kamshaft

hi guys,

just a quick one!

im currently in toronto on a IEC visa, i wish to catch a flight to California nut have found prices waaaay cheaper if i grab a flight from Bufalo instead of Toronto.

My question is if i arrive at the us/canada border via car what visa/documents will i requre if any?

im a uk passport holder

Cheers

Novocastrian

You need your passport and $6 US.

ultrarunner

Oh...and stick to the questions being asked, no smart Alec comments that will get you "sent upstairs"

kamshaft

im guessing i need some kind of visa, can i be proactive and do it online beforehand? iv had a look but cant seem to find anything!

ultrarunner

That is because there is no "visa" providing you are carrying a British passport...pay your dosh, and off you go with a stamp in your PP like so below

dbd33

What you need isn't a visa but a visa waiver, a little piece of cardboard given to you at the border (for a $6 fee) that says you're admitted without a visa. You have to hand it back within three months; that is you can hand it in when you come back from this trip or reuse it and hand it in later (within three months). You hand it to the Canadian border agent, who will typically ask if you want to keep it, if not they deliver them back to America.

Since the time required to queue for the cardboard (called an I94) is erratic, we usually drive down in the evening, stay at the Holiday Inn Airport, go for wings and fly the next morning. On the way back we catch the shuttle back to HI and pick up the car.

wolstie

Also to note, whilst ESTA is not a requirement for a land border crossing, it does speed up the process as you don't have to fill in the questions on the green card.

They just grab the info off your ESTA record, print it and put it in your passport.

bgpz

A couple of extra things based on personal experience:

- Permanent Residents can apply for a NEXUS card. While this is *not* a substitute for the I-94W mentioned above (you'll still have to go and get one, which will be valid for up to 3 months) - it will make any subsequent border crossings a lot quicker and easier. The only other slight annoyance is that you need to in to a NEXUS office (no appointment necessary) so they can manually update their records with your new visa waiver details... there are NEXUS offices on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge (For Erie), American side of the Whirlpool Bridge (NEXUS-only), and at Toronto Pearson airport (last time I needed to do this, I popped in while waiting to meet someone at YYZ - I was in and out within five minutes!).

- As mentioned by dbd33, times to be seen to get the I-94W sorted out can vary a *lot* - shortest wait I've had was 20 minutes, longest was 2.5 hours. I've nearly missed a flight because of a longer than expected wait (even giving myself 3 hours padding, I experienced that 2.5 hour wait, thanks to two buses that had pulled in a few minutes before me!).

One last thing: the other great thing about flying out of Buffalo for a trip is shopping at Wegmans when you come back.
If you like decent beers, they stock several very good ones that you don't get at LCBO (e.g. many by Ommegang, Brooklyn, Great Lakes and most recently Bell's).

dbd33

Oh, you'll certainly want to acquire a Premiere Wines Frequent Customer card!

And, for those so inclined, there's an interesting aquarium shop by the Holiday Inn. Also there are a great number of vendors of clothing in and around Buffalo, for people who live in Toronto it's a chance to experience fashion as well as reasonable prices.

bgpz

Thanks for the tip! We're heading over later this month... great timing

If you cross the border at Queenston/Lewiston bridge, you're five minutes from a large outlet mall. It's on Military Road, and very close to Niagara Falls Airport (IAG) if you happen to be flying from there rather than BUF.

Walden Galleria is the megamall close to BUF that should satifsy all your US retail desires. It's flippin' *huge*, though - be warned. It has a Cheesecake Factory outlet, if you are so inclined. Personally, Walden Galleria is a bit too much for me - but I can handle a reasonably focused trip to Macy's or Sears if we're after certain items. There usually seems to be some kind of sale on, too...

One strategy we're used is to do some shopping there when we cross the border, and leave the stuff locked the the car boot while we fly off and enjoy ourselves. Potentially fewer things to buy while at final destination, less stuff to faff about with when travelling (potentially avoid having to check a bag for the flights!), and knowing that it'll all fit in the car on the drive home

All this, and you get to deal with a far more compact and less frustrating airport than YYZ. Worth the paperwork-related hassles, IMO.

dbd33

My children grew up with the habit of discarding all the clothes they were wearing in the bin there. I hope they've grown out of that.

ultrarunner

And just to add to all the above......

Nexus card is indeed a nice to have card. It's free for minors and adults pay a fee....you will have to fill out the application online, and then attend an interview session once all background checks are done

https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/pkmslogout



Once you get your card, the lanes at border crossing are only open during certain times. If there happens to be someone in your car without the card, you CAN'T use the lane.

Oh...another fly out option is WATERTOWN NY, it has flights to Chicago and beyond. You are also able to drive 1hr further to Syracuse (Destiny USA mall), and the Waterloo outlets for shopping

Don't be fooled into thinking there are deals here, prices are jacked up because of it's proximity to Canada. You have to go further away from the border to get better deals

bats

He doesn't want to fly to Chicago but if he did then Porter from Toronto is $320 and AA from Watetown is '$750.
All depends on the day and time.

ultrarunner

bats...I get that. My "Chicago" comment was just a general one, and am sure you saw where I said "and beyond"? Again....it's just another option for the posters or other members reading

Impulse post eh

dbd33

You can excuse it as an impulse post but nonetheless you've written claptrap. Someone in Toronto is not going to go all the way to Watertown to fly to the west coast and someone in Canada for a year is not eligible for a Nexus card.

Furthermore, it doesn't matter if clothes are available more cheaply than in Buffalo in farther flung States as someone in Toronto is not going to go to Nevada for a pair of socks. It only matters that they're cheaper in Buffalo than they are in Toronto.