Received my letter for confirmation of permanent resident now what!?

[doslapas]

I received the COPR, i called to make an appointment at a CIC office, but they told me it would take some time for that. They recommended to travel to a border. I live in Toronto, do you recommend any border office? I tried to search online but the link on the cbsa is not available.

Another problem I have is that I still didn't receive my visa extension. Will I have any problems because of that? I have the receipt and proof of mailing, is that enough?

Thanks

 

[taffy7]

Try the peace bridge at Niagara Falls . It will only take you about an hour or so from Toronto .

 

[bigredmoose]

I received the COPR, i called to make an appointment at a CIC office, but they told me it would take some time for that. They recommended to travel to a border. I live in Toronto, do you recommend any border office? I tried to search online but the link on the cbsa is not available.

Another problem I have is that I still didn't receive my visa extension. Will I have any problems because of that? I have the receipt and proof of mailing, is that enough?

Thanks

Go west on the QEW. It ends at the Peace Bridge crossing. Tell the US border guard you are going to turn around so that you can land in Canada and get your Canadian permanent residency. This process is called "flagpoling", because you're basically just turning around the flagpole ;-). As soon as you're in the US, do a legal/safe U turn and get in the line to enter Canada. Tell the CBSA agent that you are landing as a permanent resident and then follow their instructions.

Queenston Lewiston is technically closer, but the wait times there can be brutal.

Keep in mind, you are entering 2 sovereign nations, no different than if you were going someplace on vacation. All the rules of international travel still apply. Leave the drugs, firearms and meat at home!

As for the visa extension, I imagine it's irrelevant once you get your PR, but I'm not sure.

Good luck!

 

[doslapas]

Is it really necessary to cross the border or just get to the border office?

 

[Rob_TO]

Is it really necessary to cross the border or just get to the border office?

You must go to USA side first. If you don't want to (or can't) enter USA they will give you a paper called an administrative refusal which you then must show to the Canadian side. If you just walk into the Canada office directly without going to USA first, you can't do the landing.

And once you go to the US border, any visa extension you have in progress is automatically cancelled. But that really doesn't matter for your PR landing.