My status as a citizen of Canada is that of a landed immigrant, or “landed ignorant” as I sometimes jokingly refer to myself. It used to be that I carried my landing document with me when I traveled back and forth to the U.S., but about six years ago, Canada began to issue permanent resident I.D. cards in lieu of the landing document. I would describe the process involved in acquiring said card as somewhat tedious, prone as I am to understatement. I don’t remember everything I had to do, but it was a big pain in the neck, and it took a long time for Canadian Immigration to issue me the card.
Jump ahead five years, and about three months ago, I noticed that my almost five year old PR Card had an expiry date, and guess what … it expired in January of 2009. It was actually January 11th, 2009 but I could not make out the eleven because it is obscured by a watermark. In fact the entire expiry date was practically unreadable. Silly me, I thought the card was good for as long as I was a permanent resident, surrendered if and when I moved back to the States. I guess that’s why I’m a landed ignorant, because I didn’t bother to read the fine print. By the way, when dealing with Canadian Immigration, it’s ALL fine print. Anyhow, I was a little surprised that there was no renewal notice, as there is with just about any other authorization card issued by the Canadian Government. If my health card needs to be renewed, I receive a notice. Same goes for my driver’s license, or for the registration for my car. Why wouldn’t they send a renewal notice for immigration? To make matters worse, the renewal process is almost as tedious, annoying, and bureaucratic as the original PR application. Nevertheless, I sent in my renewal application, several months before it was scheduled to expire. Bring me a shrubbery! (not-so-obscure reference to a scene from Monty Python’s “In Search of the Holy Grail”).
Jump ahead five years, and about three months ago, I noticed that my almost five year old PR Card had an expiry date, and guess what … it expired in January of 2009. It was actually January 11th, 2009 but I could not make out the eleven because it is obscured by a watermark. In fact the entire expiry date was practically unreadable. Silly me, I thought the card was good for as long as I was a permanent resident, surrendered if and when I moved back to the States. I guess that’s why I’m a landed ignorant, because I didn’t bother to read the fine print. By the way, when dealing with Canadian Immigration, it’s ALL fine print. Anyhow, I was a little surprised that there was no renewal notice, as there is with just about any other authorization card issued by the Canadian Government. If my health card needs to be renewed, I receive a notice. Same goes for my driver’s license, or for the registration for my car. Why wouldn’t they send a renewal notice for immigration? To make matters worse, the renewal process is almost as tedious, annoying, and bureaucratic as the original PR application. Nevertheless, I sent in my renewal application, several months before it was scheduled to expire. Bring me a shrubbery! (not-so-obscure reference to a scene from Monty Python’s “In Search of the Holy Grail”).
When I returned from Buffalo a few weeks ago, and crossed the Canadian border, I handed the immigration officer my now expired Permanent Resident card and was almost denied entry into Canada. I didn’t realize it had expired on the eleventh. The immigration officer asked me if I had my landing document, and I told him that no, I was required to surrender that document in order to get the temporary card. This is going to be a problem. I just got a notice from the issuers of renewal cards that in my application for renewal I had failed to dot an “i” on line 487, thereby delaying the application process even further. I called Canadian Immigration and asked what I am supposed to do in the interim until my card is renewed, and their advice directly contradicted what I was told at the border. I am now in immigration limbo. Although I am married to a Canadian citizen, have a Canadian health card, an Ontario Driver’s license, a Social Insurance Number, etc., my immigration status is unclear. Technically, I suppose that I am now an illegal immigrant, though I have made every effort to follow the ambiguous and complicated rules required to remain a resident of this country. By the way, good luck trying to reach a warm body to assist you in this process. Everything is phone menus and websites which are not particularly helpful.
Finally, last weekend, while I was up north, I volunteered my services as a grill cook for the 15th Annual Kearney Dogsled Races. Though the weather was unseasonably mild, there was a good turnout, and I was able to enjoy some of the races after my grill duties were fulfilled. There is no describing the cacophony of over one hundred sled dogs howling and barking at the same time. If you’ve never been to a sled dog race, and you like dogs, you might want to put this on your list of things to do. I hope to attend again next year … that is, if I have not yet been banished from the country.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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