Documents required by Canadian Citizens/Residents/Landed Immigrant to enter the U.S. and how long can they stay?

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

I found this information online (I was searching for something else), but came across this instead, so I thought I would post this here.....

Documents required by Canadian Citizens/Residents/Landed Immigrant to enter the U.S. and how long can they stay?

Canadian Citizens' passports are NOT required to be valid for six months past their intended date of departure. Their passports must only be valid up until the date of their intended departure.

All Canadian Citizens entering the United States by AIR are required to present a valid passport, or an Air NEXUS card when departing from a designated Canadian airport.

By Land and Sea (including ferries) - Canadian citizens traveling to the U.S. by land or sea are required to present one of the travel documents listed below, and may generally visit the U.S. for up to six months. CBP will accept:Canadian passport,Enhanced Driver's License/Enhanced Identification Card, NEXUS, FAST/EXPRES and SENTRI enrollment cards.

Children: Canadian citizens 15 years old and younger arriving by land or sea from contiguous territory may present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate or a Canadian Citizenship Card. Canadian Citizens 16 and older must have a valid passport, unless traveling as part of an organized group described below.

Groups of Children: Canadian citizen children between 16-18 arriving by land or sea from contiguous territory and traveling with a school group, religious group, social/cultural organization, or sports team, may also present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate or a Canadian Citizenship Card.

The group should provide, on organizational letterhead: The name of the group and supervising adult, a list of the children on the trip, the primary home address, phone number, date of birth, place of birth, and name of at least one parent or legal guardian for each child.

A written and signed statement of the supervising adult certifying that he or she has obtained parental or legal guardian consent for each participating child.

Canadians coming as a Treaty Trader (and family), Fiances/Fiancees (and their children and spouses and children) of U.S. Legal permanent residents are required to have a visa to enter the U.S.

Residents of Canada who are landed immigrants generally need a passport and visa to enter the United States, unless they are a citizen of a country eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). If they are a citizen of a country eligible for the VWP, they are only required to have their valid passport - coming by land or sea. If coming by air, they will need to have advance approval to travel through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). To obtain a list of countries eligible for the VWP, please reference the Department of State website.

Also, Native American Indians born in Canada with at least 50% American Indian blood are exempt from having a visa and passport to enter the U.S. by land. They should have their tribal identity card to present to the CBP Officer. If an American Indian is arriving into the U.S. by AIR, the traveler will be required to have a passport.

The burden of proof that the Canadian citizen is not an intended immigrant (plans to make the U.S. their primary residence) is always on the applicant. There is no set period of time Canadians must wait to reenter the U.S. after the end of their stay, but if it appears to the CBP Officer that the person applying for entry is spending more time over-all in the U.S. than in Canada, it will be up to the traveler to prove to the officer that they are not de-facto U.S. residents. One of the ways to do this is demonstrate significant ties to their home country, including proof of employment, residency, etc.

Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. must continue to present a valid Permanent Resident Card (I-551), a passport is not required for air, land or sea travel.

Source: https://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/ph...ated=1056630853

Hope it helps all you Canadians. Good luck with your travels and journeys.

Ant

[trailmix 77]

Hi Ant,

Good info - this is also in the pinned thread, at the top of the Canada forum btw, krikit's thread entitled Canada immigration guide.

Edited February 26, 2010 by trailmix

[Marilyn. 340]

Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. must continue to present a valid Permanent Resident Card (I-551), a passport is not required for air, land or sea travel.

this is the part I am not sure about.. to me it seems that your green card should be enough to get you back into the US...

[trailmix 77]

this is the part I am not sure about.. to me it seems that your green card should be enough to get you back into the US...

Yes there is conflicting information online about this Marilyn.

As above, or from the "Get you Home" page, which is also CBP

Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States: Document requirements for Lawful Permanent Residents are not changed under WHTI. Lawful Permanent Residents are required to present their permanent resident card (Form I-551) or other valid evidence of permanent residence status. A passport is not required for entry into the United States.

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_can/can_sa.html

[TimandJoyce 1]

Yes there is conflicting information online about this Marilyn.

As above, or from the "Get you Home" page, which is also CBP

Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States: Document requirements for Lawful Permanent Residents are not changed under WHTI. Lawful Permanent Residents are required to present their permanent resident card (Form I-551) or other valid evidence of permanent residence status. A passport is not required for entry into the United States.

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_can/can_sa.html

That's good to know. If I did decide to renew my passport when I go home in October, I should still be able to get back in. I'll talk to the staff at the Federal office in my hometown, to see the best action.

[mikey78 6]

"Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. must continue to present a valid Permanent Resident Card (I-551), a passport is not required for air, land or sea travel."

No contradiction here...if you have green card, it is enough for getting back to the US.

The interesting thing is that permanent residents of the US (other than Canadians) can travel to the US without visas, but landed Canadian residents cannot, unless they of course are originally from a visa waver country.

[trailmix 77]

"Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. must continue to present a valid Permanent Resident Card (I-551), a passport is not required for air, land or sea travel."

No contradiction here...if you have green card, it is enough for getting back to the US.

The interesting thing is that permanent residents of the US (other than Canadians) can travel to the US without visas, but landed Canadian residents cannot, unless they of course are originally from a visa waver country.

Hi Mikey,

Right you are - I see that is in the last line of the FAQs

It's some other site where it doesn't state it. But I can't be bothered to look for it haha

Edited February 26, 2010 by trailmix

[Marilyn. 340]

yeah I know it seems like a green card is enough but I have been told before by people on VJ that I should have passport..

it would be so much easier for me to renew my passport when I was in Canada... I think I am just going to go for it

Edited February 26, 2010 by Marilyn.

[lipslikesugar 0]

so actualy one can travel to Canada and drive to US by just showing a valid GC?? This is too easy. It seems the ideal for those GC holders that live in "two countries" at the same time - at least when arriving in Canada the POE would not question them about how long they stayed out of USA!!!!!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am curious about the statement that you only need the Permanent Resident card to travel by air back to the US if you are a Permanent Resident. The last time we travelled to and from Canada by air I was required to show my passport and my US green card before we were allowed through customs. (Ottawa International Airport) .

[Flames9_RN 358]

Back when I had my greencard--I handed over just my Green card to the USA POE dude (coming back from Canada) and he very sternly (lol) asked for my passport! Probably all depends on which POE officer u get!

[OBX 51]

I always hand over my passport with my green card tucked into the biographical page. I'm returning to the US tomorrow....if I feel brave maybe I'll ask what they prefer.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Lol...I'm surprised someone else dug up one of my older posts on VJ....

Oh well, whatever helps, I suppose....Hope it helped someone else out here too..

Likewise, I hand over my Canadian passport too, whenever I go over to visit Canada...

Why not? After all, I still am a Canadian citizen (despite being an American citizen too..lol...) and my Canadian passport is the only way I can show Canadian citizenship (I don't have a Canadian birth certificate). Besides, I paid $100 for that passport...So why not get use out of it before it expires....

I don't have an American passport either, as I am unable to get one of those (for various reasons....)

Nowadays I travel to Canada by land, as a Canadian citizen and American citizen, this is what I show...

To Canada= Canadian Passport (to show Canadian citizenship), NYS Enhanced Driver's License (to show American citizenship)

Back to the USA= NYS Enhanced Driver's License (to show American citizenship)

Interestingly enough, in most cases the Canadian border guards prefer to scan into the coumputer my EDL instead of the Canadian Passport.....oh well.....Whatever works for them.....

Before when I travelled to Canada by land, as a Canadian citizen and American permanent resident, this is what I showed...

To Canada= Canadian Passport (to show Canadian citizenship), US Permanent Resident Green Card (to show American PR status)

Back to USA= US Green Card (to show American PR status), Canadian Passport (to show Canadian citizenship)

The rule of thumb is this:

The Americans want to see and scan in the computer American ID....So anything American is preferable....

The Canadians want to see and scan in the computer Canadian ID....So anything Canadian is preferable....

Lol...I hand over everything...And let them decide what they want exactly....

"Better safe than sorry....", as you never know with the border these days.....

Hope this helps too....

Good luck with your travels and journeys too.

Ant

I always hand over my passport with my green card tucked into the biographical page. I'm returning to the US tomorrow....if I feel brave maybe I'll ask what they prefer.

Edited June 21, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[OBX 51]

Crossed back at the Peace Bridge yesterday. Was asked the usual questions( citizenship, where do you live, where were you, how long, why, what are you bringing back, any alcohol or tobacco.) Then he asked if the car was registered in my name and when I last crossed the border. The agent was looking at his computer while he asked this. He took both my green card and Canadian passport. He scanned the green card and did spend a lot of time looking through my passport.

Then he handed everything back and told me to have a safe trip home.

On the trip up no problems crossing into Canada, although for the first time ever I was asked if I had vaccination papers for my dog.

Edited June 22, 2010 by OBX

[lipslikesugar 0]

what if you have a GC and a non Canadian passport?