Seattle is just 2 hours away and has head or good size offices of Amazon, Starbucks, Facebook, Google, Uber, Lyft, Nintendo, Boeing, Microsoft, Oracle, Expedia to name few.
Commuting to US for work and Canadian Citizenship applicants
- Thread starter H1B_140approved_CanadaPR
- Start date
But 2 hours of commute isn't practical on a daily basis isn't it? Is there any strategy people follow for west coast commute?
I was wondering the same too. 2 hours one way which is about 4 hours total commute. Detroit-Windsor seems ideal.
I have seen a post in this forum where a person came to Seattle on Monday morning, went back on Tuesday night, worked remote on Wednesday, and again came to US on Thursday, and returned back on Friday there by effectively meeting required RO for citizenship and PR. That's the only hack I have come across so far!
Hundreds of people commute daily from KW to the GTA or even downtown Toronto, and it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours one way (or even more if they're driving). It's possible, some people do it, but it's not ideal, and your quality of life would suffer. And with international border in the way, the uncertainty would even be greater, and it would be even more prone to delays.
Yeah, that's a good hack. Even if remote is not a possibility, an overnight trip in the middle of the week will result in only one day of absence per week... though family time gets impacted !
Depends how much time you spend in the US. You must live in Canada for 730 days out of every five years to keep your PR status. As long as you meet that requirement, you shouldn't have issues.
Even a partial day spent in Canada counts towards residency obligation? Ill be commuting daily (except weekends ) to usa and back to Canada.
Yes. Been there, done that.
Its OK even if you return next day. The day you go out and the day you come back, both get counted as your presence in Canada.
Thanks! Don't mean to be prying into your situation, but wanted to know your perspective. You in Canada for good or still commuting?
Same boat here. Work in New Haven, Connecticut on H1B.
It is a tough journey. Let's connect, support and encourage each other!
I am very sad about the US green card system. I spent tons of time getting my EB1A and NIW 140 approval over the past year, but just to see retrogression for EB1-China a few weeks ago. I have chosen to do Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa instead of 485 for US green card. So I kind of have to pursue Canadian citizenship or renew PR (I am a PR since Sep 2016 but I started working in USA since Sep 2017) to ensure I can do Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa by the time my priority date is current.
I recently bought a Honda civic and relies on this hands-free foot-free single lane high-way self-driving system
to reduce the fatigue of driving through the entire interstate 91 highway.
It is a tough journey. Let's connect, support and encourage each other!
I am very sad about the US green card system. I spent tons of time getting my EB1A and NIW 140 approval over the past year, but just to see retrogression for EB1-China a few weeks ago. I have chosen to do Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa instead of 485 for US green card. So I kind of have to pursue Canadian citizenship or renew PR (I am a PR since Sep 2016 but I started working in USA since Sep 2017) to ensure I can do Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa by the time my priority date is current.
I recently bought a Honda civic and relies on this hands-free foot-free single lane high-way self-driving system
Thanks for the valuable information. I will follow the same idea but much tougher implementation ( 4.5 hr drive from Stanstead Quebec to New Haven Connecticut Mon/Thu morning, went back Tue/Fri night). Hopefully, I can get 7 fully physical presence day credits.
For everyone's reference, below is the official information: https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do;jsessionid=6E17FDB75632F036720991F15C701736?redir=faq
A3
When calculating an absence, the day you leave Canada and the day you return is NOT considered an absence. Both are counted as days of physical presence because you were physically in Canada for a part of the day of departure or arrival. For example, an absence between July 1, 2013 and July 15, 2013 equals 13 days of absence. As another example, if you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence. You must still declare this as an absence. Think of it as counting only the full days outside of Canada.
I will likely need to do this life-wasting commute for 15 months since I only live in Canada as a PR for 11 months (2016 Sep to 2017 Aug). I have two years (2014 Sep to 2016 Sep) of pre-PR international student residence that can be converted into one year. I, unfortunately, didn't do commute back to Canada from 2017 Aug to 2018 Aug. I worked very hard on EB1A green card petition hoping to get US GC soon but just so dam disappointed about the recent retrogression for EB1-China green card applicants.
For everyone's reference, below is the official information: https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do;jsessionid=6E17FDB75632F036720991F15C701736?redir=faq
A3
When calculating an absence, the day you leave Canada and the day you return is NOT considered an absence. Both are counted as days of physical presence because you were physically in Canada for a part of the day of departure or arrival. For example, an absence between July 1, 2013 and July 15, 2013 equals 13 days of absence. As another example, if you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence. You must still declare this as an absence. Think of it as counting only the full days outside of Canada.
I will likely need to do this life-wasting commute for 15 months since I only live in Canada as a PR for 11 months (2016 Sep to 2017 Aug). I have two years (2014 Sep to 2016 Sep) of pre-PR international student residence that can be converted into one year. I, unfortunately, didn't do commute back to Canada from 2017 Aug to 2018 Aug. I worked very hard on EB1A green card petition hoping to get US GC soon but just so dam disappointed about the recent retrogression for EB1-China green card applicants.
Is your i140 for EB1A approved? If so, why would you bother with all of these? With eb1, you aren't expecting decade long wait or uncertainty, irrespective of natonality. It's just a matter of time before you get your green card. Unless you are really interested in Canada (not as back up), you could just give it up.
Thank you DEEPCUR!
Yes, I have EB1A i140 approved with a priority date in June 2018. I also have an NIW i140 approved which helps to advance priority date to Feb 2018, through relink.
The issue is that a) recently EB1 suddenly becomes very bad in terms of waiting time. b) I choose to use Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa instead of 485 USA domestic adjustment of status.
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/Count_of_Approved_I-140_I-360_and_I-526_Petitions_as_of_April_20_2018_with_a_Priority_Date_On_or_After_May_2018.PDF there are 23k approved EB1-China waiting for a green card visa number. After a multiplication of 2 (2 persons in each family), there would be 46k green card visa demand. However, there is a 2.8k visa number annual cap. Even with spillover, EB1-China historically only receives around 8k visa number per year. So it is absolutely possible that I may need to wait for 4-6 years for my priority date to become current. Since I only lived in Canada for 11 months after my PR (landed Sep 2016), I would have RO trouble going back to Montreal USA consulate to do the USA immigrant visa interview.
Believe it or not, I am watching trackitt forum for a few hours every day just to guess Oct visa bulletin cutoff dates. Maybe I should consulate a doctor for mental stress.
Sorry for bring the negative thoughts and derail the discussion. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
Yes, I have EB1A i140 approved with a priority date in June 2018. I also have an NIW i140 approved which helps to advance priority date to Feb 2018, through relink.
The issue is that a) recently EB1 suddenly becomes very bad in terms of waiting time. b) I choose to use Montreal consular processing of USA immigrant visa instead of 485 USA domestic adjustment of status.
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/Count_of_Approved_I-140_I-360_and_I-526_Petitions_as_of_April_20_2018_with_a_Priority_Date_On_or_After_May_2018.PDF there are 23k approved EB1-China waiting for a green card visa number. After a multiplication of 2 (2 persons in each family), there would be 46k green card visa demand. However, there is a 2.8k visa number annual cap. Even with spillover, EB1-China historically only receives around 8k visa number per year. So it is absolutely possible that I may need to wait for 4-6 years for my priority date to become current. Since I only lived in Canada for 11 months after my PR (landed Sep 2016), I would have RO trouble going back to Montreal USA consulate to do the USA immigrant visa interview.
Believe it or not, I am watching trackitt forum for a few hours every day just to guess Oct visa bulletin cutoff dates. Maybe I should consulate a doctor for mental stress.
Sorry for bring the negative thoughts and derail the discussion. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.