H-4 Visa - status change from Korean citizen to Canadian citizen

[wemiwemi]

Hi,

I am currently on my H-4 visa with my Korean citizenship (used to have Canadian PR). And recently, I received my Canadian citizenship (passport not yet).

I plan to go to Korea this summer and come back to the US with my Korean passport and my H-4 visa. Then I will visit Canada to get my Canadian passport and come back to US. Can I come back to the US with my Canadian passport and my H-4 I-797A Notice? My I-797A Notice will still indicate my citizenship as “Korea”.

Do I need to make any change to the US Immigration or get a new I-797A Notice then?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi,

I am currently on my H-4 visa with my Korean citizenship (used to have Canadian PR). And recently, I received my Canadian citizenship (passport not yet).

I plan to go to Korea this summer and come back to the US with my Korean passport and my H-4 visa. Then I will visit Canada to get my Canadian passport and come back to US. Can I come back to the US with my Canadian passport and my H-4 I-797A Notice? My I-797A Notice will still indicate my citizenship as “Korea”.

Do I need to make any change to the US Immigration or get a new I-797A Notice then?

Thanks in advance!!

Dont worry about whats mentioned in I797 approval document. Approval document is not based on your citizenship. They just mention the current citizenship at that time of application filed.
I assume your visa is valid when you enter US.

Entering Canada: How are you planning to enter? You cannot enter via air since you dont have passport. You can apply for passport from US. Or you can travel via land using your car (with your citizenship certificate and current passport) and then apply for passport inside Canada.

 

[wemiwemi]

Thank you so much for your reply!
Good to know that I can use my Canadian passport to enter US along with my current I979A (even if it indicates my citizenship as Korea).

For entering Canada, I will take your advice on the land option. Again, thanks

 

[wemiwemi]

Dont worry about whats mentioned in I797 approval document. Approval document is not based on your citizenship. They just mention the current citizenship at that time of application filed.
I assume your visa is valid when you enter US.

Entering Canada: How are you planning to enter? You cannot enter via air since you dont have passport. You can apply for passport from US. Or you can travel via land using your car (with your citizenship certificate and current passport) and then apply for passport inside Canada.

Dont worry about whats mentioned in I797 approval document. Approval document is not based on your citizenship. They just mention the current citizenship at that time of application filed.
I assume your visa is valid when you enter US.

Entering Canada: How are you planning to enter? You cannot enter via air since you dont have passport. You can apply for passport from US. Or you can travel via land using your car (with your citizenship certificate and current passport) and then apply for passport inside Canada.

Hi again,
I am writing to make sure that I got this right:
So, I can use my current I979A approval notice, which was issued based on my Korean citizenship/passport, with my Canadian passport when entering from Canada to US - is this correct?

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi again,
I am writing to make sure that I got this right:
So, I can use my current I979A approval notice, which was issued based on my Korean citizenship/passport, with my Canadian passport when entering from Canada to US - is this correct?

Yes, my colleague crossed the border after getting canadian passport when his H1 was approved earlier.
THe work permit is not tied just to the passport number/country. It was just the identification number listed based on the I129 filing.

 

[wemiwemi]

Yes, my colleague crossed the border after getting canadian passport when his H1 was approved earlier.
THe work permit is not tied just to the passport number/country. It was just the identification number listed based on the I129 filing.

Okay, great. So, when your colleague was approved of his H1 earlier, he had a different citizenship other than Canadian citizenship, right?

 

[harirajmohan]

Okay, great. So, when your colleague was approved of his H1 earlier, he had a different citizenship other than Canadian citizenship, right?

Yes of course. He has Jordan passport.
You can also call cbp to confirm.

 

[wemiwemi]

Yes of course. He has Jordan passport.
You can also call cbp to confirm.

Thank you so much! It really helped

 

[meyakanor]

It's probably not going to be an issue to continue using your Korean passport to enter the USA. That way, you can continue using your H4 visa stamp. I know a dual citizen Canadian who still uses his other passport (with a valid B2 visa stamp) to enter the USA, and it's never been a problem.

 

[bluecheese123]

Yes of course. He has Jordan passport.
You can also call cbp to confirm.

@harirajmohan , any insights form people you know what would happen in case I-485 was filed and pending with Indian passport, but then got Canadian citizenship. Do you know anyone in such scenario? Anything to be worried about?

 

[harirajmohan]

@harirajmohan , any insights form people you know what would happen in case I-485 was filed and pending with Indian passport, but then got Canadian citizenship. Do you know anyone in such scenario? Anything to be worried about?

Immigration is not tied to your passport. Passport was required during any filing with uscis just for identification purposes.
Its same as renewing current passport which leads to different passport number after the H petition was filed. We dont refile H1 just to update passport number on file.

Surely it was not an issue because same ex-colleague had this situation:
Sep 2018 filed Canadian citizenship.
Jan 2019 moved to US.
First half of 2019 filed 485
Sep 2019 Canadian oath. After few weeks he applied for Canadian passport.
Later 2019 or early 2020 received greencard.

 

[bluecheese123]

Immigration is not tied to your passport. Passport was required during any filing with uscis just for identification purposes.
Its same as renewing current passport which leads to different passport number after the H petition was filed. We dont refile H1 just to update passport number on file.

Surely it was not an issue because same ex-colleague had this situation:
Sep 2018 filed Canadian citizenship.
Jan 2019 moved to US.
First half of 2019 filed 485
Sep 2019 Canadian oath. After few weeks he applied for Canadian passport.
Later 2019 or early 2020 received greencard.

Thanks @harirajmohan , it would be of great help if you could find out something else - Did he had to update USCIS after getting Canadian citizenship? Because of a pending application with USCIS in which the country of citizenship details would change in this case. This will be of great help, thank you!

 

[sreddyk]

Hello @harirajmohan,

Would appreciate your insights in this case- I've H1B visa (stamp expired, cap exempt, few years left out of 6yrs) on Indian Passport, I also have B1 Visa (valid) on my Indian passport. Recently got my Canada Passport. I would be surrendering Indian passports (which has valid B1 stamp, and expired H1B stamp) to get OCI.

I plan to move to US using H1B Visa with my Canada passport with my current employer (who would file for GC), and also would want to retain B1 Visa from my Indian passport, would you know how to go about this and if this is possible?

 

[Samoinp]

Hello @harirajmohan,

Would appreciate your insights in this case- I've H1B visa (stamp expired, cap exempt, few years left out of 6yrs) on Indian Passport, I also have B1 Visa (valid) on my Indian passport. Recently got my Canada Passport. I would be surrendering Indian passports (which has valid B1 stamp, and expired H1B stamp) to get OCI.

I plan to move to US using H1B Visa with my Canada passport with my current employer (who would file for GC), and also would want to retain B1 Visa from my Indian passport, would you know how to go about this and if this is possible?

Is there any reason to retain B1? With Canadian passport, entry is already allowed.

 

[sreddyk]

Is there any reason to retain B1? With Canadian passport, entry is already allowed.

Would need interimly to visit US for meetings