Daily commute (Detroit-Windsor) (H1b and Canada PR)

[canprofus]

Hi @harirajmohan, thank you for your response. Truly appreciate it.

I am currently on an H1B in the US (485 not filed). It is just a temporary setup (probably for 5-6 months) to cross the border to be in Canada over a weekend and yes I will move to Canada eventually to maintain my residency.

Currently, when I will be crossing the border over a weekend, I'll have a place to stay in Canada (will take a room on the lease) and as per your suggestion, will get the Canada DL and registration. Considering this situation, do you think it would be difficult to cross the border? Sorry to not provide this background earlier. Thanks!

for couple of weekend visits you could get away by saying that you are in the process of moving and came for house hunting etc. But if you are going to do it for 5-6 months, then it will start looking suspicious and Canadian side might start giving you hard time.

 

[harirajmohan]

Curious how the 485 filed can cause issues?
I am planning to move soon and commute so would be helpful, I have an H1 so the 485 is just a backup status ...

It depends on whether its requested for consular processing or not. If its consular processing then no complication but given that mostly here are from India, getting into filing 485 itself is hell and it takes few years to get the card (no one knows how long it will take as its no certain number of years to get immigrant visa number to get the card issued - it depends on quota availability). So lawyer will advice not to be outside of US after filing 485. Per my understanding you need Advance Parole document to maintain the 485 status while reentry to US.
https://www.murthy.com/2014/05/26/i-485-approval-during-international-travel-2/
https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/form-i-485-explained/

- I have limited knowledge on 485 stage as i dont really track about it as i know that i wont reach that line

 

[missedTheGCBus]

It depends on whether its requested for consular processing or not. If its consular processing then no complication but given that mostly here are from India, getting into filing 485 itself is hell and it takes few years to get the card (no one knows how long it will take as its no certain number of years to get immigrant visa number to get the card issued - it depends on quota availability). So lawyer will advice not to be outside of US after filing 485. Per my understanding you need Advance Parole document to maintain the 485 status while reentry to US.
https://www.murthy.com/2014/05/26/i-485-approval-during-international-travel-2/
https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/form-i-485-explained/

- I have limited knowledge on 485 stage as i dont really track about it as i know that i wont reach that line

Oh I am from India as well and no chance of getting GC anytime for 5-10 years probably....thats why moving
I filed AoS when I was in the US (last year), lets see if I run into any issues, hoping to avoid

 

[harirajmohan]

Oh I am from India as well and no chance of getting GC anytime for 5-10 years probably....thats why moving
I filed AoS when I was in the US (last year), lets see if I run into any issues, hoping to avoid

I was talking about chances of filing aos, not the waiting period after aos. you cant wait for gc as well as move to canada to maintain pr(unless your spouse is canadian citizen). dont waste time planning to move. just wait for the card in US.

your lawyer would have already told not to move. not sure what you are asking here.

 

[missedTheGCBus]

I was talking about chances of filing aos, not the waiting period after aos. you cant wait for gc as well as move to canada to maintain pr(unless your spouse is canadian citizen).

Why not? Spoke to lawyers no one has mentioned otherwise. My GC priority date won't be current for the next three years, more likely 5. I am not "waiting for a GC" anymore, I am waiting to get current again, which will take a looong time.

There is nothing required in the meanwhile except to keep renewing EAD/AP, the lawyers don't seem to be particularly haven't raised any issues, so what are they missing?

 

[harirajmohan]

Why not? Spoke to lawyers no one has mentioned otherwise. My GC priority date won't be current for the next three years, more likely 5. I am not "waiting for a GC" anymore, I am waiting to get current again, which will take a looong time.

There is nothing required in the meanwhile except to keep renewing EAD/AP, the lawyers don't seem to be particularly haven't raised any issues, so what are they missing?

You/Your employer paid the lawyers. So go back to the lawyers and ask that question as they got paid to answer and i already mentioned the reason on why one shouldnt move but not sure why you are asking the same question. Thats why i provided the links to read as most here dont even have your experience as you are one going through the 485 stage. Read "I-485 Commonly Asked Questions" in the website https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/form-i-485-explained/ i mentioned before asking your lawyers.

You know that people cant even get to 485 and at least you already filed 485 and others including myself dont even have chances. You waited for long enough to get to 485 and now you cant wait because you already reached 485. Our mind never settles with what we have - its for everyone - whether its immigration/money/anything in life - you are not alone . I assume you dont have Canadian spouse hence you wont retain PR as it will expire by the time your card comes. So dont waste time on this. Get on your routine life and 3-5 years will pass quickly(thats what happening to me on how quick years pass nowadays while looking back 10-20 years of job/immigration/personal milestones/age etc ).

You are the one who should be posting the issues of moving out when 485 is pending as we are not at 485 stage. So, after talking to lawyers, let us know why and why not one should move out while 485 is pending and what needs to be taken care if moving is allowed.

 

[canprofus]

Why not? Spoke to lawyers no one has mentioned otherwise. My GC priority date won't be current for the next three years, more likely 5. I am not "waiting for a GC" anymore, I am waiting to get current again, which will take a looong time.

There is nothing required in the meanwhile except to keep renewing EAD/AP, the lawyers don't seem to be particularly haven't raised any issues, so what are they missing?

as far as I know there are no issues in moving to Canada after filing i485. while in Canada, just make sure to maintain your non immigrant status (H1) all the time and avoid travel if you have filed for advance parole and it is pending (better not to file for AP). I personally know couple of people who continued to live in Canada, commuted to US for work even after filing i485, and got their GCs approved without any issues.

sometimes some lawyers insist that you need to reside in US if you have filed i485 for reasons only known to them, but since your lawyers aren't particular on that, you should be good in that way too.

 

[missedTheGCBus]

You/Your employer paid the lawyers. So go back to the lawyers and ask that question as they got paid to answer and i already mentioned the reason on why one shouldnt move but not sure why you are asking the same question. Thats why i provided the links to read as most here dont even have your experience as you are one going through the 485 stage. Read "I-485 Commonly Asked Questions" in the website https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/form-i-485-explained/ i mentioned before asking your lawyers.

You know that people cant even get to 485 and at least you already filed 485 and others including myself dont even have chances. You waited for long enough to get to 485 and now you cant wait because you already reached 485. Our mind never settles with what we have - its for everyone - whether its immigration/money/anything in life - you are not alone . I assume you dont have Canadian spouse hence you wont retain PR as it will expire by the time your card comes. So dont waste time on this. Get on your routine life and 3-5 years will pass quickly(thats what happening to me on how quick years pass nowadays while looking back 10-20 years of job/immigration/personal milestones/age etc ).

You are the one who should be posting the issues of moving out when 485 is pending as we are not at 485 stage. So, after talking to lawyers, let us know why and why not one should move out while 485 is pending and what needs to be taken care if moving is allowed.

The lawyers are often wrong or can't agree with each other on such edge-cases, thats why I asked if you knew anyone specific who might have run into issues .. current set of lawyers seem ok with it but who knows how things will go. I'll definitely update how things go, it will be useful as more Indians find themselves in these weird scenarios.

Thanks for the link, I think its talking about the initial 485 filing (for which I was indeed asked to remain in the US last year when my 485 was filed as my date was current). My understanding is that for EAD/AP renewals I am fine to keep commuting, but as I said time will tell

 

[missedTheGCBus]

as far as I know there are no issues in moving to Canada after filing i485. while in Canada, just make sure to maintain your non immigrant status (H1) all the time and avoid travel if you have filed for advance parole and it is pending (better not to file for AP). I personally know couple of people who continued to live in Canada, commuted to US for work even after filing i485, and got their GCs approved without any issues.

sometimes some lawyers insist that you need to reside in US if you have filed i485 for reasons only known to them, but since your lawyers aren't particular on that, you should be good in that way too.

Thanks this is very helpful, data point.

AP is the main thing that seems unclear. My current set of lawyers seem to think that AP renewal is fine if I am commuting using my non immigrant H1 status but first time AP (during 485) one needs to remain in the US. Lets see how it goes, fingers crossed

 

[canprofus]

Thanks this is very helpful, data point.

AP is the main thing that seems unclear. My current set of lawyers seem to think that AP renewal is fine if I am commuting using my non immigrant H1 status but first time AP (during 485) one needs to remain in the US. Lets see how it goes, fingers crossed

if AP is pending, one cannot travel out of US. if someone travels, then AP gets abandoned. but even there someone whom I know traveled to Canada by road without knowing about this rule while his AP (first AP filed along with i485) was pending, but he still got approval. generally it is best to avoid traveling or another option that someone's attorney recommended is not to file EAD and AP itself if commuting. they can always be filed if need arises.

 

[missedTheGCBus]

if AP is pending, one cannot travel out of US. if someone travels, then AP gets abandoned. but even there someone whom I know traveled to Canada by road without knowing about this rule while his AP (first AP filed along with i485) was pending, but he still got approval. generally it is best to avoid traveling or another option that someone's attorney recommended is not to file EAD and AP itself if commuting. they can always be filed if need arises.

Yes this is definitely a grey area. But as per my current lawyer its even more complicated, she says that can file for an AP renewal and continue traveling as long as the original AP is not expired. If you travel either during first AP filing (that is along with 485) then it is likely to be deemed abandoned, and a renewal (that is not with 485) "can" be deemed abandoned if you travel after the expiration of the original AP. Either way I will find out , the Canadian PR is worth more to me than the AP, which can be revived later if needed. So I intend to commute during AP renewal.

Honestly this is such shit, they should have just issued APs for multiple years with auto-renewal .. in my case the EAD was for 2 years so that is not an immediate issue at least and currently they auto-renew...

 

[palak.pandya]

Hi @harirajmohan, could you please help me understand why it's preferred to have a Canada DL and registration to avoid hassle from both sides at the border? Can't I keep US license and registration till I am working on H1B in the US and switch to Canada DL/registration after I move to Canada permanently? Please provide some guidance on this. Thank you!

You can keep it for sure. However, not transferring US License and car registration implies that your primary residence is still in US. This could potentially trigger some questions at the border regarding your intention to permanently move. You might just have to provide an explanation of your intent to move permanently in future.

 

[Almostsummer]

I am not eligible for citizenship yet. Still accruing days. I do travel once a month to US. I stay in Canada.

Hi Swan, do you have a residential address or an office in the US?

 

[swan0206]

Hi Swan, do you have a residential address or an office in the US?

I dont have any residential address, i used to travel to my actual office location. This was from 2020 Dec to 2021 Aug

 

[missedTheGCBus]

I dont have any residential address, i used to travel to my actual office location. This was from 2020 Dec to 2021 Aug

Were you on an H1 visa? Didnt you need an address in the US for USCIS?