I have read through the entire topic thread but didn't see my question regarding the timing of importing our vehicle from Canada addressed. Hopefully I didn't miss it!
I will be relocating from Toronto to Denver on an H1B visa rather than through a cross-border relationship. The question is whether I need to have activated the visa in order to import our Canadian vehicle or if I can import the vehicle prior to my visa start date when crossing as a visitor. My visa start date is Sept 1, 2011, making August 22nd (10 days prior) the earliest date I can enter to activate the visa. I believe that is also the earliest a moving company can bring our household goods over the border.
Our son starts kindergarten in Denver August 25th so we would like the option of crossing the border a week or two prior to August 22nd as visitors so we can get him settled in Denver (although we won't have our household goods). Ideally we would import the vehicle then since driving back to a border crossing is not easy from Denver! I would fly back to Toronto on or after August 22nd to reenter and activate the visa at Pearson and allow the moving company to cross. Apparently the rest of the family can file and pay a fee to change their status to H4 visitors from Denver without reentering. However we do not want to create any problems that could hold us up at the border now or in the future.
If early importing is not feasible we would probably wait and cross together and activate our visas as a family of four August 22nd, import the car and make a rushed drive to Denver.
Canada/US Crossing with Vehicle Letter
in Canada
Posted
I have read through the entire topic thread but didn't see my question regarding the timing of importing our vehicle from Canada addressed. Hopefully I didn't miss it!
I will be relocating from Toronto to Denver on an H1B visa rather than through a cross-border relationship. The question is whether I need to have activated the visa in order to import our Canadian vehicle or if I can import the vehicle prior to my visa start date when crossing as a visitor. My visa start date is Sept 1, 2011, making August 22nd (10 days prior) the earliest date I can enter to activate the visa. I believe that is also the earliest a moving company can bring our household goods over the border.
Our son starts kindergarten in Denver August 25th so we would like the option of crossing the border a week or two prior to August 22nd as visitors so we can get him settled in Denver (although we won't have our household goods). Ideally we would import the vehicle then since driving back to a border crossing is not easy from Denver! I would fly back to Toronto on or after August 22nd to reenter and activate the visa at Pearson and allow the moving company to cross. Apparently the rest of the family can file and pay a fee to change their status to H4 visitors from Denver without reentering. However we do not want to create any problems that could hold us up at the border now or in the future.
If early importing is not feasible we would probably wait and cross together and activate our visas as a family of four August 22nd, import the car and make a rushed drive to Denver.