Soft Landing/Moving to Canada

[jatinst]

Does having an approved I-140 from a previous employer affect the AVR decision in any way?

I am not able to find any stamping appointments in Canada, or India. I have an approved I-797 from a new employer till Aug 2024. But no valid visa stamp.

We got our medicals done again, and ended up getting a new COPR till June 19, 2022. I really want to do a soft landing before June 19th if I can, but confused about some forum posts mentioning immigrant intent during AVR if you have an approved PERM or I-140.

 

[swan0206]

Does having an approved I-140 from a previous employer affect the AVR decision in any way?

I am not able to find any stamping appointments in Canada, or India. I have an approved I-797 from a new employer till Aug 2024. But no valid visa stamp.

We got our medicals done again, and ended up getting a new COPR till June 19, 2022. I really want to do a soft landing before June 19th if I can, but confused about some forum posts mentioning immigrant intent during AVR if you have an approved PERM or I-140.

There are quite a number of people using AVR with i140 approved. I am one of them. No issues, you can definitely plan to do your landing.

 

[absi]

Does having an approved I-140 from a previous employer affect the AVR decision in any way?

I am not able to find any stamping appointments in Canada, or India. I have an approved I-797 from a new employer till Aug 2024. But no valid visa stamp.

We got our medicals done again, and ended up getting a new COPR till June 19, 2022. I really want to do a soft landing before June 19th if I can, but confused about some forum posts mentioning immigrant intent during AVR if you have an approved PERM or I-140.

H1B is a dual intent visa.

 

[Ankson]

Hello All,

We received the Golden email to send passports, have a few questions. Please advise. We are Indian Citizen, COR is US with a US new born kid

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.
2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?

Thanks in advance

 

[kusump]

Hello All,

We received the Golden email to send passports, have a few questions. Please advise. We are Indian Citizen, COR is US with a US new born kid

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.
2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?

Thanks in advance

Hi Ankson,
Whatever advise I am sharing below is totally based on my own experience of sending passport and receiving COPR. This is not a legal/official advice

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.

In your PPR they asked to send passport to VFS NY or NFS LA? I got PPR request for VFS NY.
I availed VFS NY two way courier service. For availing this service, you need to send email to "vfsshippinglabels@vfsglobal.com". You will get further instruction from them.
For me and my family, I packed each applicant documents in separate Fedex envelope and then sent all applicant fedex package in one BIG Fedex envelope to VFS NY.

2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
For each applicant, you need to pay because you would be sending passport copy and photo for US born. I paid for my US born also.

3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?
yes, you need to fill Appendix A for all the applicants. I did the same in my case.

 

[Ankson]

Hi Ankson,
Whatever advise I am sharing below is totally based on my own experience of sending passport and receiving COPR. This is not a legal/official advice

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.

In your PPR they asked to send passport to VFS NY or NFS LA? I got PPR request for VFS NY.
I availed VFS NY two way courier service. For availing this service, you need to send email to "vfsshippinglabels@vfsglobal.com". You will get further instruction from them.
For me and my family, I packed each applicant documents in separate Fedex envelope and then sent all applicant fedex package in one BIG Fedex envelope to VFS NY.

2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
For each applicant, you need to pay because you would be sending passport copy and photo for US born. I paid for my US born also.

3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?
yes, you need to fill Appendix A for all the applicants. I did the same in my case.

Sure, thanks for the guidance!

For me and my family, I packed each applicant documents in separate Fedex envelope and then sent all applicant fedex package in one BIG Fedex envelope to VFS NY.
I believe you put the labels generated by the system ((=number of family members/applicants)) on individual envelopes . SO DID YOU BUY ANOTHER SET OF LABEL (at FEDEX shop) to put outside of that big envelope ?

Also I believe, we need to add one consent form per applicant (not 2 copies per applicant). Is my understanding correct?

 

[Anky2449]

Hello All,

We received the Golden email to send passports, have a few questions. Please advise. We are Indian Citizen, COR is US with a US new born kid

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.
2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?

Thanks in advance

Last year I did that for me and my wife. To answer, some of your question:

1) Do we need to send all passports in the single envelope or separate.
I am confused as per instructions on request letter, we need to send all documents in one single package.
Comment: Single Package with all the passports with the return envelope inside it

2) Do we have to pay fee for our US born son as I believe we do not need to send his passport
Comment: I can't comment on this one as I already had paid fees earlier for both of us

3) if we are sending passports in separate envelope, do we need to fill Appendix A - Updated information chart with all envelopes?
Comment: You only need to fill out Appendix A for the primary applicant. Dependents does not need Appendix A, unless they applied separately

 

[sm07]

Dear All - I am currently at USA at F-1 Visa. I got my COPR and I am planning to land Canada (Soft Landing). I got PR based on provincial nomination at Ontario. But I am right now at California. I would like to land (by air) at Vancouver and would like to fly back after 2/3 days. I don't like to fly Ontario.

(1) Will there be any problem if I don't visit Ontario? My plan to soft land at Vancouver BC and return back to California after 2/3 days.
(2) What should I say to officer at airport if they ask about my intent - soft landing or normal landing?
(3) Do I need to present any air fare ticket of Ontario to officer?
(4) What are the chances that officer reject my PR?
(5) As my F-1 visa currently expired (I-20 still valid), I would like to return back considering Automatic Revalidation (AR). Will be any problem during facing CBP?

Please suggest and share details. Tagging for expert opinion @legalfalcon @legalfalconindia

 

[sm07]

Dear All - I am currently at USA at F-1 Visa. I got my COPR and I am planning to land Canada (Soft Landing). I got PR based on provincial nomination at Ontario. But I am right now at California. I would like to land (by air) at Vancouver and would like to fly back after 2/3 days. I don't like to fly Ontario.

(1) Will there be any problem if I don't visit Ontario? My plan to soft land at Vancouver BC and return back to California after 2/3 days.
(2) What should I say to officer at airport if they ask about my intent - soft landing or normal landing?
(3) Do I need to present any air fare ticket of Ontario to officer?
(4) What are the chances that officer reject my PR?
(5) As my F-1 visa currently expired (I-20 still valid), I would like to return back considering Automatic Revalidation (AR). Will be any problem during facing CBP?

Please suggest and share details. Tagging for expert opinion

 

[pk2711]

Hello. I have a question on getting my H1B Stamped in India. I have a CoPR and a Entry visa stamped on my passport for Canada. When filling out DS 160 do I need to mention that I am a PR for Canada? From what I read online, one will need to land in Canada and complete the landing formalities to activate the PR card process. So to ensure that all the information is correctly mentioned on my DS 160, do I say "No" to PR of any country? I will be going for an in person interview at a Consulate in India as dropbox is not an option for me. I have the Canada entry visa on my passport and I am not sure if this might come across as not mentioning all details correctly on DS 160. Any one any idea about this? @legalfalcon

 

[Anky2449]

Hello everyone!

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone in this forum for sharing so many insights. As my wife and I just completed our COPR Landing process this week, I wanted to share the experience. I am on the H-1B visa and my wife on H4 visa. We both have our expired Visa Stamp, so we used AVR to re-enter the USA after completing the landing process. We used the Cornwall Port of Entry. We went on a weekday so traffic was very light on both sides.

Canada side (Cornwall Port of Entry):
Entry Checkpoint:

• Crossed the bridge and paid $3 for the checkpoint pass.
• The officer asked the purpose and mentioned the CORP and landing formalities. Officer asked for the following information:
  Provided Passport + CoPR. Recent Covid testing certificate, ArriveCAN details with vaccination certificate, GOTF document as I mentioned I am planning to move permanently later.
• Asked if I bought anything from duty-free shops in Cornwall island: Answered no
• Asked for if carrying weapons or illegal: Answered no
• The officer gave us the slip and asked us to park the car and go inside the office to complete the PR processing.

At Office (Canada):

The officer inside was very polite and knowledgeable. As soon as we went inside, the officer asked if we were here to complete the PR landing process. As he went through the documents, he explained some of the steps to us. He was training another officer how to process such applications.

• Documents requested: CoPR, Passports, Covid Vaccination Cards, Negative test results, and Goods to follow list (printed word document)
• Signed both copies of CoPR and was asked to answer a couple of questions on COPR and sign our initials
• Asked for my address to send the PR card.
• As I had provided the GFT form (including the car details with my VIN and all), I believe it took them a few more minutes to create a GTF form. He specifically asked a couple of times and explained that people usually underestimate the jewelry value, and when they bring it with them later, it is a lot more.
• The process was super smooth at the office and took around 20-30minutes. He finally congratulated us and informed us that we could get our SIN number as the Service Canada office, which is only 7 minutes from that place.
• I was good to go with my copy of the signed CoPR & entry stamp on my Passport.
• We went to the Service Canada office to get the SIN number. However, only one lady was working so we had to wait for 30-40minutes before our turn came. Unfortunately, the lady told us that due to Covid, they had reduced some of the processing at the center, so she asked us to apply for SIN online.
• NOTE: As I don’t have proof of Canada address yet, I wanted to get the SIN number from the center as address proof is not required.
• We finally went to eat some food before heading back to the US. Another paid $3 for a checkpoint pass for the bridge.

US side (Rooseveltown Port of Entry)
Entry Checkpoint:

Officer was again super friendly and knowledgeable. He knew about the AVR process.

• Asked for our passports and I-797s
• Asked for the reason for travel & how long we were in Canada: Mentioned PR landing and two hours.
• Asked if we own or rent a house: Stated we are renting one.
• Asked if we were heading back home: Stated that we are going to Lake Placid for a couple of days. We did a small talk on it for 2minutes.
• Officer said everything was good, and we were all good to go. He didn’t ask us to go inside the office or anything.
• Before leaving, we just did another small talk for 2 minutes.
• I can’t emphasize how smooth the whole process was. It took about 10minutes on the US side.

 

[Ankson]

Folks a different question from soft-landing process but I am a little bit worried. Your experience/insights here will be helpful.

We sent our passports for stamping and COPR on Feb 28th to VFS New York and were received by them on March 1st. Our packages were opened on March 17th and were dispatched to IRCC the same day. Since then, we see the same tracking status "Your application, tracking ID No. ******** has been received and is under process at the IRCC Office on 2022/03/18"

How long does IRCC take to send it back to VFS (after stamping and generating COPR)? I thought wait time is only at VFS.

Thanks in advance!

 

[shersingh]

Does having an approved I-140 from a previous employer affect the AVR decision in any way?

I am not able to find any stamping appointments in Canada, or India. I have an approved I-797 from a new employer till Aug 2024. But no valid visa stamp.

We got our medicals done again, and ended up getting a new COPR till June 19, 2022. I really want to do a soft landing before June 19th if I can, but confused about some forum posts mentioning immigrant intent during AVR if you have an approved PERM or I-140.

When did you get your medicals redone?

 

[steaky]

So to ensure that all the information is correctly mentioned on my DS 160, do I say "No" to PR of any country?

Yes, if you became PR formally. Otherwise, no.

 

[sowsiv]

Hi, not sure if it was asked previosuly,
I am on H4 visa, I plan to work in USA for any remote canadian company or even do freelance and get money in canada account while staying in USA.

Is it possible to open a canada bank account from USA and use it for any deposits purpose. I saw that scoatiabank allows opening of an account online as long as you have a canadian phone number. (planning to take a canada textnow phone number for an year $4.99/yr)