K-1 Border Crossing @ Queenston

[bauser 0]

Turns out the border crossing was (like the interview) one of the easiest steps of the visa process...

We decided to go to Queenston-Lewiston because we just wanted to get the crossing done ASAP. Buffalo was an extra 30 min away and the wait times were listed as none for both crossings at 7am (last Friday Apr 24).

When I got to the booth, I told the officer that I wanted to "activate my K-1 visa". This prompted him to give me a quizzical look at he responded by asking me (in a sarcastic tone) how one went about "activating" a visa. I don't think he was trying to give me a hard time. It's possible that the verbiage we use on the forum is not 100% what the customs officers use.

Anyway, we exchanged a few words and chuckles (I was not letting anything get me down on this important day) and finally asked him what the correct term would be. He said that what I am really doing is "applying" for entry with my visa. At the end of the day this was purely semantics so I didn't pursue the point. He told me to hang onto my visa envelope and directed us to enter the processing area to the left of the booths. At that point he hadn't given me back my passports. Later we realized that he had sent them via vacuum tubes to the processing building. He handed me a ticket that I needed to enter the parking lot.

We were admitted to the processing parking lot by 2 fellows standing by a parked cruiser. They seemed to be in good spirits and were joking around when we pulled up. I explained that I was here to get processed for immigration. He asked if I knew where I was going, and I answered no. He said to pull into any parking spot on the left and then head left from the parked car to the building -- where my name would be called eventually. He then peeked into our back seat and exclaimed something along the lines of "geez, what do you guys have in there?" (bear in mind the car was completely packed to the gills). I just smiled and said "I'm MOVING!". That seemed to placate him and we headed to the parking spot. I think the key here is to remember that they are not really out to make your life hard. Just tell the truth and stay upbeat.

We pulled into the lot and noticed that there were only a handful of cars there. I figured we wouldn't be waiting too long. Inside the processing center there were only 2 groups ahead of us. Those groups were processed and out within a few minutes and I was called up to the desk. I handed over my visa envelope (from the consulate) and asked to update my destination address. The guy processing my work seemed to be a little low on energy but he actually got me processed in about 10 minutes with very few words exchanged. In fact, the only things he asked me were why I was changing my destination address and who I was travelling with. He also asked if I knew how the K-1 visa worked and I said yes, so he actually skipped the entire explanation. Then he stapled the I-94A to my passport (next to my visa) and stamped both with my entry date. He handed back the passport and said that was it! Total time elapsed from entering the building - 15 minutes.

On the way out of the building, one of the guys guarding the parking lot walked over and took my stamped ticket. Then we just exited the parking lot onto the I-190.

Some key notes:

-Maybe 'activating' the visa is not the correct term?

-They did not search my car nor did they even ask what I was bringing with me

-Don't bother asking for your passport back at the booth if the crossing has vacuum tubes

-Stay upbeat and cheerful... even if the officer is being difficult it will soon rub off and all will be well

-Try to go early (before 8am) to a land crossing to reduce wait time (and obviously avoid long weekends if possible)

[minnew 4]

Congratulations!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Great review and helpful comments - it really is a great day - so don't let anyone get you down!

[Flames9_RN 358]

ya, at least some of my terminology is off, but i dont care,lol congrats

[JillA 2]

That's awesome, glad you found Queenston as easy as I did!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Congratulations - and welcome to the US.

[OBX 51]

Congtratulations and thanks for the review.

[Krikit 1,164]

Yeah, I have to admit that every time I see the words "activate the visa" on here it drives me bonkers. The visa was "active" the moment they issued it. Anywhooo..... congratulations, Bauser, and welcome home.

[JillA 2]

Yeah, I have to admit that every time I see the words "activate the visa" on here it drives me bonkers. The visa was "active" the moment they issued it. Anywhooo..... congratulations, Bauser, and welcome home.

I didn't know that and said the same thing at Queenston, I guess I got a nice guy because he just took my passport and knew what I meant