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Moving from USA(H1B) to Canada(PR)

ht7

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deerestlovelybear said:
There is absolutely no good jobs in Canada, especially for immigrants. You can't serve the US market with only a PR, it takes 4 years to be eligible for citizenship and another 2-3 years for processing of citizenships applications. So the wait is the same as waiting for green card
The wait time for Indian born people for a Green Card is now 15 years.
 

ht7

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francaispourquebec said:
Trust the CANADAVISA forum to have people who have faced a similar situation as me. It will easily be another 4 to 5 years for my US Green card to arrive. I'm planning to satisfy my Canada PR requirements in the interim. I went on a recce trip to Montreal and Toronto and I liked what I saw. I'm still learning French though.

Those of you who continued with their US GC processing while staying in Canada for your Canada PR requirements, could you please tell me how you managed to do both? This looks like a delicate balancing act to me and I have no idea how to navigate it.

I look forward to a response from you....
In short, we won't keep it alive. For Indian born people, it takes 15 years for the date to be current. But at least we can keep our PD. So people plan to go to Canada, become citizens and (maybe, I expect Canadian economy to improve, so looking for jobs in US may not be needed) come back to work for a new employer on H1/TN and continue to wait for GC dates to be current and have a new employer file it.

Sure, we may lose money for 4,5,6 years in Canada. But in US, we can be laid off anytime in those 15 years and sent back to 3rd world country with nothing to show for it.
 

deadbird

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ht7 said:
In short, we won't keep it alive. For Indian born people, it takes 15 years for the date to be current. But at least we can keep our PD. So people plan to go to Canada, become citizens and (maybe, I expect Canadian economy to improve, so looking for jobs in US may not be needed) come back to work for a new employer on H1/TN and continue to wait for GC dates to be current and have a new employer file it.

Sure, we may lose money for 4,5,6 years in Canada. But in US, we can be laid off anytime in those 15 years and sent back to 3rd world country with nothing to show for it.
Hey folks, I am wondering if it is possible to apply for EB2 while on H1 and then moving to canada on a canadian PR? Will they grant you a B1 visa to re-enter the US before you receive Canadian citizenship?

I have plenty of friends in the US and some property in the US and am wondering if declaring an intent to immigrate in the US would revoke all future B1 visas.
 

ht7

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deadbird said:
Hey folks, I am wondering if it is possible to apply for EB2 while on H1 and then moving to canada on a canadian PR? Will they grant you a B1 visa to re-enter the US before you receive Canadian citizenship?

I have plenty of friends in the US and some property in the US and am wondering if declaring an intent to immigrate in the US would revoke all future B1 visas.
Good question. I have scoured forums for this and found at least one case where B1 was granted even after i-140. To be safe, I would probably not work with the same company that filed my i-140 and explain this to the Visa officer. Mentally I am prepared to not re enter US for 5 years. I know for a fact (read a USCIS memo) that mere i140 is NOT immigration intent for TN status (though i-485 is), so thats there. B1 will be dicey, but given the huge backlogs for Indians, visa officer might understand.
 

APPNOV2014NY

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I hope you are considering situation where company that filed your I-140 applies for your I-140 revocation once you leave. Most companies do.
 

francaispourquebec

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Jun 4, 2013
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APPNOV2014NY said:
I hope you are considering situation where company that filed your I-140 applies for your I-140 revocation once you leave. Most companies do.
I read somewhere that if the I 140 has been approved for more than 6 months, then the employer can at most withdraw it but not revoke it. Is this true?
 

deadbird

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ht7 said:
Good question. I have scoured forums for this and found at least one case where B1 was granted even after i-140. To be safe, I would probably not work with the same company that filed my i-140 and explain this to the Visa officer. Mentally I am prepared to not re enter US for 5 years. I know for a fact (read a USCIS memo) that mere i140 is NOT immigration intent for TN status (though i-485 is), so thats there. B1 will be dicey, but given the huge backlogs for Indians, visa officer might understand.
Yeah, this was my understanding as well. You put yourself at risk for being denied entry to the US on grounds of B1.

On a similar note, I have heard a dew cases of new Canadians being denied entry into the US on TN visa. One case in particular, a new Canadian citizen original from India who was working for a big US tech company in Montreal was transferring to the bay area on TN. Apparently, they denied entry at the border. He eventually had to go the whole F1 route, get a H1 etc.

Are there similar cases of TN refusal for new Canadians originally from India? or is it more of a rare occurrence?
 

ht7

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deadbird said:
Yeah, this was my understanding as well. You put yourself at risk for being denied entry to the US on grounds of B1.

On a similar note, I have heard a dew cases of new Canadians being denied entry into the US on TN visa. One case in particular, a new Canadian citizen original from India who was working for a big US tech company in Montreal was transferring to the bay area on TN. Apparently, they denied entry at the border. He eventually had to go the whole F1 route, get a H1 etc.

Are there similar cases of TN refusal for new Canadians originally from India? or is it more of a rare occurrence?
Google i-140 and TN visa, you will find the USCIS memo stating that i-140 is not immigration intent. That person could have been denied for some other reason. Nothing is fool proof of course and you should be prepared for rejection. BTW you are cap exempt from H1B for 6 years since your last approval, so you can always come back under that. A proper company should have no issue filing the cap exempt (or even non exempt) H1B.

In the end its about your motivation to go to Canada. Its not a reliable spring board to the US and so that should not be your sole motivation. Mine is to have a 1st world citizenship (for which I am willing to forego earnings). US can only give me that in 20 years (provided I work for the same profession for 20 years). Canada in 5.
 
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deadbird

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ht7 said:
Google i-140 and TN visa, you will find the USCIS memo stating that i-140 is not immigration intent. That person could have been denied for some other reason. Nothing is fool proof of course and you should be prepared for rejection. BTW you are cap exempt from H1B for 6 years since your last approval, so you can always come back under that. A proper company should have no issue filing the cap exempt (or even non exempt) H1B.

In the end its about your motivation to go to Canada. Its not a reliable spring board to the US and so that should not be your sole motivation. Mine is to have a 1st world citizenship (for which I am willing to forego earnings). US can only give me that in 20 years (provided I work for the same profession for 20 years). Canada in 5.
I have the same motivation as well (living in a first world country). On the other hand, the US pays enormous sums of money for a top software engineering professional. Ideally one would hold a Canadian citizenship (5 years to get) and periodically work in the US to save the $$$ for early retirement.
 

simpsonjos

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ht7 said:
Google i-140 and TN visa, you will find the USCIS memo stating that i-140 is not immigration intent. That person could have been denied for some other reason. Nothing is fool proof of course and you should be prepared for rejection. BTW you are cap exempt from H1B for 6 years since your last approval, so you can always come back under that. A proper company should have no issue filing the cap exempt (or even non exempt) H1B.

In the end its about your motivation to go to Canada. Its not a reliable spring board to the US and so that should not be your sole motivation. Mine is to have a 1st world citizenship (for which I am willing to forego earnings). US can only give me that in 20 years (provided I work for the same profession for 20 years). Canada in 5.
Hi Ht7, when you say last approval do you mean the last approval of an extension or the initial filing ? My H1 was filed in 2012 and I entered only in 2013. My current H1 extension has been approved until 2019 (as I was away for a couple of months). Was approved in Sep 2016. So are you saying I can always return to US until Sep 2022 ? Could you please clarify ?

My plan is to move to Canada in Spring 2016 and stay there until Citizenship ... continue there if we really like it or move back to the US while waiting for the PD to become current.
 

ht7

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simpsonjos said:
Hi Ht7, when you say last approval do you mean the last approval of an extension or the initial filing ? My H1 was filed in 2012 and I entered only in 2013. My current H1 extension has been approved until 2019 (as I was away for a couple of months). Was approved in Sep 2016. So are you saying I can always return to US until Sep 2022 ? Could you please clarify ?

My plan is to move to Canada in Spring 2016 and stay there until Citizenship ... continue there if we really like it or move back to the US while waiting for the PD to become current.
Since your last i797 was approved. So for you, yes until Sep 2022. Good planning! I hope my employer extends my H1b just before I move to Canada too.

Though I am not sure what happens if i-140 is withdrawn during that period and you have used up 6 years. Hopefully Hillary wins and the USCIS rule which makes i-140 withdrawal impossible goes into effect.
 

DEEPCUR

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Simpsonjos,


As per my understanding, your h1b can be reinstated within 6 years from your visa expiry date. I'm not sure if petition expiry date counts as visa expiry date. In all probability, you can keep it as 6 years from your last day in US. I know for sure it's six years, but not sure of from which date (visa or petition or departure date).

And let me throw some light on gc wait times. There are nearly 2.5 lac people from India ahead of someone who is filling their gc today in eb2. eb2 India gets only 2800 gc s per year and that number should accomodate dependent of those two lac applicants . Do the math and figure out when your gc might come . From 2009, the volume of applications are enormously high, and it is crazy after 2011. So it's no more five year, eight year, ten year deal as it used to be. Unless some reform comes, Indians can never get gc in their lifetime. Worst part here is that neither trump nor Hillary or any politicians for that matter have any plans to fix this mess as it's just affecting only one country. You might want to read this

http://immigrationgirl.com/what-is-the-real-wait-time-for-eb-2-india-82-5-years/
I went through your situation in previous posts. With ageing out kids, you should move to Canada or India no sooner. Else they would be in a limbo w.r.t education, culture etc. You may never be able to get gc in next 20-30 years with present system. They cannot work part time, cannot get student loans, get in state fees, get scholarships, get opt on h4 visa. They need to switch to f1 to get opt, but they still cannot get other things. Above all they need to go through h1 lottery process and stand in same gc queue where you are standing . All these would be fine if they come from India, but they would feel bad if they do their schooling in US and join college.. seeing their friends getting everything. By you not moving, you are denying them a potential opportunity to settle peacefully in a peaceful developed country. Please make a move soon to Canada without thinking much about coming back to US. Canada is a developed country too, and except for salary /job front, I'd presume it just as another US state.
 

deadbird

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ht7 said:
Since your last i797 was approved. So for you, yes until Sep 2022. Good planning! I hope my employer extends my H1b just before I move to Canada too.

Though I am not sure what happens if i-140 is withdrawn during that period and you have used up 6 years. Hopefully Hillary wins and the USCIS rule which makes i-140 withdrawal impossible goes into effect.
@ht7: Do you have any references to the 6 year rule after last I797 approval? I tried googling around, but didn't find anything useful.
 

mshaikh

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deadbird said:
@ht7: Do you have any references to the 6 year rule after last I797 approval? I tried googling around, but didn't find anything useful.
Interesting.

I would like to know as well.
My situation: I have I-140 approved and PD is early 2013.
I have Canadian PR - I am nearing my 3 years out side Canada so have to go to Canada next year if I want to keep my PR status.
Torn between the two - I think Canada is good to raise family but I have been in US for more than 9 years.. and I like the job market and the country over all.
 

ht7

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deadbird said:
@ht7: Do you have any references to the 6 year rule after last I797 approval? I tried googling around, but didn't find anything useful.

"Any alien who has already been counted within the 6 years prior to the approval of a petition described in subsection (c), toward the numerical limitations of paragraph (1)(A) shall not again be counted toward those limitations"

Source: https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-13593/0-0-0-13813.html