Crossing the border together?

[Moosker 7]

Just wondering....while your K3 visa is processing...has anyone ever crossed the border together? (with your husband/wife)

I'm a little worried about being overly questioned, and being turned away!

Any experiences or recommendations?

Thanks

[muffin 0]

We have filed for a K1 so I don't know how different that would be, but for what's it's worth we never cross the border together anymore. Before we filed we did a few times and were hassled a lot. We decided not to cross together again after I was denied entry one day. I didn't have a lot of proof of ties to Canada at the time though, but I would think if you have that with you along with any documentation of the K3 processing then I don't think it would be too much of a problem (as that would indicate that you are trying to do things properly and not attempting the illegal alien thing that they are mostly worried about). I would expect being questioned by them more so than normal though.

[Moosker 7]

We have filed for a K1 so I don't know how different that would be, but for what's it's worth we never cross the border together anymore. Before we filed we did a few times and were hassled a lot. We decided not to cross together again after I was denied entry one day. I didn't have a lot of proof of ties to Canada at the time though, but I would think if you have that with you along with any documentation of the K3 processing then I don't think it would be too much of a problem (as that would indicate that you are trying to do things properly and not attempting the illegal alien thing that they are mostly worried about). I would expect being questioned by them more so than normal though.

THanks for your advice! We're looking to go on a trip in October and I'm horrible worried about planning the whole ordeal and then not being able to go.

If you cross at separate times on the same day....can they see that?

I guess hopefully having strong ties will help. I have work paycheques/loan paperwork/work employment letter that I always take across with me...

[SapphireDreams 71]

We haven't crossed together for awhile and when we did it was when I used to pick him up at the Buffalo airport or dropping him back off. We've also went through immigration together after getting off a cruise ship 3 times and never had a problem at all. That was all before we filed though.

My friend who has a K3 in the works right now just went back to the US with her husband and they didn't have a problem at all. She has no ties to Canada at all.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

hmm, that just reminded me, SapphireDreams - it was a long time ago for us as well - 5 years - but I used to go and pick him up and bring him back to Canada then drop him off at the Detroit Airport. We generally crossed at Windsor. I was stopped once going over to pick him up and was sent into secondary. I didn't have my package of ties to Canada with me so (d'uh!) so they literally went through my purse. I am somewhat of a packrat and had all sorts of interesting things in it, fortunately - a recent receipt for catfood, direct deposit stub for my paycheque, business cards, cheque book showing recent copy cheques for utilities, rent, etc., etc. along with his flight itinerary. They let me through, but I always carried the package with proofs of my ties to Canada with me after that even when I was just going to pick him up or drop him off at the airport. We never had any other sort of problem crossing the border together, other than that incident when I was going to pick him up.

[kaya541 1]

Am so glad to read a post about this; I'm currently visiting him up here outside Vancouver, BC, for a month but want to start looking for a place just over the border in Bellingham. Was hoping that we could both go over together just for the day to look around so I didn't have to do it on my own. Hope it all works; we haven't filed any paperwork yet, but he does have letters of employment showing ties, so we'll see...

[muffin 0]

We have filed for a K1 so I don't know how different that would be, but for what's it's worth we never cross the border together anymore. Before we filed we did a few times and were hassled a lot. We decided not to cross together again after I was denied entry one day. I didn't have a lot of proof of ties to Canada at the time though, but I would think if you have that with you along with any documentation of the K3 processing then I don't think it would be too much of a problem (as that would indicate that you are trying to do things properly and not attempting the illegal alien thing that they are mostly worried about). I would expect being questioned by them more so than normal though.

THanks for your advice! We're looking to go on a trip in October and I'm horrible worried about planning the whole ordeal and then not being able to go.

If you cross at separate times on the same day....can they see that?

I guess hopefully having strong ties will help. I have work paycheques/loan paperwork/work employment letter that I always take across with me...

I'm sure you'll be fine with all those documents! These days when I cross alone they don't give me too much of a hassle because I travel with much more proof of ties to Canada, but I think they can still see that I've been denied before so maybe that's where my problems lie. Oh well almost done with that all that! I'm sure your trip will go smoothly, it sounds like you're pretty well prepared and informed. Depending on how you're travelling, a return ticket wouldn't hurt in terms of proof either. Now when I go on my own that seems to be the only thing that they care about and they don't even ask for any extra documentation.

[LindaB 0]

Am so glad to read a post about this; I'm currently visiting him up here outside Vancouver, BC, for a month but want to start looking for a place just over the border in Bellingham. Was hoping that we could both go over together just for the day to look around so I didn't have to do it on my own. Hope it all works; we haven't filed any paperwork yet, but he does have letters of employment showing ties, so we'll see...

Hi Kaya, I am also just outside of Vancouver and my husband is in Bellingham, in all the times we have crossed the border together since we got married over a year ago (and even since we started dating in Feb 2006), we have only been sent into "secondary" once and that was just a few months ago and only because my husband said "we are going home to Bellingham" so that was a red flag that the guard thought I was living in the U.S illegally. I had to show them all the "proof of ties" that I always carry with me and they let me in.

[Krikit 1,165]

We would cross together during our process, also, whenever he flew into Buffalo and I would pick him up. Never had any more of a problem than when I crossed alone.