international travel since arriving

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello All:

We have the great opportunity to travel internationally often as we live 6 miles from Canada and 1 hour from Montreal. My wife has been dying to go to Montreal but could not until she received her advance parole or green card.

Well we got the approval for the green card before she got the advance parolae, but while we waited for the card to arrive, along comes her AP papers. So we jump in the car and go for the border, of course. Problem. We get turned back at the Canadian border as the advance parole is NOT an access to Canada but only for returning to the USA. We were told without a visa to enter Canada (Ukrainian citizens need a visa in Canada also) we could not enter until she had her gren card. Bummer, BUT good thing is we lost 10 minutes driving time to find out (not really our favorite grocery store is just less than a half mile from the borede so we went grocery shopping instead).

So, be forewarned, before you go off traveling or buying plane tickets to someplace with that AP in hand...Of course she would be able to travel to Ukraine on the advance parole and return and that is probably the purpose. Somehow I do not imagine the DHS had day shopping trips to Montreal in mind when they made up the AP.

Anyway we have since received her green casrd and traveled to Montreal and she loved it. She is a big city girl and though she likes the quiet of living on an island, she NEEDS to get to civilization sometimes. I kept promising her it was "over there, look you can see the lights from Montreal in the sky at night" So now she finally went, found great sales at downtown stores and when she realizes (at the moment) it is actually 20% LESS than the price she sees advertised!!!! Whoa!!! Stand back. We were stimulating the Canadian economy all afternoon!

We had no troubles going back and forth with her green card. In fact, I need a passport to cross the border, she does not. The green card is an "enhanced" form of identification and is accepted on its own for travel to Canada and Mexico, Carribean idlands, etc. I understand our (Vermont) drivers licenses may soon get the same treatment.

[payxibka 10,045]

A good reminder of what AP is and is not

[Brad and Vika 129]

Congrats on the green card Vika says she is happy for you, but also jealous

[dispozo 0]

Thanks for the information.

My fiancee best friends lives in Toronto. This is going to be our first trip outside the USA.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Congrats on the green card Vika says she is happy for you, but also jealous

If she is jealous of going to Montreal, so am I. I want to go to Montreal!

My husband's first trip outside the US was also to Canada, but he traveled on a I-551 stamp.

[kaffy 2]

Any recent experiences with the border crossing at Blaine? We are off to Vancouver BC this weekend

[Brad and Vika 129]

Congrats on the green card Vika says she is happy for you, but also jealous

If she is jealous of going to Montreal, so am I. I want to go to Montreal!

My husband's first trip outside the US was also to Canada, but he traveled on a I-551 stamp.

Jealous of the green card and the ability to leave the US (and go home to visit) without screwing up her status.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Jealous of the green card and the ability to leave the US (and go home to visit) without screwing up her status.

How long does that normally take? I really have no idea.

[kaffy 2]

Any recent experiences with the border crossing at Blaine? We are off to Vancouver BC this weekend

Answering my own question...

getting there and back were both very simple

entering Canada we presented our passports, customs officer saw mine was an Australian one, asked what my status was in the US and asked to see my green card. That was it

coming back we presented our passports and my green card. CBP officer barely flipped through them, asked us a few questions about our trip and we were free to go, no second questioning or inspection

[Jasman0717 9]

Wow, interesting information. I think Americans have it very good compared to the rest of the world, no wonder people are dying to come here