Entering US through Coach Canada

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I don't know if this is much of an option for you, but do you have any friends or relatives that may be willing to take you across to Buffalo? In my experiences crossing is the easiest this way. Whenever I would go over with my father they wouldn't bother to ask many questions... I remember once the border official asked me something like "you do plan on coming home right?" and my dad piped in and said, "she better or I'll go down there and kick her @ss!" That was the end of that! Maybe if you offered some money to pay for gas and their time it would be a little easier?

Maybe you could rent-a-Dad!! Huggles' dad seems quite a good choice.

unfortunately Toronto is his least favorite place to be. Although, he did take me to my immigration medical in TO. After that he said, "Ok, I mean it this time, I'm not taking you to Montreal!" He later admitted that he would have. I'm his favorite (but don't tell the siblings)

[darkchilde794 5]

LOL thanks everyone for their advice! Had some giggles reading.

Ant: Yeah, reading your post def had my wheels turning about the possibility of taking the bus!!!

But considering that I have no real strong ties to Canada bec I now live at home and I graduated from school, maybe taking the bus will be harder than taking a plane...

Igg: I dont drive but Im seriously considering renting a car and driving it across the border (or finding someone who will! bec I havent driven since moving uptown TO) and maybe us TO-around TO VJ members can take a road trip to the Buffalo Airport LOL!!! HEY if someone likes that idea, Im seriously considering it

Hugglebuggles: Aww that is a very sweet thing to hear! Maybe your dad can adopt me too? LOL!

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

I've taken a lot of buses to the USA.

I can tell you it's been very quick through the border (25 to 30 minutes) and I've also been there up to 8 hours. The fastest times I ever had is going over night, and the slowest the middle of the day.

Often times it's the complications of the 50 other passengers crossing and not you, which affects your time. There are times where people on the bus are questioned more than others, and the bus is forced to wait for them until border patrol tells the driver they are inadmissible or they are fine to get back on board.

I'd advise you to give yourself as much time as possible, even if that means sleeping in the airport over night or getting there really early.

I totally agree with this. I haven't taken the bus in years, but when I used to take it the wait times at the border were really random. I've waited up to 4 hours which was not fun at all. That was even in the middle of the night and that was before everyone even got off the bus. I think it was a long weekend and they were back logged with buses... not fun at all!!

I also found that they were a little more harsh in their questioning to me when I took the bus. They always just wanted a lot of information, wanted to know how much money I had, where I was staying, why I was bringing so many pairs of pants (no joke) and just insane questions that I've never received when flying. I was also a lot younger and in school, so maybe they thought I was riskier, I don't know.

You'll also need to bring money to pay for the I-94 for land crossings. I believe it's $6. When we fly, it's included in our ticket, but by land there is a fee so make sure to have some US cash on you.

Great advice. I've had a few friends fly out of Buffalo, so I'm not the only one but I agree. They tend to rake you over the coals. I think that they figure that if you take the bus, you must be poor and trying to sneak into the country. My brother did the bus route and they asked him a few questions but since he has an eagle on his passport they couldn't hassle him much. He actually had more fun at Pearson when he was flying out, but it only happened once.

[Krikit 1,163]

but since he has an eagle on his passport they couldn't hassle him much.

Is that some sort of secret club?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Whichever method you choose bring along a copy of your K-1 paperwork to date - it shows you have intent to follow the correct immigration process and already have money and time invested in it. It adds credibility to your statement that you are returning to Canada - it actually acts as a tie to Canada for the time being because you need to be in Canada to complete the process.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

but since he has an eagle on his passport they couldn't hassle him much.

Is that some sort of secret club?

Sometimes I wonder.