I need your suggestions?

[XPRSURSLF 0]

Dear members,

I have couple of questions that I need your help on. I will list them below. If you can answer them I would really appreciate it:

1) I have a flight to catch from Buffalo, why are one way rent a car rates to Buffalo so expensive from Toronto? Since I have luggage I am booking a Uhaul truck and I hope its not a hassle at the border. Any suggestions?

2) Can anyone suggest to me if peace bridge is a good option. I have read tons of landing experience but since I have never traveled by land to US before it would be nice if someone can tell me what is the best time for me to cross the bridge without getting stuck in weekend traffic. (I can check traffic updates on the web but any personal suggestion would be nice). Also, since I would be filling some paper work I need to know the best time to cross the border without getting stuck in traffic on the weekend.

3) I am a permanent resident of Canada and I will be entering in Buffalo in order to activate my CR1 status. We will then be flying to Houston. Does anyone know if I can keep both my Canadian PR and US GC or should I surrender either one. I have lots of things going on in Canada and I don't want to give up my PR at the moment. Do US border agents ask about such things? If yes what should I say?

4) Any custom related tips you can give me. For now I will be taking a packing list with me for 5 suitcases which will be having our clothes mainly. When you immigrate to Canada for the first time, there is usually certain amount of money that you can declare tax free. Does anyone know if its the same or similar process applies for USA.

Your suggestions and opinions are really valuable to me. I have got my CR1 visa approved after a long wait. When I moved to Canada from my home country, the US consulate back home asked me to transfer my case to Montreal but unfortunately the folks at Montreal refused to transfer my case and were somewhat mean. This is contrary to my personal experience of people in Canada and US so I know you guys can help.

Thank you and have a good one

[pocheros 101]

3) I am a permanent resident of Canada and I will be entering in Buffalo in order to activate my CR1 status. We will then be flying to Houston. Does anyone know if I can keep both my Canadian PR and US GC or should I surrender either one. I have lots of things going on in Canada and I don't want to give up my PR at the moment. Do US border agents ask about such things? If yes what should I say?

I can't really help with your other questions but NO you cannot be a PR of both Canada and the US. You have to pick one, in this case you're giving up your Canadian PR status. You CEASE to be a PR of Canada the day you enter the US and activate your visa. Yes border officers are on the lookout for this kind of thing because many people try to get away with maintaining residency in both countries but you cannot do this. You tell them you are entering the US to activate your visa. If they ask about PR status you tell them you are giving up your residency in Canada to take up residency in the US.

[XPRSURSLF 0]

I can't really help with your other questions but NO you cannot be a PR of both Canada and the US. You have to pick one, in this case you're giving up your Canadian PR status. You CEASE to be a PR of Canada the day you enter the US and activate your visa. Yes border officers are on the lookout for this kind of thing because many people try to get away with maintaining residency in both countries but you cannot do this. You tell them you are entering the US to activate your visa. If they ask about PR status you tell them you are giving up your residency in Canada to take up residency in the US.

Ok thnx for your reply. I can give up Canadian PR but I believe I don't have to do that at the US border. I have things pending in Canada, I can't just pack up and leave for good. How can people hold dual citizenship of both US and Canada then.... either way I will be honest to the border agent if he/she questions me.

[warlord 73]

How can people hold dual citizenship of both US and Canada then.... either way I will be honest to the border agent if he/she questions me.

Because you can be a citizen of each country and hence hold dual citizenship. You stated your are only a PR, that is nothing to do with being a citizen. You can be a citizen of one country and a PR of the other and be fine, or be a dual citizen. But that requires you to go through the entire citizenship process in order to obtain that. Which in your case you would have to have done that in Canada before giving up your PR status...

[configuration 2]

I can't really help with your other questions but NO you cannot be a PR of both Canada and the US. You have to pick one, in this case you're giving up your Canadian PR status. You CEASE to be a PR of Canada the day you enter the US and activate your visa.

This is simply not true. It is possible to be a permanent resident of both countries for a short period of time, although eventually it will become mathematically impossible to satisfy residency requirements in both countries. But neither country has any rule against being a PR of the other. Indeed, the Canadian citizenship application (which you fill in after being a PR of Canada for 3 years) specifically asks if you are also a PR of any ohter country. if so, they will review your application carefully to ensure that you have met Canada's residency requirement (and this might delay the process) but if they are satisfied that you do, you can legally proceed to acquire Canadian citizenship.

The only point at which it is feasible to consider being a PR of both countries is if you are close to acquiring citizenship of one, and plan to continue living in the other. This was the case with a colleague of mine who was a Canadian PR, applied for and received a US green card, was able to navigate residency requirements in both countries for a few months until his Canadian citizenship application was approved, and then moved permanently to the US.

[XPRSURSLF 0]

Does anyone have experience or suggestion regarding questions 1, 2 and 4??

[Inky 1,111]

Dear members,

I have couple of questions that I need your help on. I will list them below. If you can answer them I would really appreciate it:

1) I have a flight to catch from Buffalo, why are one way rent a car rates to Buffalo so expensive from Toronto? Since I have luggage I am booking a Uhaul truck and I hope its not a hassle at the border. Any suggestions?

Because you have to pay for the cost of leaving the car and them having to send it back.

Uhaul truck is what most people do when moving to the USA. There is no issue or anything of the sort at the border with this.

2) Can anyone suggest to me if peace bridge is a good option. I have read tons of landing experience but since I have never traveled by land to US before it would be nice if someone can tell me what is the best time for me to cross the bridge without getting stuck in weekend traffic. (I can check traffic updates on the web but any personal suggestion would be nice). Also, since I would be filling some paper work I need to know the best time to cross the border without getting stuck in traffic on the weekend.

The best time to cross is not on the weekend. Usually early early morning or late evening.

4) Any custom related tips you can give me. For now I will be taking a packing list with me for 5 suitcases which will be having our clothes mainly. When you immigrate to Canada for the first time, there is usually certain amount of money that you can declare tax free. Does anyone know if its the same or similar process applies for USA.

Moving to the US you can bring as much suit cases or items as you want. Crossing by land you need 6$ USD to pay for the I-94.

Your suggestions and opinions are really valuable to me. I have got my CR1 visa approved after a long wait. When I moved to Canada from my home country, the US consulate back home asked me to transfer my case to Montreal but unfortunately the folks at Montreal refused to transfer my case and were somewhat mean. This is contrary to my personal experience of people in Canada and US so I know you guys can help.

Thank you and have a good one

[warlord 73]

Well one way car rentals are always a lot of money because they eventually have to bring that car back in most cases since it's registered in that location. So international one way car drop off would be even more since then they have to bring that car back internationally...

[XPRSURSLF 0]

Ok thanks all. I am planning on being there 6 am in the morning on Saturday. Hopefully that's not too late..

[XPRSURSLF 0]

Hello everyone,

First of all thanks for the tips I got from fellow members on this forum. I drove this morning from Mississauga to Buffalo via peace bridge. I arrived there at 6.30 am in my Uhaul truck. Since it was Saturday morning, the place was nearly empty. There were two cars ahead of me. I pulled in the RV lane and the border agent asked for passports and what was inside our truck. I told him I am here to activate my CR1 visa and I have my personal belongings in the truck. He swiped the passports and handed it back to me. I asked him "where should I go?" He replied back by saying "You can go wherever you want to go" I reminded him that I need a stamp on my passport because its my first time entering on CR1 visa. Then he took our passports and gave us white slip. We were directed to gate 2 and asked to park our truck. The hall was nearly empty with only 4-5 ppl inside and around 15-20 border agents.

A nice gentleman by the name of "Kessler" called our name. He was very professional. 15 mins later and from that point onwards everything was smooth. We went in at 6.45am and we were out by 7.45am. The guy never asked about residency status in Canada. He did ask where I lived in Canada though and the packing list etc. He explained the residency rules in US and that was about it. Stamped the passport and said I am authorized to work in the US. I didn't need to pay $6 for I-94, neither I was given one. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Hope this helps for future travelers especially non Canadians immigrating via Peace bridge to US. Cheers