POE Review and a couple of questions...

[Sam and Ben 2]

So, we crossed at the Ambassador Bridge early morning on Sunday, December 27th (about 6:45am). Ben and I drove in his truck, with all of my things dispersed amongst eight large totes in the bed of the truck and the rest within suitcases in the cab (including his luggage for the visit prior to our moving). My totes were covered my a large tarp and fastened with heavy ratchet ties.

When we approached the booth, we told the officer that we were activating my K1 Visa and that we were headed down to Florida. He asked what was in the truck - to which I handed him a copy of my inventory list - and how much money (US and Canadian) I was traveling with. He took down my fiance's plates and then handed back everything we had given him and told us to drive on up to where some officers were standing.

These officers told us to get out, asked us what was in the truck (handed them the list again) and told us to head inside. We were two of only six people in there, so I was real glad about that. We were called up right away and after telling the officer that we were activating my Visa, I handed him the sealed envelope. He asked Ben's address, took our passports and told us to sit down.

This guy had clearly not dealt with K1s very often, as he called me up a couple of minutes later and asked which office I had filed my visa at. I was confused, so I asked if he meant where we had filed the petition at (Vermont) or where I interviewed for the visa (Montreal). He said he meant the office near Ben's address where we would've filed the petition. I politely explained that only Vermont handles our type of petition, however everything filed after this will be done through the Orlando USCIS office. This answer seemed to satisfy him, so he said he was almost done and we could sit for a couple more minutes.

After about ten minutes (mostly watching him socialize with the other officers), he called us up once again and we watched him staple the I-94 to the second page of my passport. I paid him the money ($6) for the stamp and he asked when we were getting married, wished us good luck and congratulations. He then reminded me to file "the rest of this stuff" asap after getting married.

We took our things and went outside. The officers had definitely gone through the truck - all of our ties were undone and to the side, the tarp was moved and two of the totes were cut open (I had to tape down the lids to keep them shut). The suitcases in the cab were rearranged, but it didn't look as if anything there had been opened.

All in all, took about 45 minutes, the majority of which was waiting. Very painless... BUT a couple of questions...

1. He didn't take any fingerprints. Is this a problem?

2. My I-94, though specifically stating that I entered as a K1, says "Multiple Entry". I didn't notice this until we were long outside of the building, but I'm curious... did he do something wrong? Obviously I have no intention of trying to leave the country without AP, but still, was I given a correct I-94 or is this something I should be worried about?

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Wow, you drove to Florida?

What a drive, I've been on that trip a few times by car.

Welcome to the US!

And fudge, I forgot to ask for that stamp, oh well.

And my fingerprints weren't taken either.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Rhiann

[Malrothien 6]

There you are! I was wondering about you.

[Sam and Ben 2]

Haha, we did. And all in one trip! It took us 20 hours, with about 18 of that as actual drive time.

Thank goodness, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We missed a HUGE snow storm by a day.

I didn't ask for the stamp, he just went ahead and did it. I thought it was a requirement.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Sam and Ben

[Wis-Can 0]

Sometimes they take the fingerprints, sometimes they don't. I don't think it really matters considering they make you take biometrics when you adjust status anyways and they do your fingerprints then. My I-94 also says multiple entries on it. Apparently according to border patrol when I called they "all" say that now, but that its up to you to know that your a K-1 visa is a one time entry. Glad you POE visit went relatively well. Take care.

[antda 13]

Hi Sam and Ben,

Congrats on a successful POE! Thanks for sharing about that detailed experience about that crossing here on VJ!

Welcome to America, Sam and Ben!

Congrats too, on getting married in the new year too, and may you enjoy the happiness that married life brings!

Glad you made it through, before the snowstorm hit (lol..the last time I crossed the border, that's what happened too..made it before the snowstorm).....

And good luck with the rest of your journey too!

Ant

So, we crossed at the Ambassador Bridge early morning on Sunday, December 27th (about 6:45am). Ben and I drove in his truck, with all of my things dispersed amongst eight large totes in the bed of the truck and the rest within suitcases in the cab (including his luggage for the visit prior to our moving). My totes were covered my a large tarp and fastened with heavy ratchet ties.

When we approached the booth, we told the officer that we were activating my K1 Visa and that we were headed down to Florida. He asked what was in the truck - to which I handed him a copy of my inventory list - and how much money (US and Canadian) I was traveling with. He took down my fiance's plates and then handed back everything we had given him and told us to drive on up to where some officers were standing.

These officers told us to get out, asked us what was in the truck (handed them the list again) and told us to head inside. We were two of only six people in there, so I was real glad about that. We were called up right away and after telling the officer that we were activating my Visa, I handed him the sealed envelope. He asked Ben's address, took our passports and told us to sit down.

This guy had clearly not dealt with K1s very often, as he called me up a couple of minutes later and asked which office I had filed my visa at. I was confused, so I asked if he meant where we had filed the petition at (Vermont) or where I interviewed for the visa (Montreal). He said he meant the office near Ben's address where we would've filed the petition. I politely explained that only Vermont handles our type of petition, however everything filed after this will be done through the Orlando USCIS office. This answer seemed to satisfy him, so he said he was almost done and we could sit for a couple more minutes.

After about ten minutes (mostly watching him socialize with the other officers), he called us up once again and we watched him staple the I-94 to the second page of my passport. I paid him the money ($6) for the stamp and he asked when we were getting married, wished us good luck and congratulations. He then reminded me to file "the rest of this stuff" asap after getting married.

We took our things and went outside. The officers had definitely gone through the truck - all of our ties were undone and to the side, the tarp was moved and two of the totes were cut open (I had to tape down the lids to keep them shut). The suitcases in the cab were rearranged, but it didn't look as if anything there had been opened.

All in all, took about 45 minutes, the majority of which was waiting. Very painless... BUT a couple of questions...

1. He didn't take any fingerprints. Is this a problem?

2. My I-94, though specifically stating that I entered as a K1, says "Multiple Entry". I didn't notice this until we were long outside of the building, but I'm curious... did he do something wrong? Obviously I have no intention of trying to leave the country without AP, but still, was I given a correct I-94 or is this something I should be worried about?

Edited December 31, 2009 by Ant+D+BabyA

[CDAgirlMI 51]

Glad to hear your POE was fairly painless.

I too, have a stamp that says "multiple" in my passport. No idea why/what that is. But like you, I am not planning on leaving the country anytime soon!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Congrats on making it to Florida Sam! Just to echo the others, my I-94 said multiple entry as well. But, according to the officer that processed me you're allowed to cross back into Canada on your K-1 as long as you haven't got married yet... As long as it says K-1 and not K-2 there shouldn't be a problem! I say that because this actually happened to someone recently and it caused her a lot of trouble.

The fact they went through your truck sounds slightly annoying, especially considering you needed to have everything secure for the long drive down. You presented them a list, that's more than a lot of people do!

Congrats and good luck on the upcoming marriage!

[cdn_gewels 0]

Glad to hear that all went well!

I'll be driving to Orlando too... 24 hour drive for me, but kinda looking forward to the road-trip with my Dad! Let's hope we miss a snowstorm too. I am planning on February 15th but keep joking that I'll look out my window and see a blizzard on that day! lol.

[Dan and Ali 3]

Yay for having a successful and relatively painless POE! How nice of them to undo all of your ties and then not bother tying them back, eh? Silly BG's!

This might be a noob question but what stamp are you referring to ...? I obviously need to read more POE reviews ;P

[Arabella 4]

Glad to hear that all went well!

I'll be driving to Orlando too... 24 hour drive for me, but kinda looking forward to the road-trip with my Dad! Let's hope we miss a snowstorm too. I am planning on February 15th but keep joking that I'll look out my window and see a blizzard on that day! lol.

Sean wants to drive to Florida with his dad too . . . Of course he has no actual plans to do this. I don't even know if his dad has agreed.

Yay for Ben driving to pick you up. There's no way I'd drive to Canada and back. Too many miles on my car, too many chances to get in an accident or break down. Plus I'd have to take time off of work since Sean doesn't want to activate his Visa until February (even though I get 2 weeks off for Christmas).

Personally I think Sean should just take a one-way flight. All that he wants to bring down is his computer, monitor and his computer chair. He insists that his computer and monitor are way too fragile to trust on a plane . . . I think he should just pack iot with a lot of cushioning! And as for the chair, the money he would spend in gas and hotels should cover the price of a computer chair IMO.

[Krikit 1,163]

I love driving to Florida and back. We drove too. But that's because I was bringing my car.

Welcome to America, Sam!

[Sam and Ben 2]

Yay for having a successful and relatively painless POE! How nice of them to undo all of your ties and then not bother tying them back, eh? Silly BG's!

This might be a noob question but what stamp are you referring to ...? I obviously need to read more POE reviews ;P

It's the entry stamp that we, as Canadians, don't usually get put in our passport when we cross the border, the I-94. It states the date and classification you entered the States on, and an expiry date. $6 for a little piece of paper to be stapled into the front of your passport.

I would've loved to fly, would've been much easier... but I just had too much stuff. And honestly, as we were blessed with good weather, the ride was actually rather enjoyable. Good music and lots to see along the way (the only other time I've done that trek was on Greyhound, and the experience is very different. Ben's from Ohio, so he's used to the drive to a degree, so it didn't take too too much convincing on my part, haha.

It is a long drive, though.. and one I wouldn't want to attempt if I wasn't 100% sure about the vehicle. We were a little concerned about the drive down because he actually slid the truck into a median during the drive up... but we got it checked out while he was here and it was given a clean bill of health. Lesson learned: performance tires in Northern US is NOT a good thing.

Thank you for the welcomes!

[trailmix 77]

Glad you had a safe and happy journey! They cut your totes !

I'm surprised at how many from our little visa journey group actually end up relocating to Florida!

Edited December 31, 2009 by trailmix

[Varba 0]

1. He didn't take any fingerprints. Is this a problem?

2. My I-94, though specifically stating that I entered as a K1, says "Multiple Entry". I didn't notice this until we were long outside of the building, but I'm curious... did he do something wrong? Obviously I have no intention of trying to leave the country without AP, but still, was I given a correct I-94 or is this something I should be worried about?

Congratz and glad you made it safely!

Peachey's I-94 says the same thing and we were very confused by it as well. I'm unsure if they are giving the wrong stamps, or what is up with it - I don't think anyone Peachey talked with understood K-1 visa's well enough for us to bother asking at the border either.