H1B visa appointment availability

[harirajmohan]

HI All, I have specific question regarding working in US while my PR application is pending. Currently I am in Canada and I have received ITA(CEC and Arranged employment) and in the process of submitting the documents. In the mean time my H1 is approved from the same employer and have got an appointment in Jan. My employer is asking me to Join US operations as soon as I get the stamping.

1.My question is once I submit the PR can I travel to US and wait until PR is approved?

1. Many moved with PR from the country of residence/citizenship after approval. So you can also do the same. Whats the problem you think?
You dont need to continue staying in Canada for processing PR as long as you are satisfying the eligibility criteria for PR while filing. Was this the doubt? I am not clear on what you need.

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi Hariraj,

Are you doing commute every month? If yes, how are you doing it. i want to know few details:

a)If commuting through road, do you drive your Canadian car or do you take a rental everytime.
b)If by air, how smooth is the process for every 30days starting from the pandemic.
c)Also, when you enter US how long do you stay there, i mean do you also do 14-day quarantine and come back or just 2 or 3 days is also fine. Do we get questioned at Canada border for that(staying 2 or 3 days).

Thanks in Adv.

I commute nowadays once in 2 weeks or so. Not much questions at cbp - hardly 1 or 2 related to the location and which company.
I travel by own car(canadian side registered).
My trips are mostly same day trips, back to Canada within the same day. Rarely i stay at my friend's place overnight if we go to meet them.

Yes they will ask sometimes on the purpose of the trip to US and you just answer if it was for work/visit. Just tell the actual reason. No issues.

 

[Andyscm15]

1. Many moved with PR from the country of residence/citizenship after approval. So you can also do the same. Whats the problem you think?
You dont need to continue staying in Canada for processing PR as long as you are satisfying the eligibility criteria for PR while filing. Was this the doubt? I am not clear on what you need.

Thank You Hariraj...I don't have the PR and just submitting documents to ITA. My question is after I submit all the documents for PR with reference to ITA. Can I travel to US for work and wait for the PR decision. I have received invitation based on CEC and Arranged employment(employment for at least 1 Year after PR). I have heard some saying during the PR Approval process(after submitting documents to ITA) you should stay until you get the PR. Is that true?

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank You Hariraj...I don't have the PR and just submitting documents to ITA. My question is after I submit all the documents for PR with reference to ITA. Can I travel to US for work and wait for the PR decision. I have received invitation based on CEC and Arranged employment(employment for at least 1 Year after PR). I have heard some saying during the PR Approval process(after submitting documents to ITA) you should stay until you get the PR. Is that true?

They should not as per rule as its based on furture employment but not sure as i dont have experience and not many would answer here too. So ask in the core threads like https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/forums/canadian-experience-class.52/ https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/forums/express-entry-expression-of-interest.54/

 

[Andyscm15]

They should not as per rule as its based on furture employment but not sure as i dont have experience and not many would answer here too. So ask in the core threads like https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/forums/canadian-experience-class.52/ https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/forums/express-entry-expression-of-interest.54/

Thank You Harirajmohan.. Appreciate your help I will post it in the other thread

 

[swan0206]

I commute nowadays once in 2 weeks or so. Not much questions at cbp - hardly 1 or 2 related to the location and which company.
I travel by own car(canadian side registered).
My trips are mostly same day trips, back to Canada within the same day. Rarely i stay at my friend's place overnight if we go to meet them.

Yes they will ask sometimes on the purpose of the trip to US and you just answer if it was for work/visit. Just tell the actual reason. No issues.

Oh cool. Thats nice to hear. How can we say its for a visit when we are on H1b.

Also, what if i am planning to travel after staying in US after a week or two weeks. Would CBSA ask me to quarantine again(if i am staying more than a week). any idea.

Thanks.

 

[DEEPCUR]

H4 interview. My wife attended at Toronto.

At consulate: At the first counter the lady was collecting the ds160(took only the old one even though new ds160 was provided but new photo was scanned the consular and returned)
Interview:
Q: Oh you are coming for H1. I love H1 visa.( my reaction after hearing )
A: No, its my husband's. I am here for H4.
Q: Oh ok. Give me copy of I797.
A: No, i have only original.
Q: Give/Show me marriage certificate.
A: Gave/Shown. Shown the visa copy of H1 too.
Q: Is he working and commuting to US?
A: Yes
Q: Is he working from home?
A: Yes due to pandemic. He goes only for meetings nowadays.
Q: Were you there on June22.
A: No.
Q: Can you repeat/show the documents again. (Seems officer was not clear on something - he was scrambling by keeping some documents in the file and taking out and repeating like another time)
A: Shown and explained.
Q: Which company and which location he works
A: Answered.
Q: We need to do some admin processing and you dont need to do anything and kept the passport. Gave the green form(which checkmarked for administrative processing)

Checked the status of ds160 within an hour and its updated as refused. But they still say that they will be updating the status after admin processing if officer told they are going to do admin processing. So not sure if they will actually issue visa. Dont know why they have not updated as admin processing as usual and then change the status to issued/refused. Seems strange - may be this is the norm for few officers to do admin processing. No idea but not feeling like he likes to issue the visa since H4 candidate was not there in US in June while EO was enacted or he doesnt want to issue the visa for H4 if H1 is not currently working in US physically.

I wonder how officer is not knowing the exemption of the EO issued by State Dept for H4 for those whose H1 spouse is exempt from EO. I dont like this guy with his first comment itself which makes me think that he is not the right person for the job.
I will post here once i get the passport.

Refusal status:
A U.S. consular officer has adjudicated and refused your visa application. Please follow any instructions provided by the consular officer. If you were informed by the consular officer that your case was refused for administrative processing, your case will remain refused while undergoing such processing. You will receive another adjudication once such processing is complete. Please be advised that the processing time varies and that you will be contacted if additional information is needed. For more information, please visit TRAVEL.STATE.GOV or the website for the Embassy or Consulate at which you made your visa application.
For more information, please visit U.S. Consulate General Toronto.


Notes for others:
Take copy of I797(even if you carry original).
Take marriage certificate
(In India they dont even ask for the candidates after their first stamping but was surprised to hear why visa officer asked for my wife - possibly officer is new and not knowing if h4 candidate was in US earlier on H4).

Oops, that was unexpected. Do you have valid H1 stamping? If so, may be she could have called it out to the consular because that's one of the condition to be exempt from proclamation. They may possibly be checking that with admin processing. I guess they give exemption to H4 spouses only if the primary H1 is exempt from proclamation.

 

[harirajmohan]

1. How can we say its for a visit when we are on H1b.

2. Also, what if i am planning to travel after staying in US after a week or two weeks. Would CBSA ask me to quarantine again(if i am staying more than a week). any idea.

1. They allow personal trips on H1 while we still on employment in US. No issues. You dont need separate b1 visa for that. But now i dont know if they still allow other than essentials due to canada-US restrictions for the time being. You need to check on that if you are going for personal trip.
2. If you return to Canada from the work trip then they wont ask you to quarantine. cbsa will ask on why you went, where you went, where do you work, title etc. So based on that they will determine if you need quarantine but till now they never asked me to do it in the last 5 times.

 

[harirajmohan]

Oops, that was unexpected. Do you have valid H1 stamping? If so, may be she could have called it out to the consular because that's one of the condition to be exempt from proclamation. They may possibly be checking that with admin processing. I guess they give exemption to H4 spouses only if the primary H1 is exempt from proclamation.

Yes i have valid visa(got it stamped by rushing sending the passport and documents this year march 17th, the day they said they are cancelling all appointments).
Correct, of course, they will exempt H4 only if principal candidate is exempted but i am exempted since i have valid visa before Jun24th and also was in US while EO started(on 24th Jun, 12:01am).

Yes thats what i thought that my family has exemption but seems the guy is new and not knowing/referring to the exemptions given by state dept instead he is just referring to the initial EO clause where H4 should have been in US for exemption. also this guy was asking multiple times on whether i am physically present etc hence thinking that he is ready to issue h4 if at least i am physically there - seems he is interpreting his own rules which i did not expect or else i would have moved for few days but cant do anything now. will see.

Ya waiting for the processing to see if they are reviewing at above that officer's level to find the eligibility/exemption.

 

[swan0206]

1. They allow personal trips on H1 while we still on employment in US. No issues. You dont need separate b1 visa for that. But now i dont know if they still allow other than essentials due to canada-US restrictions for the time being. You need to check on that if you are going for personal trip.
2. If you return to Canada from the work trip then they wont ask you to quarantine. cbsa will ask on why you went, where you went, where do you work, title etc. So based on that they will determine if you need quarantine but till now they never asked me to do it in the last 5 times.

thanks for all the info Hariraj. You make people free from all the unnecessary hassle they've been thinking off late.

This is such a saviour. Also my last question for today . So when we are doing same day trips, our AVR/30days again refreshes to day 1, right. Asking this because i am planning to do this now. This will be my first time.

For eg: On Nov1st i enter USA and return back on same day, after my 29 days stay in Canada. so my day-1 starts again on nov1st. right?


Thanks.

 

[harirajmohan]

thanks for all the info Hariraj. You make people free from all the unnecessary hassle they've been thinking off late.

This is such a saviour. Also my last question for today . So when we are doing same day trips, our AVR/30days again refreshes to day 1, right. Asking this because i am planning to do this now. This will be my first time.

For eg: On Nov1st i enter USA and return back on same day, after my 29 days stay in Canada. so my day-1 starts again on nov1st. right?


Thanks.

Correct. AVR resets when you enter US(irrelevant of the time you stayed even if its for 1 hour).

 

[swan0206]

Correct. AVR resets when you enter US(irrelevant of the time you stayed even if its for 1 hour).

Perfect. thanks alot Have a great day!!

 

[harirajmohan]

H4 interview. My wife attended at Toronto.

Now the status of application turned to "Administrative Processing".

"Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks, or longer. As explained on the day of your interview, if further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved when administrative processing is finished, you will receive notification to collect the passport with the visa from the Loomis branch you selected when you booked your appointment.
For more information, please visit U.S. Consulate General Toronto."

 

[DEEPCUR]

Now the status of application turned to "Administrative Processing".

"Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks, or longer. As explained on the day of your interview, if further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved when administrative processing is finished, you will receive notification to collect the passport with the visa from the Loomis branch you selected when you booked your appointment.
For more information, please visit U.S. Consulate General Toronto."

that's good news! they will most likely check for your visa stamp and give approval.

 

[harirajmohan]

that's good news! they will most likely check for your visa stamp and give approval.

Yes i too think so. Will see.