POE - Pembina, North Dakota

[Dualie 185]

Hello all! Well, I finally made it here! The last four days have been absolutely manic. I completely finished with my employment on Friday, and we had a bit of a bash at a pub downtown. My husband came into town and joined us. Saturday morning we were hard at it, packing almost everything I own into his GMC truck. We were so lucky that the weather was good, because it turned miserable yesterday.

I wrote a review on our POE experience and thought I would post it here :

We arrived at the Pembina, North Dakota Point Of Entry at around 3:30 PM on Saturday. Two lanes were open and there was very little traffic. The officer in the lane asked for our passports and my sealed packet, and then asked to see my manifest. He leafed through my manifest and handed it back to us. He asked if there were any firearms (no), then directed us to the visitors parking area. We were driving my husband's big GMC Sierra with ND plates, packed to the brim, and the officer didn't seem to interested in inspecting the contents (thank Heaven!!).

We went inside and waited...for about 45 minutes. Then I was called up and the officer asked if I had our marriage certificate, which I showed him. He said he just wanted to ensure that I was issued the correct visa (CR1 vs IR1). I sat back down and waited another 25 minutes or so, and was called up to the counter where the officer took my right forefinger print for their file. I then went back and waited with my husband for another half hour or so.

Finally at around 5 PM we were called up to the counter and the officer handed us back our passports. He joked with my husband that the picture in his passport didn't do him justice, and then showed me the stamp on my visa and explained about the expiry of the CR1 and when to file to remove conditions. I knew everything he was telling me because of my VJ experience, but I let him continue uninterrupted. He gave me a Welcome To The United States Of America pamphlet and wished us good luck.

All in all, because we were not importing a vehicle and nearly all of my worldly possessions were in the back of the truck, the POE experience was easy and hassle free. Now comes the unpacking and making a new life with my husband. We don't have to concern ourselves with the next phase of our journey (ROC) for a while, but I will still be reading and researching here on VJ!

So now I am up to my ears in boxes, but our home is slowly taking shape. I should hopefully have my SSN by late next week and then the real fun begins. Best of luck for those of you still waiting. I hope things start moving soon. I am grateful for this site, and so very happy that I don't have to worry about immigration anything for a while!

Edited April 20, 2015 by Dualie

[OLee 64]

Thanks for sharing and Congratulations! I am very happy for you both