POE in Wpg airport

[shinytreasure 0]

Hi all...

My visa is in the mail and I am hoping to catch a flight to Fairbanks on Thursday (25th). I am dying to buy a ticket but don't dare lest a jinx things and my visa show up late. I am assuming that I will go through customs at Wpg airport and they will activate my visa there.

Anyway... I am just wondering what kind of paperwork I should have "on me" when I activate my visa. What is on the MUST HAVE list? What is on the JUST IN CASE list? Is there another fee? (Cdn or USD?) Should I call ahead and give them a heads up? The flight I am hoping to make leaves at 1:30ish so how much extra time should I allow for?

Thanks

[HeatDeath 430]

I lived in Winnipeg before I moved down here to Salt Lake City. I PoE'd through Emerson/Pembina, heading the other way from you.

The documents I needed to have on me were as follows:

Passport withK1 visa

"Do Not Open" sealed visa packet

Chest xray

Itemized list of contents of household effects accompanying me

A credit or debit card you can use to pay your 6-7 USD I-94 fee

Other important documents you'll need in the US:

Canadian birth certificate

Any and all immigration stuff you accumulated for the interview

Because I was driving, I also needed:

Manitoba Driver's License

MPI Registration/Proof of car insurance/Proof of ownership

Compliance letters for car

My PoE took about 90 minutes, but most airport K-1 PoEs seem to be shorter. Calling ahead might not hurt. I've seen it recommended here.

I would give at least an extra hour above the normal 90 minutes they recommend for international checkins. I know the Winnipeg International Airport International departure lounge sucks, but it's better to be bored sitting there then panicked running through there to make the gate at the last minute.

[shinytreasure 0]

thanks...

I do not have my sealed envelope from the medical - I left it with the consulate. I assume that is one of the things they return to me with my passport/visa?

Just wondering... who actually OPENS the infamous sealed envelope and when?

[HeatDeath 430]

Yep. Your passport, containing the visa imprint, will be accompanied, when it arrives, with a large envelope marked "DO NOT OPEN". It contains basically every single piece of paper you've sent USCIS, starting with your I-129F packet, your visa application at the consulate, your medical, and all of the adjudicator's and consular officer's notes. It will be opened by the CBP officers at PoE (mine was, anyways) and forwarded by them to your local USCIS office in Alaska.

Edited November 21, 2010 by HeatDeath

[shinytreasure 0]

OK...

So THEY KEEP the large envelope and GIVE ME the I-94 thingy (stapled into my passport.

THANKS.