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Hi Guys ,

I have a question. I will be moving to Canada by the end of May, and i will be shipping my stuff with the moving company right around the same date. i hope the stuff will reach 2-3 days after i reach , but u never know.

now my question is , should i put all this stuff on "Goods to Follow" Form , or as the "goods accompanying".

thanks
 
Hello All,

Kindly help me with one answer as I am a little confused. This is my situation. My U.S H1B visa has expired on my passport. I have a valid I-94 till 2012. Can I complete my Canadian landing formalities, lets say in Detroit/Canada border and then get back into U.S with a expired H1B visa but with a valid I-94. Dont we have to surrender the I-94 when we leave U.S to Canada.

Thanks,
Nothing New
 
Thanks Alberta Governor..

So even my Visa is B2 and changed it to H1B...i can used AVR..

Can you explain to me the process going back to USA using AVR?



AlbertaGovernor said:
If you have a I-797 with a valid I-94 date then you are good to enter the US. Keep your I-797 safe and dont show them that at time of departure. If the airline insist on it, argue for it and talk to senior officer. If needed show them the telegram and tell them you need to retain it for reentry.
 
if i dont land in canada? will that be a problem?
i still need 2 years for us greencard, and i dont want to jeopardize that.
will they question why i have immigrant visa?

lightsinthemist said:
Bibo

if you are planning to get it done in the home country that is fine as well(given the risk if they do give you a security check slip or the namecheck/PIMS is taking a long time and you are forced to stay back ) .You can keep the Ottawa consulate in mind as well.

Anywaz the H1 is an dual intent visa and you should not have any problems. However in the paperwork there will be an question with regards to us green card application. That might pose problems because you are not allowed to puruse both at the same time. Technically people can surrender any one of the PR's after making their decision.

If have not even intiated the US green card process no issues at all.If you do have an US green card process stuck in the loop be prepared to keep your story straight. Let them know you plan to move to Canada permanently and at that time will be abandoning both the H1B and US green card. Untill then you need your extension for your work visa.

Please note however if you are going for an post 6th yr extension H1b stamping based on a Labour application for gc that is pending ,it will cause a huge question mark on everything.Because your 7th yr H1 extension is based on the US Green card and having the Canadian PR throws that into question...
 
Bibo

If I understand your question correctly , you are asking if you dont do the landing at all ...and just go for stamping in the home country.Will they have an issue with the Immigrant visa stamp in the passport.

1.Since the visa is dated if you go after the date guess there will be no questions asked.
2.If you go before the date it might depend on the US consular officer but still probably will not be perceived as the same case as having landed and possessing the Canadian green card.

However if you dont do the landing...you will have to restart the whole process for the Canadian PR and you will be losing the Canadian PR. I guess your PD must be very close for you to take that decision...

Ultimately the choice is upto you....situation is a little tricky. By law one cannot hold both PR's and one has to be surrendered. Unforunately with 7th YR H1 extensions which get based on you pursuing an US Green card ....the consular officer if alert will notice the Canadian PR and will question the intent.

Either way good luck .Hope you choose wisely and stick with either one. You can browse other US immigration forums where people have posted their experiences.....In most cases they renounce one of them after getting the PR they want. 7th Yr extension cases are tricky usually.


Lights

bibo said:
if i dont land in canada? will that be a problem?
i still need 2 years for us greencard, and i dont want to jeopardize that.
will they question why i have immigrant visa?
 
Yes, I am back in US.



legalcitizen said:
wow..seems like they are keeping track of the ainp pr's.. what kind of visa you have to apply and do you get your PR cards or not..

I am thinking to land in may so its a better idea to make sure I reach calgary in regular hours.. did you come back to US ? ..may be thats the reason they want us to fill the complete information about our address etc..damn this is even worse than H1b..you cannot live/work in other province..lol

Regards..
 
Also general note to those who plan to use AVR.You cannot apply for new US visa appointment at us consulates in canada and expect to be readmitted.If you do schedule an visa appointment and your H1 gets rejected ,you will have to travel to home country .

Proof

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1299.html

Automatic revalidation is not the same as applying for a new visa. If you apply for a new nonimmigrant visa, you cannot take advantage of automatic revalidation

This webpage explains which travelers must reapply and be reissued visas when their existing visas have expired, even if they are in possession of valid I-94 forms, in order to gain admission to reenter the U.S.

Applied for a new visa which has not yet been issued;
Applied for a new visa and was denied;



Please choose wisely and only choose one of the options.Either AVR or Apply for a new visa or extension.

Hope this helps

Lights
 
Hi ,

Today I got email from CIC Detroit office regarding passports for visa stamping. If they issue visa, it will expire on August 7th 2011 i.e before that date I should complete landing formalities.

Here is my situation: My self and my wife both are on H1B visa. Our (both) US visa's got expired. We have valid I-797's with I-94's. If we plan to go to Canada,
1) Do we need to attend US consulate for H1B visa stamping on my passport ?
2) My wife is pregnant, expecting her delivery in Sept-2011, is there any way to extend to goto Canada ?, etc.

Can anybody give suggestions ... What's the best option for us.
 
Looks like 90% of people are applying from US and get PR stamping, come back to usa. looking for green card, shame on those guys. Abusing the canada pr.

God please help.
 
Yes, i also think that you do not need a visa to go to Canada. You need a travel document. The Canadian IO did not appear to be correct on several occasion including with the CIC phone number he gave me.

I have a valid unexpired I-797A and a valid unexpired visa stamp related to this I-797A. I flew from Denver to Seattle to Calgary. I was surprised to see that all the three airports have free wi-fi.

While heading towards Calgary on April 16th, i asked at the gate if i need to submit my I-94 as i am going for only two days. He said it is up to me. I submitted the I-94.

While returning back to US on April 18th, I was asked to show the I-94 by US IO at the Calgary airport. I said that i already submitted it on Saturday. He said that if i am going to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days, i should not submit my I-94. He gave me a full I-94 form to fill. I filled it up and he stamped it and stapled the part of it on the passport.

At Seattle airport, there were no immigration formalities.






kv_ajay said:
Thanks for posting your experience. I am planning to land at the same time in Calgary (11.30 PM). I will have Edmonton address for mailing. I think the part where you have to apply for Visa to come back to Canada is wrong. According to the document we have received with COPR, we have to either wait for PR card to arrive in Canada before leaving Canada or apply for travel document (PR abroad). I was going to ask if someone on the forum has applied for the travel document.

Another question, did you have a current US visa stamped on your passport ? I am planning to use expired stamp along with valid 797. I was wondering how was your experience about that on Denver or SFO airport.

Sincerely,
 
Hi Canadatryingguy,

are you able to apply for SIN?
Did they process your PR?

thanks

canadatryingguy said:
Yes, i also think that you do not need a visa to go to Canada. You need a travel document. The Canadian IO did not appear to be correct on several occasion including with the CIC phone number he gave me.

I have a valid unexpired I-797A and a valid unexpired visa stamp related to this I-797A. I flew from Denver to Seattle to Calgary. I was surprised to see that all the three airports have free wi-fi.

While heading towards Calgary on April 16th, i asked at the gate if i need to submit my I-94 as i am going for only two days. He said it is up to me. I submitted the I-94.

While returning back to US on April 18th, I was asked to show the I-94 by US IO at the Calgary airport. I said that i already submitted it on Saturday. He said that if i am going to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days, i should not submit my I-94. He gave me a full I-94 form to fill. I filled it up and he stamped it and stapled the part of it on the passport.

At Seattle airport, there were no immigration formalities.
 
Thanks a lot for your important reply.
lightsinthemist said:
Bibo

If I understand your question correctly , you are asking if you dont do the landing at all ...and just go for stamping in the home country.Will they have an issue with the Immigrant visa stamp in the passport.

1.Since the visa is dated if you go after the date guess there will be no questions asked.
2.If you go before the date it might depend on the US consular officer but still probably will not be perceived as the same case as having landed and possessing the Canadian green card.

However if you dont do the landing...you will have to restart the whole process for the Canadian PR and you will be losing the Canadian PR. I guess your PD must be very close for you to take that decision...

Ultimately the choice is upto you....situation is a little tricky. By law one cannot hold both PR's and one has to be surrendered. Unforunately with 7th YR H1 extensions which get based on you pursuing an US Green card ....the consular officer if alert will notice the Canadian PR and will question the intent.

Either way good luck .Hope you choose wisely and stick with either one. You can browse other US immigration forums where people have posted their experiences.....In most cases they renounce one of them after getting the PR they want. 7th Yr extension cases are tricky usually.


Lights