Travel to Canada on GC

[zoony 0]

Hello ,

I am getting ready to file for Naturalization and I have a query about travel to Canada on a GC . In the past I have travelled to Canada 3 times for business reasons ( I was travelling to Canada on my GC) . However when I look at my passport , I see no immigration stamps by the DHS . They did scan my GC at OTTAWA everytime i returned . Also, there are no stamps by Canadian Immigration on my passport . Is this ok ( because of GC ) and if not who should I contact to get the correct information.

Thanks,

Karthik

[CanAmCharlotte 0]

The customs officers never stamp my Canadian passport when I travel. They scan it every time I cross the border so I assume it's in the system. In fact, sometimes they ask me when I last travelled to Canada and it seems like it's a bit of a test. They check what I say against what's on their screen. I wouldn't lose any sleep over this.

[zoony 0]

Thank you for your reply . I was a little concerned about this and did not have any idea about next steps. I hold an Indian passport .. should that matter .

[motu 5]

Thank you for your reply . I was a little concerned about this and did not have any idea about next steps. I hold an Indian passport .. should that matter .

Hey Zoony:

I lived in Michigan for 3+ years and went to Canda for Pizza, gas, golf or on dates - never carried a passport - it wasn't required. - Many Indians lived in Windsor and studied in Detroit - they used to commute daily (it was only 75cents for crossing the bridge or tunnel in those days) - So, do not worry about this. ALso, when you file for citizenship - you can jus tmention that you went to Canda many times for short durations of time during such and such periods - you do not need to provide actual dates - I could never have done that if they asked for actual dates - its all cool! Don't worry. Good Luck

[zoony 0]

Thank you very much for your reply . Much appreciated....hope you had fun on your dates in canada.

[motu 5]

Thank you very much for your reply . Much appreciated....hope you had fun on your dates in canada.

I did! Drinking age in Canada was 18 - in Detroit 21 - so she could drink there, making me very special for getting her drunk several times!

[zoony 0]

Thank you very much for your reply . Much appreciated....hope you had fun on your dates in canada.

I did! Drinking age in Canada was 18 - in Detroit 21 - so she could drink there, making me very special for getting her drunk several times!

hahahahahah good on you mate .... hahaha

[KyngSilva 0]

Zoony...it's all good...you don't get a stamp back on your passport, because your entry into the US is not done on your passport, but rather on your green card. They never stamp my passport on the way back.

[warlord 73]

I haven't gotten my US passport stamped going to Canada or Mexico ever. The only time I do is over seas. Might be a North American thing between the 3 countries since I can see people who travel between them often would have a pretty full passport after only a short amount of time...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The only time I have had my passport stamped was upon a return from my first trip home to Canada for Christmas a few years ago. We flew out of Ottawa airport and at pre-clearance both my husband (US citizen) and I had our passports stamped. They also scanned my greencard. I was surprised because stamps in Passports are very unusual . (heheheh I included the stamps with my ROC evidence so they were useful).

[antda 13]

Hi Zoony,

Likewise, when I travel back to Canada (on a GC and Canadian Passport) from the USA, I never get any stamps in my passport from either country too. On top of that, I make frequent trips back to Canada (I only live about 1-2 hours by land away from the US/Canada), as I'm from Canada, have family and friends there, and generally like visiting there.

Lol..the only exception to the rule for me about the passport stamps was when I was "harassed at the border for 2hr for POE", which they made me get a USA B-2 Visitor's Visa (which Canadians are exempt from) and they stamped my old passport then....(see my VJ timeline for more information about that).

Heck, at my AOS interview, the interviewer asked "Why did you get a stamp in your passport when crossing over?" To which I said..."I don't know, you're the officer...you tell me..."

My Canadian passports are "blank", and like you I have to file for Naturalization too...with no "official records on my end" of these "international trips by land"! And yes, that is somewhat of a problem here for me in order to prove for such trips...

So for naturalization, the only thing I can do is to "write an unofficial record list" of my trips, based on memory and what I wrote down on my calendar, and hopefully that should be sufficient there. If in doubt, they can check always their records with my records (lol..I'm sure some "official" government record exists somewhere, that we don't know about, since they scan travel documents into the "system")

I suggest that you write a list too (even if it is just an estimate), and since your card was scanned and documents were looked at, they can probably check what they have in their records that against what you have written down on your list, to know whether or not you are telling the truth about your travels there.

Hope this helps. Good luck on the rest of your immigration journey and travels too.

Ant (Still waiting...)

Hello ,

I am getting ready to file for Naturalization and I have a query about travel to Canada on a GC . In the past I have travelled to Canada 3 times for business reasons ( I was travelling to Canada on my GC) . However when I look at my passport , I see no immigration stamps by the DHS . They did scan my GC at OTTAWA everytime i returned . Also, there are no stamps by Canadian Immigration on my passport . Is this ok ( because of GC ) and if not who should I contact to get the correct information.

Thanks,

Karthik

Edited May 22, 2009 by AntandD

[NickD 202]

They use to be real touchy about carrying plants from Minnesota to Canada even though the two countries touched, also something about firearms and alcohol, but would just take your word for it.

Wife and I were within inches of Canada a couple of years ago and while her drivers's license looked exactly like mind, I elected not to cross not knowing what problems we would run into. Besides what we really needed was Canadian mosquito repellent, they love fresh meat from the south.

Noted my passport book was stamped by Canada on our trip to Venezuela last year, wondered about that too, believe Venezuela is south and Canada is north, so why did our plane go north to Canada first?

How does one get a job stamping passport books, looks like fun, bet with practice, they could even hit the page.