I am a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) of the US. I wish to travel from Delhi to Toronto via air, and then cross by land border into the US. Will I clear US immigration when I land in Toronto? What documents will I need to cross into the US by road? Will I be fingerprinted again? Will it be at the Toronto airport or at the land border crossing?
-
2No. You clear US immigration only if you connect directly by air to the US.– xuq01Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 18:02
-
9Totally different country. They have pictures of the Queen of England on their money, so definitely not us. They speak 2 languages, barely have guns or crime (weird coincidence), and like something called "poutine". No burgers but they have Tim Hortons, so all good. We kinda maybe sacked Toronto and they sort-of burned down the White House just a little bit, but they also saved our bacon in Iran, so bygones.– Harper - Reinstate MonicaCommented Jun 12, 2017 at 21:38
-
What is your citizenship? Someone added a tag guessing you are a citizen of India, but could you say if that's the case?– Nate EldredgeCommented Jun 12, 2017 at 22:14
-
@Harper: did you learn about Canada on the Colbert Report? Please don't make generalisations about a place you've never been. Hamburgers are German, not American, and yes, we have them. Our monarch is legally distinct, Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada. We have 2 official languages, but many more are spoken. French in Canada has the same prominence as Spanish in the US except in Québec. We have quite a lot of guns and crime, America just tops the developed world in both. You can buy poutine all over the United States, same with Tim Hortons.– Dylan KnollCommented Jun 13, 2017 at 1:02
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
On the itinerary you've outlined, you would enter Canada and go through its customs and immigration processes. You will then enter the United States through a land border crossing, of which there are more than 100 between the US and its northern neighbor. The one you select depends on your route and destination.
Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. must present a Permanent Resident Card ("Green Card", Form I-551), a Reentry Permit (if gone for more than 1 year), or a Returning Resident Visa (if gone for 2 years or more) to reenter the United States.
-
2Be aware that you need an ETA to arrive in Canada by air. Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 18:49
-
@DJClayworth unless OP is a Canadian citizen. The Indian-citizens tag was added by someone else, so it may be an incorrect assumption.– phoogCommented Jun 12, 2017 at 20:45
-
1I am an Indian citizen with an older version green card which has no expiration date. I am told that when I arrive in A Canadian airport from India I will be clearing immigration and customs there. So what happens when I then return to the US via a land border.– UshaitaCommented Jun 13, 2017 at 18:01
-
2What you have described in your question is that you will fly to Toronto, Canada, leave the airport and drive through Canada into the United States. Only if you fly into Toronto and connect to another flight, going from Toronto to any city in the United States, do you clear US immigration through the US preclearance facility at Toronto Pearson Int'l. To drive from Toronto, not fly, you enter Canada and need an eTA to do that. Without it, and not onward flight ticket, you will not be able to board your flight in Delhi.– GiorgioCommented Jun 13, 2017 at 18:30
-
2@Ushaita "I am told that when I arrive in A Canadian airport from India I will be clearing immigration and customs there." That is correct. You will clear Canadian customs and immigration when you arrive by air in Toronto. You will then travel by land through Canada to a US border crossing, where you will clear US customs and immigration.– phoogCommented Jun 20, 2017 at 4:35
The information provided by other users is correct, however, I will try to provide better clarity by answering this question more generally:
Canada and the US are separate countries. If you fly from a third country to either Canada or the US, you must meet the entry/transit requirements of the country you are flying to. If you travel between Canada and the US, you must also complete border formalities for the country that you are entering.
Arriving and Admissibility to Canada
Since the outlined itinerary has a stop in Canada, you must satisfy Canada's admissibility requirements. In the case of an Indian National with a US permanent residence card, you must obtain an eTA. However, if you are ineligible for an eTA (for example, you are an Indian National without a US permanent residence card), then you would require a Canadian Visitor Visa. Note that a Canadian Transit Visa or the transit without visa program can not be used for the above itinerary as a traveler must both arrive and depart by air in order to use those programs.
US Border Control Location
In most cases a person travelling to the US by air will complete US border formalities shortly after landing. However, the US Customs and Border Control maintains some preclearance facilities which allow passengers to clear US border formalities before physically entering the US. Many Canadian airports are equipped with these facilities allowing US bound passengers to clear formalities before flying. However these facilities can only be accessed by travelers prior to boarding a US bound flight. Travelers who are travelling to the US using any means other than a US-bound flight can not use or interact with these facilities. If you are travelling to the US by land, you will complete US border formalities shortly after physically crossing the border. In general, US land border formalities are similar to the formalities that one would experience when arriving by air however, certain documentation requirements are lessened for land boarder crossings. Nonetheless, if you would normally be fingerprinted when arriving by air, one should expect that you could be fingerprinted at a land crossing.
answered Jun 20, 2017 at 4:29
-
I don't think green card holders are fingerprinted each time they enter the US.– phoogCommented Jun 20, 2017 at 4:33