Crossed the border by car earlier today into Michigan and activated my visa. I stated that I needed to activate my permanent residence and was directed to secondary inspection. Went inside, had my picture taken and the officer told me my visa was activated and that the cards would be sent. He told me he didn’t need the envelope with paperwork since it was all digital now and he didn’t take my fingerprints either. Not sure if others had the same experience recently. I will ask again when my wife and daughter activate their visas tomorrow on the Mexico-Texas border. As I was leaving, one officer told me “Welcome to Freedom”, and I laughed out loud.
Best of luck to all and thank you to everyone that shared their experiences here. It’s a great community. Make Canada proud in the USA.