All the last minute questions I can think of.....

[kimmbo 0]

My husband and I are heading over the border on Thursday driving to Las Vegas (from the Toronto area)....were going to cross in Detroit..were hoping he will be able to get the EAD stamp.. we lose our computer on Wednesday when we pack the U-Pack so trying to think of all the questions I can now...

U-Pack:

Weve put it under my name as a "returning resident"...Has anyone been charged duty on their returning goods? I found a thread somewhere on here where someone said that as a returning resident were only allowed a $1600 exemption...of course I cant find the thread now.. my list is well over $1600 right now...just trying to avoid any issues at the border since ABF will be crossing with the cube..

POE Detroit:

have read some of the POE's about Detroit but alot of them dont mention what time people crossed.. just wondering if theres a "good" time to cross and a "bad" time to cross?...were very flexible about the time we leave..and hoping that since were leaving on a weekday it wont be too bad...

my husband will more than likely be going in alone, since we have our cat with us and I dont want to leave him alone in the vehicle..Ive done 99% of the paperwork, and then when everything is ready Ive gone over the forms and he has signed them...from what Ive read though its pretty straightforward hes just going to be handing over his medical, will be fingerprinted, and get his I-94... are there any other questions that he may be asked? ...then he will have to deal with the car, we have the compliance letter from Suzuki, and the ownership paperwork.. so that should hopefully also be pretty quick and we can get back on the road...

were hoping to be into Illinois by the first day...depending on how long it takes at the border... were planning for a 4 to 5 day drive...but hoping its more like 3 to 4....also wondering if any of you have driven the same route if you have any recommendations of any towns to stay in along the way or places to avoid...

thanks so much to all of you that have helped us over the last year...were so excited about crossing the border and starting the next chapter!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Your cat will be in a carrier, yes? My then fiance and I were both told to go in and to leave the keys with the car, unlocked when I activated my K-1. I had my 6 cats in the car and felt very reluctant to leave them like that without someone with them, but Joe wasn't allowed to stay with the car:-(. So, just make sure you have a carrier for the cat in case you have to leave him unattended in the car. You don't want him to jump out if a custom officer opens the vehicle for inspection.

From when I used to live in South Western Ontario and crossed the Detroit border regularly the times I found best to avoid were the tradtional rush hour times so try for an arrival after 9 am and before 4 pm or later in the evening. Overnight you will have a lot of transport truck traffic to deal with and even though they have their own gates, they still back up onto the Ambassador Bridge until they can separate into their own lanes. There is a link to border wait times at the bridge if you search on US Border wait times - I don't recall the website now - but you can monitor it and see what times look good and when to avoidl.

Good luck.

[Earmuffs 1]

only K-1 are work authorized not K-3

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Illinois is covered with tolls. As long as you stay on the I-80 you'll hit the tri-state tollway. You could try to loop around but they've probably turned it into a tollway and it's easier just to pay. Iowa has rest stops with free wi-fi so if you need to check up on stuff, they come in handy. Are you planning on heading south on the I-25 (Cheyenne) or will you go all the way west to the I-15 (Salt Lake City) or will you drive south through Kankakee and cross into St. Louis? Drove up from El Paso, Oklahoma tolls are garbage so avoid the I-40. The I-40 McDonald's in Amarillo closes at 11PM in case you are planning on eating there. Hot water for the grease trap is always on if you need to wash up. Highway 93 from Kingman to Las Vegas is pretty quiet though, as are most highways in the Western Plains. Safe motoring.

Your cat will be in a carrier, yes? My then fiance and I were both told to go in and to leave the keys with the car, unlocked when I activated my K-1. I had my 6 cats in the car and felt very reluctant to leave them like that without someone with them, but Joe wasn't allowed to stay with the car:-(. So, just make sure you have a carrier for the cat in case you have to leave him unattended in the car. You don't want him to jump out if a custom officer opens the vehicle for inspection.

From when I used to live in South Western Ontario and crossed the Detroit border regularly the times I found best to avoid were the tradtional rush hour times so try for an arrival after 9 am and before 4 pm or later in the evening. Overnight you will have a lot of transport truck traffic to deal with and even though they have their own gates, they still back up onto the Ambassador Bridge until they can separate into their own lanes. There is a link to border wait times at the bridge if you search on US Border wait times - I don't recall the website now - but you can monitor it and see what times look good and when to avoidl.

Good luck.

http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/ I don't know how accurate they are but there's the link.

[kimmbo 0]

we will be going through Salt Lake... thought about heading farther south crossing into Nevada on 93 from Kingman (man that is a boring stretch of road!!) but decided to stick with I-15...

we will be taking..I-94...I-280w...I-80w...I-76s...I-70w...I-15s

Kathryn: yes he will be in his carrier, out only after feedings to use the litter box, he did great when we went to Montreal in January, with no sedatives at all...

My plan is to get to the border around 10:30 or 11am...and hopefully drive til about 3 or 4pm...

ok back to packing *sigh*

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

only K-1 are work authorized not K-3

Some POE's give the stamp upon entry.

It's only good for 90 days though.

[Earmuffs 1]

I know that but the 90 days is the length the K-1 is valid for..

I may be wrong, but from what I remember K-3 have to wait for the EAD with AOS..

[Flames9_RN 358]

Safe travels!! No, I belive if they can get the K3 at the POE, they are fine for the 90days! I could be wrong!

[Carlawarla 1]

Sorry I can't offer any border crossing or driving advise! I know you're excited and hope that your journey to the US is safe and smooth! Best of luck!

[trailmix 77]

U-Pack:

Weve put it under my name as a "returning resident"...Has anyone been charged duty on their returning goods? I found a thread somewhere on here where someone said that as a returning resident were only allowed a $1600 exemption...of course I cant find the thread now.. my list is well over $1600 right now...just trying to avoid any issues at the border since ABF will be crossing with the cube..

We used U-Pack as well, however all our stuff would have totalled under $ 1600 - we put small amounts for our stuff, like a box of kitchen items is probably only worth say $20. I havent heard of the $1600 exemption.

my husband will more than likely be going in alone, since we have our cat with us and I dont want to leave him alone in the vehicle..Ive done 99% of the paperwork, and then when everything is ready Ive gone over the forms and he has signed them...from what Ive read though its pretty straightforward hes just going to be handing over his medical, will be fingerprinted, and get his I-94... are there any other questions that he may be asked? ...then he will have to deal with the car, we have the compliance letter from Suzuki, and the ownership paperwork.. so that should hopefully also be pretty quick and we can get back on the road...

The border crossing took about 45 minutes - including importing our car. We have our cat with us as well and I didnt want to leave her alone in the car either. They didnt ask me to come in, but I did anyway, just made sure to crack all the windows and park the car in as shady a spot as possible, plus we were able to see the car from inside. I also went out to the car to check on her every 10 minutes or so.

The process you describe, hand over paperwork, get fingerprinted, sign the form, that is pretty much it. The importation of the car just requires you handing over the letter of compliance, filling out and signing two forms.

[KiminON 0]

when i crossed with my two hounds (i crossed at bluewater), they assigned a customs officer to keep an eye on my dogs for me. they were seatbelted in the back seat and we left the doors open for air.

safe travels.

k

[LadyJane 1]

We just passed through Detroit/Ambassador Bridge to activate our CR1 visa. If you can, avoid Detroit. There is alot of construction around the bridge and downtown. The detour signs are not obvious and (even for a local like me) it was really difficult to navigate the maze of construction. Moreover, the exit from the 401 leading to the tunnel is closed. So, Windsor traffic is directed toward the bridge but the Detroit side of the bridge is an awful mess. I'd suggest Kingston, Sarnia or Niagara Falls.

As for the POE itself? We crossed at ~1am Saturday morning. We came across only one nice officer (a fellow Canadian from Quebec!). The rest were really mean or clueless or a combination of both. Most of them treated us like criminals, barking orders and yelling at us, even though we were there for legit reasons. I'm not sure if the officer who processed the visa knew what he was doing, as he had this "dazed and confused" look the whole time.

I brought up our cat too, and was super glad to have him in a carrier. The POE guy wouldn't let me roll up the windows, even though it was like 0 C ("he's got fur. too bad") and I knew we'd be in there for at least an hour.

[trailmix 77]

I should have mentioned that we crossed the border at Alberta - Montana.