POINT OF ENTRY (POE) WHAT HAPPENS???

[cdancer 0]

Hi Gang

I have my interview with the US Consulate in Vancouver on the 22 January

just looking one step ahead at this time...

can anyone tell me what happens when you present yourself at the border

crossing with your Non Immigrant K3 Visa? What are the formalities to get

your I-94 formal entry into the USA? I plan on driving thru the Blaine

border crossing.

thanks in advance!

Denise

[girl 37 7]

They'll take your sealed envelope and open it, stamp your passport, and staple the I-94 into it. I think you might have to get another finger print... I've forgotten already.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Its pretty painless,at least it was for myself crossing with a cr-1 in MAine. Drove up to the POE officer, stated I was there to activate my cr-1. He directed me to park, and go inside. Went inside, Customs guy was by himself, so I handed him the contents of my truck. He casually looked over it and said go see Immigration. Went to immigration they took the brown envelope, took more fingerprints, stamped my passport, asked soem basic questions. Everyone was very laid back. Once Immigration was happy, I went back to Customs guy who said al looked great, never did look inside my Uhual truck, and off I went. Took around 30 minutes, Iwas the only person in there!! Immigration workers were a bit confused at first as they both seemed new on the job and had to phone someone for assistance. Once you tell the first POE officer that ur there to activate ur K3, he should direct you were to go. Best of luck

[sophyie 0]

I went through Blaine a couple of times (going from Vancouver to Seattle by bus) and every time it was very relaxed and friendly. All those times of the visa waiver though... not to activate a visa.

[zyggy 9]

WHen you pull up to primary inspection tell the officer that you need to activate a K3 and he'll send you to secondary...

Once in secondary, you give your passport and the brown envelope to the officer. They'll ask you a few questions and process the paperwork... Make sure they give you an I-94, you mayhave to pay $8.00 for the I-94 (although a lot of the time the officer waives the fee)...

That's it.. you're on your way... It's a pretty easy process..

[Robin28 2]

I actived my Visa in Blaine .. They were super nice, they just took our envelopes ( mine and my kids ) chatted a bit .. the two guys @ the counter made jokes and laughed with the kids .. They took my fingerprints .. put my I-94 in my passport .. payed the fee ( i can't rem how much ! but cheap .. less then 10$ ) They didn't ask about our stuff in the car or look .. they didn't take us to a room to wait .. like i have read happens @ some POE's .. we just stood @ the counter and that was it ! Good Luck

[cdancer 0]

thanks for your info....just have to say..love you Tim Hortons Pic! How Canuck EH!

Denise

Its pretty painless,at least it was for myself crossing with a cr-1 in MAine. Drove up to the POE officer, stated I was there to activate my cr-1. He directed me to park, and go inside. Went inside, Customs guy was by himself, so I handed him the contents of my truck. He casually looked over it and said go see Immigration. Went to immigration they took the brown envelope, took more fingerprints, stamped my passport, asked soem basic questions. Everyone was very laid back. Once Immigration was happy, I went back to Customs guy who said al looked great, never did look inside my Uhual truck, and off I went. Took around 30 minutes, Iwas the only person in there!! Immigration workers were a bit confused at first as they both seemed new on the job and had to phone someone for assistance. Once you tell the first POE officer that ur there to activate ur K3, he should direct you were to go. Best of luck

[happyimmigrant 0]

Hi Gang

I have my interview with the US Consulate in Vancouver on the 22 January

just looking one step ahead at this time...

can anyone tell me what happens when you present yourself at the border

crossing with your Non Immigrant K3 Visa? What are the formalities to get

your I-94 formal entry into the USA? I plan on driving thru the Blaine

border crossing.

thanks in advance!

Denise

Here's what I wrote back in June when we did our K-1 POE crossing (in Buffalo):

Of course, first there was the border crossing in Buffalo, which was the part that I was most nervous about, being that they had been very nasty to me and had denied me from entering almost a year ago. We got to the border, and were sent over to the awful immigration room. We waited about an hour before being seen, and the typically incompetent border guard spent a good 30-45 minutes asking me the same questions over and over. It was quite obvious that he had no idea how to process a K-1 visa. Irrelevant questions such as "where do you work?" "How long will you be staying?" "Where are you going to be working?" "So, what company do you work for now?" over and over again. He couldn't have cared less about me entering on the visa, couldn't have cared less about the contents of our truck (he took one cursory glance at the itemized list of contents I gave him before handing it back), all he wanted to know about was where I was working, and where I was going to work. Once he finally gave me the I-94 and took my $6 fee, he told me to make sure I didn't lose it, because I would need it if I left the US and wanted to re-enter. Never mind the fact that K-1 visas are only good for a single entry!! Typical idiocy and incompetency. The USCIS quite obviously puts the bottom-feeders on border duty.

[zyggy 9]

Typical idiocy and incompetency. The USCIS quite obviously puts the bottom-feeders on border duty.

Your continued arrogance with respect to the CBP astounds me... You have no idea what goes on there or what the CBP has to go through every day... At a busy POE like the Peace Bridge, you are a minor insignificant piece of what goes on there...

Are you saying that I'm the bottom of the pack.. that I am insignificant.... I probably have more college degrees than you do... hell.. they guy who processed your paperwork may have had a law degree... there's lots of those people on the line...

Save your snide comments to yourself...

[george1 0]

This goes along with the original question... Did anyone crossing at Blaine with a K1 have trouble getting their temporary EAD stamp?

Also, any different experiences at the Peace Arch compared to the truck crossing? I suppose with a UHaul we'll have to go through the truck crossing.

[Carms07 0]

Hi Gang

I have my interview with the US Consulate in Vancouver on the 22 January

just looking one step ahead at this time...

can anyone tell me what happens when you present yourself at the border

crossing with your Non Immigrant K3 Visa? What are the formalities to get

your I-94 formal entry into the USA? I plan on driving thru the Blaine

border crossing.

thanks in advance!

Denise

When my fiance recieved his visa in Juarez (Mexico) we were so excited and though it was smooth sailing from El Paso to Phoenix, however it wasnt that easy. I had no idea he had paperwork to deal with before leaving, at the consulate they just told us to hand over the yellow envelope but thats all......at the border crossing we are sitting in our car and pull up to the agent, who gives us a bad attitude...makes my husband get off the car and send him into the office....we had no idea we had to get off and wait in line in order for my fiances passport to be registered and stamped and to recieve his I-94. It took about an hour and a half more than we expected, so make sure you plan for it. All they did was take his fingerprints..I think then we had to pay some administration fee (like $6) and other than that it wasnt that bad..but the confusion was what made it seem kinda overwhelming.

[Carms07 0]

This goes along with the original question... Did anyone crossing at Blaine with a K1 have trouble getting their temporary EAD stamp?

Also, any different experiences at the Peace Arch compared to the truck crossing? I suppose with a UHaul we'll have to go through the truck crossing.

K-1 doesnt need EAD stamp, fiances are allowed to get a SS without it and work...as well as get a Drivers License, however you will need to apply for it later on once you are married in order to keep your DL up to date...cause it expires when your I-94 does.

[happyimmigrant 0]

Typical idiocy and incompetency. The USCIS quite obviously puts the bottom-feeders on border duty.

Your continued arrogance with respect to the CBP astounds me... You have no idea what goes on there or what the CBP has to go through every day... At a busy POE like the Peace Bridge, you are a minor insignificant piece of what goes on there...

Are you saying that I'm the bottom of the pack.. that I am insignificant.... I probably have more college degrees than you do... hell.. they guy who processed your paperwork may have had a law degree... there's lots of those people on the line...

Save your snide comments to yourself...

My comments are based on my personal experiences with the Peace Bridge personnel. As I have written previously, a couple times I have encountered fair and professional treatment in secondary inspection. However, these experiences have been overshadowed by the multiple (three that come immediately to mind) horrible experiences with hostile, unprofessional inspectors, who, while I stood and calmly answered questions honestly and to the best of my knowledge, screamed and swore in my face, threatened me, attempted to intimidate me repeatedly, and processed me incorrectly, giving me incorrect information. Other officers stood by questioning other people, and nobody ever stepped forward or even thought anything was wrong.

A few bad apples spoil the bunch.

[Buttons 0]

Hi Gang

I have my interview with the US Consulate in Vancouver on the 22 January

just looking one step ahead at this time...

can anyone tell me what happens when you present yourself at the border

crossing with your Non Immigrant K3 Visa? What are the formalities to get

your I-94 formal entry into the USA? I plan on driving thru the Blaine

border crossing.

thanks in advance!

Denise

It's very easy and very painless.

[george1 0]

This goes along with the original question... Did anyone crossing at Blaine with a K1 have trouble getting their temporary EAD stamp?

Also, any different experiences at the Peace Arch compared to the truck crossing? I suppose with a UHaul we'll have to go through the truck crossing.

K-1 doesnt need EAD stamp, fiances are allowed to get a SS without it and work...as well as get a Drivers License, however you will need to apply for it later on once you are married in order to keep your DL up to date...cause it expires when your I-94 does.

Carms,

I'm certain that a K1 does not come with an automatic temporary EAD. I know that with a K1 one is able to get a SS card and DL and all that. And then when we apply for AOS we can apply for the real EAD before the green card arrives. I'll try to find the info that goes with this.