways, I just wanted to post this as a bit of a reminder that too much evidence is never a bad thing. Going to the border over-prepared is better than showing up empty handed. I really don't think I would have gotten through if I didn't have that mountain of evidence with me, so if you ever think you are over-doing it with worrying and collecting evidence, think again! Better to be safe than sorry.

Now...I'm going to relax and enjoy my visit with my husband. The weather here in NC is warm, the sun is shining and the best thing is we're together to enjoy it

wow! way to go re: being prepared

I was thinking about visiting next week but I don't think I'm going to go (I would only be able to visit for 2 days maybe...) partly b/c it doesn't totally make sense for me to go and partly because now that my interview is so close I am kind of nervous! But we'll be together soon enough. I am glad that you made it through to be with your husband!!

Always good to be prepared!! Glad it turned out well. I always found it funny that I had no problems at all visiting the USa, but got more of a hassle coming back to Canada,lol

With US Customs you can NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER be TOO prepared.

Bottom line.

My daughter used to take the Clipper down to Seattle to see me before she got her K-2 visa, and I always worried that she might not be allowed in, but she never had any problems. She told them she was going to see her Mom who lived in the U.S. now and that she was awaiting the approval of her K-2 Visa. She was never asked for proof of ties to Canada.

I'm glad you were allowed to enter and that you were well prepared for the officers. I sometimes think they just like the power trip they are on in their jobs.

Have a wonderful visit with your husband.

Glad it worked out in your favour, misty. Being prepared always helps.

Phew. That's a relief. Good for you, Misty. Keeners drive me crazy sometimes.

Thanks for posting this. Just goes to show that you never can tell how much hassle you're going to get. Seems to depend entirely on the individual opinion of the immigration officer you end up dealing with. So, having as much information as you can to prove your ties back home is essential.
Anyway, glad you made it, enjoy your time together

"I politely told him that I was sure he was wrong since I found a printout online from the NVC website stating that I was allowed to visit if I could prove ties to Canada. He asked to see the printout, so I pulled it out of the folder and he read it.
He pointed out the last part of the area I highlighted which stated "however, the CBP officer has the final say." I responded by informing him I was aware of that, and normally if I can produce ties to Canada as the form has stated, I am not given any trouble, since I have travelled back and forth many times during this process."

Do you have a link of where you found this print out? I think i could use that too.

Here's the link:
http://www.amcits.com/immigration_usa_relative.asp

The paragraph I showed him is at the very bottom, I just highlighted it after I printed it out to make it easier to find.

I'm glad you were able to get through to see your husband. I had a similar experience when going through Toronto airport to see my fiancee 1 time. I had all the evidence in the world to show them I was returning, yet they still wanted to hassle me. They finally let me through, but gave me 10 minutes to get to my plane and I still had to go through security with my son, who was 3 at the time. This goes to show you, you can never be too prepared and always give yourself enough time.

I'm glad you were able to get through! Again, time and time again we've talked about having all the documention, which you did...and a great job you did of putting this stuff together by the sounds of it!

You can never be too sure eh? Each individual border official can use their descretion. Sometimes descretion is good...you know, not rigid rules? Other times...it can give a lot of leeway for abuse of power.

While you're heart was pounding I'm sure, with the guys supervisor looking over his shoulder, it does sound like he was just doing his job, and was being thorough.

Relax and enjoy your special time with your partner now!

Carla

That's awesome that you were able to state your case, inform the duty guard that you were educated with the procedures and you had all of your documentation in order.

Good for you!!!!! I understand that the guards are there to protect their country ... but I've found that so many of them can be extremely misinformed .. and that they can have a powertripping attitude.

I had a great laugh when I read this as it brought back one of my most recent crossings to see my husband. Normally I am prepared with my I130 package, pay stubs, bills, etc though definately not as much as Misty LOL In the last few weeks I've been crossing ALOT and nexus finally sent me in for a 'compliance' check (computer randomly selects you, though I think it's BS) and in I go to secondary. Now I've just come from the US into canada that morning and now I'm heading back that evening and all of my paperwork is sitting in my gym bag, which is sitting in the living room in the US LOL So the guy at the desk starts with 20 questions, where am I going, where does my husband live, where do I work, how often do I cross, how many nights a week I sleep there, have I filed paperwork, when was it received. I answer all of these as honestly as possible

I get released and not a problem, though I'm pretty sure the nice guy at the desk typed some notes right next to my name I'm thankful that in Windsor/Detroit they deal with this all the time otherwise I probably would have gotten turned around. So yes it's a good idea to be prepared all the time. I have to remember that.

I'm so glad you got through, Misty. Good on you for being so prepared! I bet those immigration officials felt like they had egg on their face when you went through. Some of them are just so unnecessarily mean.

You can never be too prepared, that's the truth. It's amazing how little our families (on both sides) seem to understand this fact. Both Americans and Canadians who never have to go through this grueling process seem to think it's a "no brainer" and all you have to do is "walk on through." If you say it's any tougher than that, they claim you're "making things more difficult than they need to be." No, we're not -- customs is is!

I always worry whenever my fiancee has to go through U.S. Customs. But to be perfectly fair, Canadian Customs is not picnic either. I've dealt with some really difficult (and overly paranoid) customs officers on the Canadian side. Because of this, I bring every little bit of evidence proving my ties to the United States. It works both ways.

I honestly think that, if at all possible, both the American and the Canadian in the relationship should become dual-citizens. Sure, it's a hassle -- it takes extra time and money, but when all is said and done, you never have to go through U.S./Canadian Customs again as a potential "immigration risk" and have your vacation ruined because some officer had a bad day.

I don't think it is that easy to become a citizen of Canada. I'd have to apply for and get permanent residence which would take 9 - 18 months and cost over $1K and also stay in Canada I believe it's 3 out of 5 years or something like that. Getting the citizenship just isn't easy.

Everyone in America always says to me, "They have universal health care in Canada!," too. It's like they're watching Michael Moore's movies too much. They think I can prace up here and get health care when that's NOT the case. I'm not even qualified to get it because I'm married to a Canadian citizen. They don't just hand you health care.

You're right, not easy but fun. We have skiing and snowball fights etc etc

My Husband has been here 7 years are we are just applying for his Canadian citizenship now. The thing with PR is that once you get it, as long as you are living with the Canadian Citizen (no matter where in the world you are) you maintain your PR status - living with the Canadian spouse is considered residency for PR purposes. But yes, I can see it would be a hassle if you didn't really want to live in Canada and wait for your PR.

From what I've read and heard, the process to become a Canadian permanent resident and citizen is less complex than to become an American permanent resident and citizen. None of the immigration processes are "easy," but the United States makes it unnecessarily difficult.

1. For instance, in the case of Family Sponsorship in Canada, the sponsored person may reside within Canada while being sponsored. You can't do that while applying with the U.S., even with the K1 Visa! Sure, with the K1 you and your fiancee can be together during some of the process, but in Canada, you and your partner can be together during all of it.

2. There are no financial requirements that need to be met if the person requiring sponsorship is the "spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child" of the Canadian sponsor. Try making that case with U.S. immigration and they'll laugh at you!

3. While waiting for their Canadian Immigration Visas, sponsored persons are allowed to work and/or study in Canada after their Sponsorship Application has been approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Contrast this rule with the myriad regulations applied to the various U.S. visas, none of which allow a sponsored person to work and/or study as soon as the Canadian counterpart. Some U.S. visas go so far as to disallow legal employment for months at a time.

4. On average, the wait time for a Family Sponsorship to process (in relation to a U.S. spouse) is around six months, not "9 - 18 months." Of course, it is good to remember that the number given is an average and some people wait longer and some people wait less. Overall though, the usual wait time is around six months.

Canada also changes the speed of their processing depending on where the sponsored person is -- if he or she is within Canada (with the sponsor), then then Canadian Immigration services tend to take their time. They figure the couple is already living together, so there's no rush. If, however, the two are living apart in separate countries, the process is sped up so they can be reunited. The U.S. does nothing of the sort, since it's become apparent the U.S. government couldn't care less and in some circles, would actually love to prevent Americans from marrying those who aren't Americans.

5. As long as a Permanent Resident remains with his or her spouse, he or she is considered "residing within Canada" even if he or she (and his or her spouse) is outside the country. There's no such provision like this on the U.S. side, so it doesn't matter who the U.S. PR is with if they're outside of the United States. To the U.S. government, they're still counted as "outside America."

6. Canada extends Family Sponsorship to same-sex couples, because the country recognizes those marriages as legal and legitimate. The U.S., on the other hand, does not recognize this on a national level. Only one state (Massachusetts) acknowledges right of same-sex couples to marry and then only a handful of other states permit same-sex civil unions (California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington state, Washington DC, and New Hampshire and Oregon, both of which will begin allowing these procedures on January 1, 2008) to occur. For many people, this isn't really an issue, but it's just another sign of how restrictive the entire process is on the America side.