I'm crossing the border soon - any tips?

[spar-kee 0]

I am getting ready to cross the border and marry the man of my dreams! This website has been so helpful with the visa process so...can you tell me about your border crossing experiences when crossing on a K-1 visa? How long did it take to actually get across? What can I expect from the border crossing guards? ...anything else that is applicable?

Thanks!

[raymaga 25]

I crossed the border into the U.S. with my K-1 Visa with no problems whatsoever, and so did my daughter (with her K-2 Visa) one year later with no problems.

When I crossed, I had a moving van full of all my stuff with all my boxes numbered and I had a listing of the contents of each box with me. The list was very simple, such as "Box 1 - Linens", "Box 2 - Books", "Box 3 - Clothes", "Box 4 - Dishes", etc. They like you to list the serial numbers of any electronics, such as computers, etc. All they did was take a look inside the van and sent us on our way. My fiance was driving the moving van and I was driving his car.

When my daugher moved to the U.S., she just had her things in our car. They didn't even look inside the car at all.

The whole process took less than 20 minutes for both of us from start to finish, and we were on our way.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Haven't crossed yet, but heard some tips around the grapevine:

1. Remember to have all your documents with you (visa, passport, X-ray, etc).

2. Label all boxes

3. If crossing with pets, make the proper arrangements.

4. Be nice, be nice, be nice

CONGRATS ON THE WEDDING!!!

L.

[spar-kee 0]

Thanks! I can't believe it's finally here! And thanks for the tips...I'll keep those in mind for sure!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

When we crossed in a rented van packed with a week's worth of belongings, 6 cats and a number of phyto-sanitary certificated houseplants, it took about 30 minutes to process the K-1 at the border. I had all of my documents ready for me, the cats and the plants - and they weren't interested. The rest of my belongings crossed the following week in a moving van once I had faxed a copy of my proof of admission to the US. Where are you crossing?

[spar-kee 0]

When we crossed in a rented van packed with a week's worth of belongings, 6 cats and a number of phyto-sanitary certificated houseplants, it took about 30 minutes to process the K-1 at the border. I had all of my documents ready for me, the cats and the plants - and they weren't interested. The rest of my belongings crossed the following week in a moving van once I had faxed a copy of my proof of admission to the US. Where are you crossing?

I'm crossing probably at Peace Arch or maybe the truck crossing and my stuff is crossing the week after. I have a moving company so they are going to walk me through the paper work. I have all of my boxes totally itemized because I tend to be over-prepared so that should be ok. I don't have any animals or plants so I'm hoping things will be pretty straight forward.

Does the visa count as proof of admission to the US?

[misa 2]

The visa is part of the documentation you'll need to give to the moving company but you will also have to fax them a copy of your I-94 that you'll get at the border. The I-94 is the proof of admission.

I went through Peace Bridge (Buffalo). Review linked in my signature. It was pretty straight-forward and everyone was nice.

Edited September 6, 2007 by misa