H1B life vs. Moving to Canada - Experience sharing

[rajabasav]

PR status is based on when you gained the PR status(which is from the landing you are officially a PR), not from the date the card is issued.
If you landed on Apr 20th and stayed there for 5 days means you should be returning back on Apr 25th 2021(instead of Apr 20th 2021 since you stayed for 5 days). But the date starts rolling from landing date.

I dont know how long you stayed there and i doubt that you stayed till month of May/June. So you are not within your safe limit. If you at least start this week and give an attempt to enter, possibly there is 5% chance that the officer wont scrutinize and can enter but some officers would be strict hence you might even lose PR as you will get reported to authorities to investigate and proceed on removal from the country since you didnt meet residency obligation. So dont quit here but take working from home permission and enter the country and if it works out then its fine, if not you will come back after a month.

Ok Thank you for this critical Information.

 

[sriram17293]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts. My $0.02:

I'm a software engineer (ex-Facebook) currently working in the biotech industry, and I'm moving from the bay area to Vancouver. My primary reason is stability. When I see people who have bought a house in the bay area get stuck abroad because of visa issues (H-1B renewal), I really can't imagine ever feeling stable here. The 60/150-day unemployment is always in the back of my mind. And God forbid, if something like COVID happens again, we now know for a fact that neither the US nor the companies we work for, have our back if we get stuck abroad while still on H-1B. Also personally, I want the option of moving back to my home country (India) for a few years/decades and be able to come back to US/Canada when I want. Hence, my decision.

Note: I didn't mean to sound entitled at all; I'm very very grateful for the opportunity to get a great education to kickstart my career here in the US. It is a wonderful country - no wonder why the majority of people in the world who want to move, want to move into the US.

 

[lampbreaker]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts. My $0.02:

I'm a software engineer (ex-Facebook) currently working in the biotech industry, and I'm moving from the bay area to Vancouver. My primary reason is stability. When I see people who have bought a house in the bay area get stuck abroad because of visa issues (H-1B renewal), I really can't imagine ever feeling stable here. The 60/150-day unemployment is always in the back of my mind. And God forbid, if something like COVID happens again, we now know for a fact that neither the US nor the companies we work for, have our back if we get stuck abroad while still on H-1B. Also personally, I want the option of moving back to my home country (India) for a few years/decades and be able to come back to US/Canada when I want. Hence, my decision.

Note: I didn't mean to sound entitled at all; I'm very very grateful for the opportunity to get a great education to kickstart my career here in the US. It is a wonderful country - no wonder why the majority of people in the world who want to move, want to move into the US.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[lampbreaker]

Updates in my situation:
I have to move to Canada by mid 2022 in order to keep the PR. We came close to making a decision when recently because of processing delays, my wife's EAD got delayed and there was a real prospect of job-loss or at least interruption for some months. My wife's employer agreed to allow her to work from Canada and so we started making plans to move. Then miraculously our I-485 based EAD came through. While this gives us some stability here, that also means one less reason to move to Canada.
We were lucky enough to get to file I-485 in the Oct 2020 rush. However, GC still seems like a long way away. It seems there will be tremendous number of GC's available for Indians in the next fiscal year also, but I feel like we will still miss that bus since our priority date is 2014.
Prospects in Canada don't looks so well. Salaries are really low and exchange rates make it worse (even if I use cost of living comparison as exchange rate). The only thing Canada has in its favor is the stability and certainty that PR and eventual Citizenship offers. Everything else is just not comparable.

It's going to be a tough decision, one we will have to live with the rest of our lives given that Canadian PR will not be coming back if we let go this time.

 

[fmohammed1022]

I moved from the US to Canada and I'm much happier here.

I had an approved I-140, EB-2 class, great job in the States.. but I moved to Canada for two major reasons

1. Family life - my wife and I were in our early 30s and wanted to have kids. I didn't want my child growing up in the states for very many reasons. A couple of obvious ones - the terrible quality of US schools, the extreme income inequality, gun violence.. etc.

2. I wanted to have rights. As an H1B holder in the States, I didn't have the rights of a resident. I was just one grumpy CBP officer away from losing everything that I worked so hard for. After 10 years of living in a country, you start to get irritated by the same questions every time you land. "Why are you visiting the US", "Where do you work", "How long have you worked there".. etc. etc. And keep in mind that I was working for a FAANMG company as a direct employee.

Also, my wife is highly educated (she has an LL.M from a top US law school and is qualified in NY and our home country), and she wanted to start her own practice.

We thought long and hard, and decided to give up life in the US and move here. Before we did that, we made sure we had enough money to live for 2-3 years without a job.

It's now been almost two years since we moved and we haven't regretted it one bit. And the reason for not regretting things is because we did our research and set our expectations accordingly.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that Canadians are far more welcoming and friendly than Americans. The US has this fixation of being "the greatest country the world has ever known" and every American is convinced that you are super lucky to be allowed to partake in the "American Dream".

Canadians are not nearly as full of themselves!

These are entirely personal decisions and what made sense for us may not make sense for anyone else. I would say however, that is is extremely important to move with the correct set of expectations and be open to a period of readjustment and settling in. Don't make the mistake of comparing everything to the US and feeling sad about stuff.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! My list of concerns about planning a future in States similar to yours. I find myself in a similar situation like you did and the part where you talk about resetting expectations makes total sense to me. I think reading your post definitely puts my mind at ease due to all the uncertain situations (salary, cost of living etc.) I was trying to brainstorm.

 

[fmohammed1022]

Updates in my situation:
I have to move to Canada by mid 2022 in order to keep the PR. We came close to making a decision when recently because of processing delays, my wife's EAD got delayed and there was a real prospect of job-loss or at least interruption for some months. My wife's employer agreed to allow her to work from Canada and so we started making plans to move. Then miraculously our I-485 based EAD came through. While this gives us some stability here, that also means one less reason to move to Canada.
We were lucky enough to get to file I-485 in the Oct 2020 rush. However, GC still seems like a long way away. It seems there will be tremendous number of GC's available for Indians in the next fiscal year also, but I feel like we will still miss that bus since our priority date is 2014.
Prospects in Canada don't looks so well. Salaries are really low and exchange rates make it worse (even if I use cost of living comparison as exchange rate). The only thing Canada has in its favor is the stability and certainty that PR and eventual Citizenship offers. Everything else is just not comparable.

It's going to be a tough decision, one we will have to live with the rest of our lives given that Canadian PR will not be coming back if we let go this time.

It's always going to be difficult to make a decision that would pretty much dictate the next phase of your lives. Good luck with whatever you end up deciding on!

 

[21Goose]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! My list of concerns about planning a future in States similar to yours. I find myself in a similar situation like you did and the part where you talk about resetting expectations makes total sense to me. I think reading your post definitely puts my mind at ease due to all the uncertain situations (salary, cost of living etc.) I was trying to brainstorm.

Hah, you're welcome. As an update, it's now more than 3+ years since we moved.

We have applied for citizenship and should have it by the end of this year. My wife is now qualified as a lawyer in three countries(!) and has a great job in Canada. I have a great job as well and everything we hoped for has worked out so far.

I didn't have regrets when I moved, and I don't have regrets now. The days of worrying about visas or status or rules or CBP are so far behind us. It's like a different life.

And COVID absolutely crystalized the difference between people with rights (PR/Citizens) and people without (H1B). I was in India with my family but we were able to come back home to Canada because Permanent Residents have rights - we were treated just like Canadian citizens.

We were constantly kept informed of things by the Canadian consulate in India, and when the emergency flights (the Canadian govt. ones) started, they called us and offered us places. They even had loans available for people who couldn't pay the $5000-fee (for a family of three).

We didn't take the emergency flights because we were in a safe place in India with family so we could afford to wait a couple of months before leaving, but it was SO NICE to feel like the govt here had policies in place to help us out. Meanwhile friends of mine with H1Bs got stuck for months away from family because of the travel ban.

So yeah, Canada has been good to us. My child is Canadian and pretty soon I will be as well.

Note: my story is naturally just that - MY story. Everyone's experiences are different and I know there are many people who may have had less positive experiences moving. No one can guarantee a good life, you have to take the risk based on your own circumstances.

 

[funloving]

Updates in my situation:
I have to move to Canada by mid 2022 in order to keep the PR. We came close to making a decision when recently because of processing delays, my wife's EAD got delayed and there was a real prospect of job-loss or at least interruption for some months. My wife's employer agreed to allow her to work from Canada and so we started making plans to move. Then miraculously our I-485 based EAD came through. While this gives us some stability here, that also means one less reason to move to Canada.
We were lucky enough to get to file I-485 in the Oct 2020 rush. However, GC still seems like a long way away. It seems there will be tremendous number of GC's available for Indians in the next fiscal year also, but I feel like we will still miss that bus since our priority date is 2014.
Prospects in Canada don't looks so well. Salaries are really low and exchange rates make it worse (even if I use cost of living comparison as exchange rate). The only thing Canada has in its favor is the stability and certainty that PR and eventual Citizenship offers. Everything else is just not comparable.

It's going to be a tough decision, one we will have to live with the rest of our lives given that Canadian PR will not be coming back if we let go this time.

I know this is a very difficult situation to make a decision. But frankly, Canada does not have that many opportunities as compared to the US, handsdown. But now since you have filed for I-485 so even if you come to Canada and become a Canadian you will not be allowed to file for TN visa if you go back to the US. That's the biggest perk Canadian find when they look for work in the US. If you had not filed the I-485 you would have been fine. So, I would say stay in the US patiently for maybe another 1-2 years for your GC. Now with your I-485 EAD you can switch jobs etc. that is something good for you and your wife.

 

[lampbreaker]

I know this is a very difficult situation to make a decision. But frankly, Canada does not have that many opportunities as compared to the US, handsdown. But now since you have filed for I-485 so even if you come to Canada and become a Canadian you will not be allowed to file for TN visa if you go back to the US. That's the biggest perk Canadian find when they look for work in the US. If you had not filed the I-485 you would have been fine. So, I would say stay in the US patiently for maybe another 1-2 years for your GC. Now with your I-485 EAD you can switch jobs etc. that is something good for you and your wife.

TN is still possible if you withdraw the I-485 and abandon immigrant intent. But, that is not a consideration for me right now anyway. If you follow the thread above, you will see that the choice is between staying in the US on H1B and moving to Canada as a PR.
Also, if it was a question of 1 or 2 years to get GC, the choice would have been clear. But even with the influx of GC numbers Indians will face a long backlog. In my estimation, 2014 PD will take 6 years or more.

 

[funloving]

TN is still possible if you withdraw the I-485 and abandon immigrant intent. But, that is not a consideration for me right now anyway. If you follow the thread above, you will see that the choice is between staying in the US on H1B and moving to Canada as a PR.
Also, if it was a question of 1 or 2 years to get GC, the choice would have been clear. But even with the influx of GC numbers Indians will face a long backlog. In my estimation, 2014 PD will take 6 years or more.

Hmm...I am not sure even with withdrawal you can get TN as with TN you have to have a non-immigrant intent but by filing the 485 you have shown your intent. Please check with a competent lawyer for TN. My understanding is that you will not get any visa that has a non-immigrant intent.

I agree with the GC time line. It really sucks. Are you talking about final action dates will take 6 years for you?

 

[funloving]

Hmm...I am not sure even with withdrawal you can get TN as with TN you have to have a non-immigrant intent but by filing the 485 you have shown your intent. Please check with a competent lawyer for TN. My understanding is that you will not get any visa that has a non-immigrant intent.

I agree with the GC time line. It really sucks. Are you talking about final action dates will take 6 years for you?

Even if you withdraw you had made it clear about what intentions are and they will look at you with the suspicion that you had your intentions to immigrate so you will do that again if given a non-immigrant intent visa. It will always stay on your file no matter what. You could create a very strong case to get you a TN but IMO it will not be easy to convince the VO. Best of Luck.

 

[funloving]

TN is still possible if you withdraw the I-485 and abandon immigrant intent. But, that is not a consideration for me right now anyway. If you follow the thread above, you will see that the choice is between staying in the US on H1B and moving to Canada as a PR.
Also, if it was a question of 1 or 2 years to get GC, the choice would have been clear. But even with the influx of GC numbers Indians will face a long backlog. In my estimation, 2014 PD will take 6 years or more.

If I were you I would wait for years since you will at least get an EAD that would give you n-number of opportunities that you didn't get when on H1. Only issue could be with international travel with AP but you can always also get H1 as a back up.

 

[funloving]

TN is still possible if you withdraw the I-485 and abandon immigrant intent. But, that is not a consideration for me right now anyway. If you follow the thread above, you will see that the choice is between staying in the US on H1B and moving to Canada as a PR.
Also, if it was a question of 1 or 2 years to get GC, the choice would have been clear. But even with the influx of GC numbers Indians will face a long backlog. In my estimation, 2014 PD will take 6 years or more.

Also, IMO Canada is not what you think it is. The grass is always green on the other side. I have lived in 3 different countries and hands down the US is the best place considering everything. Now, since you are so close to getting GC don't leave that otherwise you might regret it later even with Canadian PR.

 

[prabhuv]

For many of you its a choice to make. But, for me my company not ready to raise PERM/GC and only choice I have is to move to Canada. I am really scared about job opportunities (I just need job even if my current project gets over) other than that I guess I will like Canada very much. Any suggestions for me ?

 

[starlordavuthu]

For many of you its a choice to make. But, for me my company not ready to raise PERM/GC and only choice I have is to move to Canada. I am really scared about job opportunities (I just need job even if my current project gets over) other than that I guess I will like Canada very much. Any suggestions for me ?

What suggestions are you looking for? Jobs in Canada are highly competitive because of many reasons and cost of living is comparatively expensive than US.