Border Crossing into Canada - A Question (1 Viewer)

[dunderhead]

i came back up to Canada after 3 weeks in the states. naturally going into the staes there were loads of questions, forms to be filled out and stamps put on my pastport. just realised earlier that the border guy for states back to canada did nothing to my passport and just ushered me in basically. surely something had to be stamped as proof yeah? otherwise im still in the states on paper.wanna go back down there again at some stage. is there something that has to be done here?

cheers

 

[theoootini]

nearest irish embassy?

 

[Mormon Nailer]

When you entered the US did you fill out the visa waver form and if you did is it still stuck in your passport?

 

[bombidol]

Its usually stamped etc going in. I go into Canada from Detroit a fair bit, just on the lash for a night or whatever. and its ranged from A quick question while in the motor to getting out and being interviewed. but there was always a stamp involved. You should be grand once you have the green waiver in yer passport.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

Its usually stamped etc going in. I go into Canada from Detroit a fair bit, just on the lash for a night or whatever. and its ranged from A quick question while in the motor to getting out and being interviewed. but there was always a stamp involved. You should be grand once you have the green waiver in yer passport.

I dont think thats right!

Youre suppose to surrender the waiver when you leave the US and if you dont there can be hassle.
I was transisting through Atlanta recently and the lady from Homeland Security warned ne to be sure that I made the airline take the waver to show I had laft the US.

I never beleived that they were actually able to process all of the exit dates from the waivers. I forgot to surrender mine one and there was no problem the next time I tried to enter the US. But I was pulled out for interview once and HS were able to tell from the computer the exact length of all my previous stays so they must be processing the data somehow.

 

[pete]

they must be processing the data somehow.

airline-supplied data?

 

[Mormon Nailer]

airline-supplied data?

I guess so.

But they also have those US Visit self service kiosks in the airports that when you are leaving the US you have to stick in your passport to be scanned and give a photo and fingerprints as well.

So there must be more to it than the flight manifest.

 

[dunderhead]

yeah, the waver is still in my passport. hmmm. if i was supposed to surrender it as you say mormon, im still legal in the states until august the 2nd anyway, so once i get it stamped or waver removed before then by a HS guy there shouldnt be a problem i presume. will get on to irish embassy about it. thanks y'all

 

[the strange guy]

I was left with my green waiver when I left Miami for Ecuador.
I went to the US embassy in Quito to see what I should do.
They gave me an address in the states where I had to post the waiver along with photocopies of my passport (the bit with your photo and the page with your US entry stamp) and photocopies of my plane ticket stubs. I had to write a letter to them aswell explaining what was going on (ie Nobody took my waiver, I'm not in the states anymore).
Never heard back from them, but then I guess they're hardly going to be posting out a thank you card to me.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

yeah, the waver is still in my passport. hmmm. if i was supposed to surrender it as you say mormon, im still legal in the states until august the 2nd anyway, so once i get it stamped or waver removed before then by a HS guy there shouldnt be a problem i presume. will get on to irish embassy about it. thanks y'all

The waiver is a single entry deal so that won't work. The strange guy's advice above sounds like the right approach or else rip it out now and bin it and trust that they will not be too interested one way or the other.

You don't generally wear a turban or anything do you?

 

[dunderhead]

i have been known to yeah.i also like to wrap my sandwiches and a ticking clock together in tin foil when im travelling. superstitious thing ya know.

fuck it, im bin laden. it has been me all along. there, its out.

 

[rettucs]

The waiver is a single entry deal so that won't work. The strange guy's advice above sounds like the right approach or else rip it out now and bin it and trust that they will not be too interested one way or the other.

the single-entry thing isn't strictly true.

I crossed the border the weekend before last by bus, with the intention of spending a weekend in Canada, then back to the US on the monday. I had read this thread before I went and figured everything here made sense, that I'd have to surrender the landing card portion of my I-94, then fill out another on the way back.

But not so.

On the way into Canada there was no opportunity to give your card to anyone. The first time we met any kind of official was the Canadian immigration people. They just stamp your passport, don't care a damn about anything else, and wave you through after a cursory question or 2. It was all very laid back and easy.

The way back I expected a little more hardship. The bus driver had the forms needed for the various nationalities. 4 of us needed I-94s. 3 Irish and one Aussie. Of the 4 of us, 2 had I-94 landing cards in our passports and the others had Canadian working visas (so they were making their way into America for the first time).

Myself and the other person with the I-94 card filled out new forms regardless and figured we'd just say it to the immigration person that we had them, we'd filled out new forms, because we didn't know if we should or not. He told us that once we were re-entering the country within (I think he said) 30 days, the card was still valid. He scanned the passports but didn't re-stamp them, and waved us through. The others got a little more hassle because of the visas - but still got through eventually.

Stuff to note - when you go by land you have to pay $6 in american currency to submit an I-94 form. Not sure why this is waived for air travel but not so for land. And it has to be US currency - they have a cashier there and they accept credit cards.

The Aussie was heading home. The Irish girl was headed back to Canada. She intended holding onto her I-94 landing card for a while as she intended a couple more visits to the US before it expired. What to do with it when it eventually expires is anyones guess. I think the strange guy's advice won't help her much as she won't have airline tickets, etc, to send copies of in.

I'll find out in due course, when she eventually does have to figure out what to do. I'm sure there must be some process or other. With the amount of Aussies and Irish in Canada these days it has to be a very common situation that needs to be dealt with.

 

[penexpers]

When I was in Seattle, I went up to Vancouver for the weekend. I told the Canadian border dudes that I was only going for the weekend and that I would be coming back to the US then. They didn't take the slip out of my passport. On the way back, I didn't fill in another I-94 form and I was waved through border control, no problems.

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

related question-when you enter the states you gotta fill in some form including info on where your staying the first night,i was planning on entering through canada with no real plan as to where im staying,should i just pretend im staying in some nearby hotel or tell em i got no plan?

 

[penexpers]

I heard stories that if you can't give them an address then they don't let you in. So I would just find the name/address/phone number of a hotel somewhere and write it down (even if you don't intend to stay there). I don't think they go as far as checking to see if you have a reservation in a hotel.

 

[rettucs]

related question-when you enter the states you gotta fill in some form including info on where your staying the first night,i was planning on entering through canada with no real plan as to where im staying,should i just pretend im staying in some nearby hotel or tell em i got no plan?

yes, just give them an address.

Even if they did query it you could say the booking is in your mate's name that you're meeting in Seattle.

Really though, they don't ask a whole lot. Just a couple of basic questions. Where are you going, for how long, etc.

don't be worrying about it - its a doddle.

Entering through Canada though - they type all the shit from the i-94 into the computer there and then so you'll be waiting a couple of minutes to go through (in the airports they just take the document and wave you through). Also - have the 6 dollars in american money, or a credit card. You don't have it, you don't get in.

 

[rettucs]

When I was in Seattle, I went up to Vancouver for the weekend. I told the Canadian border dudes that I was only going for the weekend and that I would be coming back to the US then. They didn't take the slip out of my passport. On the way back, I didn't fill in another I-94 form and I was waved through border control, no problems.

yep, thats where I crossed too. Took the quickcoach to Vancouver for the weekend and then back again. Nice coach and cheap as chips.