Moving my belongings from Canada to the US

[Krikit 1,164]

July 09, I was told by some people at work that if I had a thorough documentatation of things I was leaving with my then boy friend, at his house.

My apologies, but I can't understood the above sentence.

[Abby62 23]

Sorry, what I meant to say was that at the time my NOW husband was my BF and I was just going to visit him and leave some of my belongings at this house in the USA.

I checked with the people I work with who did our customs paper work and all fo the NAFTA stuff, so I mentioned I was going to take some things with me across the border and they said it would be no problem as long as I had documentation of what was in the boxes, boy were they WRONG and so was I..I totally paid for that ignorance. I didn't lie to the border guards, told them I had a BF, told them I was coming back to Canada, they just accused me of going to immigrate that day right then and there, which was NOT the case at all...but I didn't know the rules and paid for my mistake.

The border guard said he let me off easy by denying me entry that day, he said it could have been worse and it could have been permanent!!

Live and learn!

[fuzzypinkboots 0]

I live 5 min's from the border too.

This is my story.

July 09, I was told by some people at work that if I had a thorough documentatation of things I was leaving with my then boy friend, at his house.

I got yanked into secondary, denied entry, finger printed, photographed and then got entered into the system and was told not to come back without this huge laundry list of required documents, some of them had to be notarized..complete BS.

Anyways, after 15x crossing into the USA, being interrogated into secondayr every single time, being held up for sometimes 2hrs..it passed. During that period, it was HELL!

Be careful, always bring tons of ties to Canada. They will assume you are planning to immigrate and then it will be sooo much fun for you. They can also just flat out deny you entry until your visa has been approved too.

We got married in Canada, he want back and applied for me, we are almost through the NVC part, we applied in May, 2010. We still have a few months ahead of us. I cross now and then into the USA, but always have tons of paperwork with me.

Do your homework here, don't spend the $$ on an attorney if you don't need too. We learned everything here at VJ.

Good luck!!!

Wow! That's some story! I have begun bringing my lease agreement with me each time and whatever else I can find to show my ties here (utility bills, dtr's school report card, sheesh not sure what else at this point...) It would certainly suck to be denied entry. I'm heading over after picking my dtr up from school today and get a nervous pit in my stomach everytime i get in that line-up! Most of the time they are very nice but you never know, right?

So i was looking over your timeline....at what point in the process are you actually allowed to live together? There seem to be so very many steps. Is it not until the final step is complete?

Forgive me for being so naive....how do you manage your relationship? Would we at least be able to see each other as often as we do now (he spends most weekdays here and I go to his place on wknds). I'm trying to avoid the attorney fees but my fiance is getting very frustrated with getting so much different information. We have discussed the option of heading to the courthouse after the New Year and just having a quicky wedding and then the ceremony like we wanted to, later on. Either way, it looks as though we will not be able to live together for several months afterward. I can handle that (if I HAVE to ) I just hope we are still able to spend as much time together as we do now.

[Krikit 1,164]

You can still see either other during the process, but you're playing Russian roulette with both sides. Just be prepared to be denied at some point. You won't be able to live together until you have the visa and have had it endorsed at the POE. And if I were you, I'd go for the CR-1 visa. The K-1 isn't at all conducive for what you have planned, let alone feeling as though you're being held hostage in the US because you can't re-enter. Stupid rule, but there it is.

[fuzzypinkboots 0]

You can still see either other during the process, but you're playing Russian roulette with both sides. Just be prepared to be denied at some point. You won't be able to live together until you have the visa and have had it endorsed at the POE. And if I were you, I'd go for the CR-1 visa. The K-1 isn't at all conducive for what you have planned, let alone feeling as though you're being held hostage in the US because you can't re-enter. Stupid rule, but there it is.

Good to know. Thanks. So, do you really think they would stop us from visiting one another even though we both have significant ties to our own countries? The border guards have been great so far with the exception of a couple who have insisted on seeing my lease agreement. Outside of that they are very nice. Never asked to check my overnight bags, just want to know a good reason for me to be coming back to Canada. I suppose that could always change at any moment though. I'll continue with the nervousness as I cross and try not to let it be visible. I think we will likely go with the CR-1 and just cross our fingers that it doesn't take forever. You have been most helpful!

[Krikit 1,164]

They won't stop you from visiting each other unless it looks to them like you are living in one another's country. Sooner or later you're going to get someone who doesn't like it. Where are you crossing?

[Abby62 23]

It has been a tough haul. He lives in Southern Indiana, me in Windsor. We try to visit each other every couple of weeks and has been that way since we met. We can't live together until my visa has been approved. Until then we have ipods touches where we downloaded facetime, so we can talk and see each other all of the time..oh and it's free!! Saved a bundle on long distance calls for sure.

You are lucky you are only a few minutes away from each other, yet that border divides us. Just be honest with the guard, never ever lie, and hopefully you won't get one bad apple that wants to make your life miserable.

[fuzzypinkboots 0]

They won't stop you from visiting each other unless it looks to them like you are living in one another's country. Sooner or later you're going to get someone who doesn't like it. Where are you crossing?

We cross mostly at the Sumas-Huntingdon gate. Like I said, most of the guards have been really great but it only takes one.

[CanAmBride 5]

If he spends most weekdays with you in Canada and you only cross into the US on weekends, you should be more than fine continuing that schedule once you petition. If you crossed into the US every day, they would probably start questioning you more.

We got into trouble because my husband was crossing into the US everyday at 6 pm and leaving every morning at 8 am. That's why they assumed he was "living" in the US without a visa. If you only visit on weekends, you should be fine. And he can visit you as many times as he wants in Canada as long as the Canadian border guards are ok with it. US doesn't have any restrictions on how many times their citizens come and leave.

I wouldn't hire a lawyer if I were you. Ours charged us $2,500 just to get through the USCIS (1 of 3 major steps in the CR-1 process), and he gave us a bunch of horrible and sometimes just plain untrue advice. I learned later that I could have done everything on my own with the help of VJ for free. He came highly recommended from a large established firm. The whole CR-1 process would have probably ended up costing us $10,000 if we would have kept him on. HUGE mistake! I miss that $2,500 everyday!!!

[fuzzypinkboots 0]

If he spends most weekdays with you in Canada and you only cross into the US on weekends, you should be more than fine continuing that schedule once you petition. If you crossed into the US every day, they would probably start questioning you more.

We got into trouble because my husband was crossing into the US everyday at 6 pm and leaving every morning at 8 am. That's why they assumed he was "living" in the US without a visa. If you only visit on weekends, you should be fine. And he can visit you as many times as he wants in Canada as long as the Canadian border guards are ok with it. US doesn't have any restrictions on how many times their citizens come and leave.

I wouldn't hire a lawyer if I were you. Ours charged us $2,500 just to get through the USCIS (1 of 3 major steps in the CR-1 process), and he gave us a bunch of horrible and sometimes just plain untrue advice. I learned later that I could have done everything on my own with the help of VJ for free. He came highly recommended from a large established firm. The whole CR-1 process would have probably ended up costing us $10,000 if we would have kept him on. HUGE mistake! I miss that $2,500 everyday!!!

Thanks for that! He has never had a problem coming and going. In fact when he leaves for work in the morning the guards wave and say "heading to work?" yup! "have a good day, see you tomorrow!) I'm glad its not nerve-wracking for at least ONE of us...lol.

We are going to get going on the CR-1 right after the holidays. maybe we'll be together by the time school starts in the fall??!! ;-)

[Krikit 1,164]

Sounds like you have a great set of officers at both borders, fuzzy. Keep your fingers crossed that one doesn't transfer up from the Southern border. lol

[JlovesA 109]

Fuzzypinkboots, do you both have Nexus cards? I have one and it's the best $50 I ever spent! Usually the US border guards only ask me 1-2 questions and I'm in. And coming back to Canada, the Nexus line is non-verbal...don't even have to talk to anyone!

Edited November 19, 2010 by JlovesA

[Colleens 40]

Wow! That's some story! I have begun bringing my lease agreement with me each time and whatever else I can find to show my ties here (utility bills, dtr's school report card, sheesh not sure what else at this point...) It would certainly suck to be denied entry. I'm heading over after picking my dtr up from school today and get a nervous pit in my stomach everytime i get in that line-up! Most of the time they are very nice but you never know, right?

So i was looking over your timeline....at what point in the process are you actually allowed to live together? There seem to be so very many steps. Is it not until the final step is complete?

Forgive me for being so naive....how do you manage your relationship? Would we at least be able to see each other as often as we do now (he spends most weekdays here and I go to his place on wknds). I'm trying to avoid the attorney fees but my fiance is getting very frustrated with getting so much different information. We have discussed the option of heading to the courthouse after the New Year and just having a quicky wedding and then the ceremony like we wanted to, later on. Either way, it looks as though we will not be able to live together for several months afterward. I can handle that (if I HAVE to ) I just hope we are still able to spend as much time together as we do now.

If you are thinking of doing the courthouse wedding ensure you look into how long it will take to get your marriage certificate from your province/state. You will need a copy of it to file your petition. In many states you can get your certificate right at the courthouse after the wedding (I would suggest in getting a couple certified copies to have on hand for the rest of the process...saves hassle later if you need them), and in many provinces it can take months before the marrige gets registered and you get a certificate. That alone can add a lot of unnecessary waiting time to the whole process.

[fuzzypinkboots 0]

Fuzzypinkboots, do you both have Nexus cards? I have one and it's the best $50 I ever spent! Usually the US border guards only ask me 1-2 questions and I'm in. And coming back to Canada, the Nexus line is non-verbal...don't even have to talk to anyone!

I don't have a Nexus card but only because the border we cross at does not even have a nexus line--how silly is that? it is too far out of the way to drive to the other crossings to use the line so I never bothered with the card. It would add an extra hour to the trip....which I suppose compared to some of the stories I read here is still not such a hardship really! I might reconsider!