HELP! Provincial Border Closure!

[AprilToth 2]

Hi,

I wanted to give you all an update. So yesterday we went again to the Ontario-Quebec border. The car in front had Ontario plates and there was one police car waiting. He went to go after him and then saw us and waited. So the other car got on by and we got stopped.... again! Would you believe it was the same officer that turned us around the day before???!!!

We both could not believe it! He of course recognized us and was not happy. He told us to turn around and not come back until the day of our appointment at 4:00 AM.  This time we were better prepared for him. We had our document letter out, our vaccine records out and I had the Emergency number to the Montreal Embassy. My husband kept his cool, better than me, and just kept calling him "sir" and saying, we will not make it on time, if we do it that way and we cannot lose our appt.  After pointing to the letter and the time, MANY times, he just said "ok, go!" .   Nothing else! He was just being a complete ###. Because we stayed firm and we did not take no for an answer he let us go. We asked him at the beginning of the conversation, why he let the car in front of us go and we were stopped. His answer was there are only 4 patrol cars to all the cars from  Ontario going to Quebec and they couldn't stop them all. So it was simply for us luck of the draw. Unbelievable!!! Also, for an FYI, we were stopped again about 15 min. later by local police, for driving with Ontario plates. Again we had everything right there, and she let us through. Finally got to the hotel, late yesterday in Montreal. My husband is at his appt. now..... and I'm holding my breath!!!

[AprilToth 2]

16 hours ago, MovingToFlorida said:

Can I asked what Ontario city/town you tried crossing over in when you were stopped? Were a lot of people there being stopped and turned away?

We were on the 401, when this happened. From what I've read Rt 20 is the same. Someone suggested Ottawa, but there are stops there as well.  From what I saw, the best thing was to come when there is a lot of traffic and they can't stop everyone.  Midday seemed better than late afternoon. But the best advice I got through this was to be prepared. I'm a US Citizen and my husband is Canadian, they cannot stop me from going to my Embassy as a sponsor. As this is an appt. with the US Embassy, they have a hotline open for Emergencies. Make sure you have that number ready, and get all the information you can about the officer. Name and Badge number if not allowed through. Also, have document right there and any vaccine info you have. This should not ever have been an issue! Hoping your journey is a smooth one!! 

[MovingToFlorida 71]

9 minutes ago, AprilToth said:

Hi,

I wanted to give you all an update. So yesterday we went again to the Ontario-Quebec border. The car in front had Ontario plates and there was one police car waiting. He went to go after him and then saw us and waited. So the other car got on by and we got stopped.... again! Would you believe it was the same officer that turned us around the day before???!!!

We both could not believe it! He of course recognized us and was not happy. He told us to turn around and not come back until the day of our appointment at 4:00 AM.  This time we were better prepared for him. We had our document letter out, our vaccine records out and I had the Emergency number to the Montreal Embassy. My husband kept his cool, better than me, and just kept calling him "sir" and saying, we will not make it on time, if we do it that way and we cannot lose our appt.  After pointing to the letter and the time, MANY times, he just said "ok, go!" .   Nothing else! He was just being a complete ###. Because we stayed firm and we did not take no for an answer he let us go. We asked him at the beginning of the conversation, why he let the car in front of us go and we were stopped. His answer was there are only 4 patrol cars to all the cars from  Ontario going to Quebec and they couldn't stop them all. So it was simply for us luck of the draw. Unbelievable!!! Also, for an FYI, we were stopped again about 15 min. later by local police, for driving with Ontario plates. Again we had everything right there, and she let us through. Finally got to the hotel, late yesterday in Montreal. My husband is at his appt. now..... and I'm holding my breath!!!

Yay! I am so happy that you got through. I am so sorry it was that stressful but at least you got there and at the very least you were able to go through the day of the appointment. I was nervous they would have told you no you can't go to the appointment at all. Hoping your husband's appointment goes well and you can celebrate instead of being stressed 🙂❤

[MovingToFlorida 71]

9 minutes ago, AprilToth said:

We were on the 401, when this happened. From what I've read Rt 20 is the same. Someone suggested Ottawa, but there are stops there as well.  From what I saw, the best thing was to come when there is a lot of traffic and they can't stop everyone.  Midday seemed better than late afternoon. But the best advice I got through this was to be prepared. I'm a US Citizen and my husband is Canadian, they cannot stop me from going to my Embassy as a sponsor. As this is an appt. with the US Embassy, they have a hotline open for Emergencies. Make sure you have that number ready, and get all the information you can about the officer. Name and Badge number if not allowed through. Also, have document right there and any vaccine info you have. This should not ever have been an issue! Hoping your journey is a smooth one!! 

Thank you. I know they weren't being very understanding but they were just doing what they are asked. Immigration is not on the list of reasons they will let people in for if you go to the Quebec site. They didn't really have to let someone in for that if they didn't want to. I'm so glad they did though. I hope our experience isn't so bad. 

Edited May 17, 2021 by MovingToFlorida

[NGJ 31]

On 5/16/2021 at 10:40 AM, MovingToFlorida said:

This isn't good news for us. Our interview is may 26th and we're driving from Southern Ontario,  8 hours drive. We were going the day before. We also have a hotel booked. We waited 15 yrs for this and we had an interview booked last year and it was canceled cause of the pandemic. So we should have done this last year. I figured they'd let us through for something like this. 😕

@MovingToFlorida hello, how was your experience with provincial border crossing and interview? Hope all went well. 

[MovingToFlorida 71]

9 hours ago, NGJ said:

@MovingToFlorida hello, how was your experience with provincial border crossing and interview? Hope all went well. 

Our trip went well. We didn't get stopped once even though we passed several police. Someone I know went the day before us and same for them no issues. 

 

On the way home yesterday it looked like they were stopping people when they came in. Guess we got lucky. 

 

Interview went well. We were approved for our visa! 

[NGJ 31]

5 hours ago, MovingToFlorida said:

Our trip went well. We didn't get stopped once even though we passed several police. Someone I know went the day before us and same for them no issues. 

 

On the way home yesterday it looked like they were stopping people when they came in. Guess we got lucky. 

 

Interview went well. We were approved for our visa! 

Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing your experience and all the best for your move to the USA.

[MovingToFlorida 71]

Just now, NGJ said:

Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing your experience and all the best for your move to the USA.

Thank you!!

[Riversong 420]

On 5/27/2021 at 2:55 AM, MovingToFlorida said:

Our trip went well. We didn't get stopped once even though we passed several police. Someone I know went the day before us and same for them no issues. 

 

On the way home yesterday it looked like they were stopping people when they came in. Guess we got lucky. 

 

Interview went well. We were approved for our visa! 

So glad it went well for you. Congrats on the approval! Now to start your new life in the US!

[MovingToFlorida 71]

1 hour ago, Riversong said:

So glad it went well for you. Congrats on the approval! Now to start your new life in the US!

Thank you! Just waiting to get our visa in the mail so we can start getting things going to move. It says it's on the way so hopefully soon 🙂

[Pupper 5]

Is the border still closed..? We were planning on driving there but now I'm worried we will be turned away too! 

[MovingToFlorida 71]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:07 PM, Pupper said:

Is the border still closed..? We were planning on driving there but now I'm worried we will be turned away too! 

I think so. There were police at the border but we weren't let in.

[Pupper 5]

3 hours ago, MovingToFlorida said:

I think so. There were police at the border but we weren't let in.

Thank you. When you weren't let in did you stay at a nearby hotel? If so; which one did you go to? I'm worried since my appointment is super early.

[MovingToFlorida 71]

4 hours ago, Pupper said:

Thank you. When you weren't let in did you stay at a nearby hotel? If so; which one did you go to? I'm worried since my appointment is super early.

Oh sorry made a typo. We WERE let in. The police were sitting at the border but didn't stop us.  But when we came home the next day we saw they were stopping people coming in. They may stop to ask you what you're entering for but have your interview letter to show them. 

 

We stayed at the Novatel hotel in Montreal. 5 min walk to the consulate. But we had a backup hotel in Cornwall Ontario just in case they wouldn't let us in until the day of our appointment. It's a couple hours away but it's the closest hotel to the border. 

 

Be prepared for a traffic jam once you get into Quebec. There was one for us and when we left. Give yourself lots of time to get there. 

[Pupper 5]

6 hours ago, MovingToFlorida said:

Oh sorry made a typo. We WERE let in. The police were sitting at the border but didn't stop us.  But when we came home the next day we saw they were stopping people coming in. They may stop to ask you what you're entering for but have your interview letter to show them. 

 

We stayed at the Novatel hotel in Montreal. 5 min walk to the consulate. But we had a backup hotel in Cornwall Ontario just in case they wouldn't let us in until the day of our appointment. It's a couple hours away but it's the closest hotel to the border. 

 

Be prepared for a traffic jam once you get into Quebec. There was one for us and when we left. Give yourself lots of time to get there. 

Thank you so much! I appreciate it!