Commuting to US for work and Canadian Citizenship applicants

[DEEPCUR]

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.

But there should definitely be a way to change consular processing to status adjustment right.. why not do that and be in US..

 

[ImmiToCanada]

Thank you very much for your advice, DEEPCUR!

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-october-2018.html
Things changed dramatically this time. At the beginning of the new fiscal year, the final action date for EB1-China is June 01, 2016, which is 20 months early than my current PD. The final filing date is Oct 01, 2017, and is honoured in Oct but nobody knows how long the final filing date will continue to be honoured. Historically final filing dates are very rarely honoured.

On the other hand, the processing time at Texas service centre for I-485 nowadays is crazily long: 17.5 months to 35.5 months. https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

Considering that I only need 15 months more residence to submit applications for canadian citizenhsip. I iwll do it since I also like Canada as a nice country.

But there should definitely be a way to change consular processing to status adjustment right.. why not do that and be in US..

 

[dry.00]

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.

When you said "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.", what did you mean by that? So if I commute from Canada to Michigan everyday, I have to declare those days as absences?

 

[ImmiToCanada]

I interpret it as applicants must declare all trips exiting and entering Canada.

But if you commute, there are zero days of absences.

When you said "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.", what did you mean by that? So if I commute from Canada to Michigan everyday, I have to declare those days as absences?

 

[dry.00]

I interpret it as applicants must declare all trips exiting and entering Canada.

But if you commute, there are zero days of absences.

Ah, I see.
I'm looking into doing a postdoc at U of Mich in Ann Arbor, and I wonder if it'll be possible to commute 100 miles round trip from Windsor.
I've never lived in a cold climate before, so I don't know how snow will affect the traffic.


I think I've read one of the previous replies saying I should keep track of my border crossings. Ho do people keep track? Google Timeline?

 

[ImmiToCanada]

If you aim for Canadia citizenship, just do it in the official calculator https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/resCalcStartNew.do

Ah, I see.
I'm looking into doing a postdoc at U of Mich in Ann Arbor, and I wonder if it'll be possible to commute 100 miles round trip from Windsor.
I've never lived in a cold climate before, so I don't know how snow will affect the traffic.


I think I've read one of the previous replies saying I should keep track of my border crossings. Ho do people keep track? Google Timeline?

 

[harirajmohan]

Ah, I see.
1. I wonder if it'll be possible to commute 100 miles round trip from Windsor.
2. I've never lived in a cold climate before, so I don't know how snow will affect the traffic.
3. I think I've read one of the previous replies saying I should keep track of my border crossings. Ho do people keep track? Google Timeline?
4. So if I commute from Canada to Michigan everyday, I have to declare those days as absences?

1. Its easily possible to do 50 miles one-way. I do 45 miles one-way hence 50 miles is doable. It takes avg 60-75 mins in the morning and avg 75-90 mins in the evening - Depending on how far you stay in Windsor from the tunnel/bridge. It takes 15-20 mins to reach tunnel hence if you stay closer to the border then you can save 20-30 mins round trip.
2. Its not that bad while comparing to Buffalo/chicago as Windsor receives less snow than those places. Some snow days are difficult and it would take two hours one way but its rarely happens.
3. How i track exit and entry: Yes, update the entries in google sheet as cbp records are not 100% accurate. I am yet to know if cbsa records has any missing entries. But it wont be an issue of missing 2-3 entries in a year or two.
Also try to get nexus (if you are eligible) as it will save time most/some days.
4. You need to declare as day trips. Its not an absence as you were in Canada partially on that day.

 

[bluebug]

For all of you doing the daily commute, how do you file your taxes? Do you file as a resident or a non resident in the US? Also is there anything you need to let your company know? I have a rental place in Canada and my fiancé has a rental place in the US. For work, I use my fiancé’s address as my residence. Also, I plan to commute between BC and WA if that matters. Thanks!

 

[appar]

Hi All. My company is relocating to Novi and I now have an opportunity to live in Canada while continuing my current role (which I really like).

Can anyone give their recent experiences of commuting between Windsor and Metro Detroit? I am an indian citizen with H1b visa and also applied for a Nexus card.

 

[harirajmohan]

For all of you doing the daily commute, how do you file your taxes? Do you file as a resident or a non resident in the US? Also is there anything you need to let your company know? I have a rental place in Canada and my fiancé has a rental place in the US. For work, I use my fiancé’s address as my residence. Also, I plan to commute between BC and WA if that matters. Thanks!

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html

Hi All. My company is relocating to Novi and I now have an opportunity to live in Canada while continuing my current role (which I really like).

Can anyone give their recent experiences of commuting between Windsor and Metro Detroit? I am an indian citizen with H1b visa and also applied for a Nexus card.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/new-canadian-pr-and-nexus-card-indian-citizen-with-h1b.528997/

 

[appar]

@harirajmohan

Thanks for the links. I assume you've been doing this commute for some time. May I ask where you work (location in Metro Detroit) and how long you've been doing this? Any suggestions on areas to live in Windsor?

 

[harirajmohan]

@harirajmohan
1. May I ask where you work (location in Metro Detroit) and how long you've been doing this?
2. Any suggestions on areas to live in Windsor?

1. I travel 45 miles oneway. 32 miles from Tunnel to work as i am not working in downtown detroit. I am commuting daily from last year Jan.
2. I dont know much but places that are not deserted (unoccupied/not repaired houses) should be ok place to stay.

 

[CanucksRajiv]

Hello,

Any idea about salaries in Detroit vs Toronto for data scientist?

 

[Prabjot]

Hi, seems like people who started this post might be eligible or have applied for citizenship by now. Can you please share your experience with the application or just update on

 

[Sammieb]

Hi Everyone,

i was wondering how you commute to the US daily. Are these border jobs or more city jobs in big cities like NYC?