Work Permit Extension at the US-Canada border

[Pritut]

Hello,

I am in a very weird situation here and have no idea what to do. I applied for my Post Graduate Work permit extension on January 19th. I attached a letter too requesting them to give me a longer extension as all I am doing is paying $250 again and again. The last time I got my PGWP for only 5 months because my passport was getting expired APril 10th. Now, I never imagined that they wont give me an extended work permit. I received my work permit last week that is only valid till November 10th. Now, the crazy part if that I have planned my wedding in my home country India for November 23rd. And these permits take between 4-6 months to arrive(this has been my experience so far). Even though the processing time for work permit extension for same employer is 1 month, I am still scared that I wont be able to get my work permit back in time to go to India. Could you please suggest any way to get work permit faster. I was thinking of going to the border and getting it extended there. I can apply online but the CIC agents say do not apply any time before 90 days. There is another catch here that my MPNP certificate is expiring August 24th. COuld some one please suggest me what should I do? I have all the documents ready for extension. My employer has paid $230 , I have the support letter and everything. Please help!

 

[GG kaur]

IS your wp already expired?

 

[Pritut]

No, it is valid till November 10,2016. I just wanted another permit before September as I need to apply for my visa and there are some travel opportunities from work too to Singapore so I would need to apply for that Visa too.

 

[fkl]

If you already have a valid work permit and are in Canada, just go to nearest border with all the docs and get a new work permit.

You should have clear proof of eligibility of work permit, some proof of why you came to the border (evidence tallying the situation you highlighted above) and must have a currently valid work permit.

Do it on a weekday during working hours so you get a relatively senior officer at CBSA who understand the process.

Basically only those people who are from a visa exempt country are allowed to get work permit at the border.

I assume you are NOT visa exempt.

However, there is a CBSA rule that if you are already admitted to Canada on a work / study permit and are ONLY entering from the US, you DO NOT REQUIRE a visa to enter Canada (assuming you have a valid study / work permit).

Now since you do not require visa, you can get work permit at the border.

The above is the clause applied when people do it at the border. Many people do it. Just be polite, have all the docs and address any concerns the officer has and you should be good.

 

[Pritut]

Thank you so much for your reply. So, that means even though my work permit does not expire for another 6 months I can get the permit updated let us say in July? I am asking that because the CIC agents told me that the permit will get rejected if I apply online too much in advance. So, that is not the case when applying personally at the border. Would you suggest I wait for few months before going? Correct?

Also, what are the documents that aree needed for extending the work permit at the border?
I have my PNP certificate, support letter from manitoba govt for applying work permit, recipet that my employer paid $230, offer letter. Is there anything else I might need.

 

[fkl]

You assumed too many things from my answer.

You may or may not get new work permit 6 months before expiry depending upon quite a few things.

If the intension (and basis) of work permit is PGWP i.e. your education then yes they most likely won't allow it and I won't recommend trying it. In fact I suggest making sure first if CIC even allows PGWP to be issued at border.

I was referring more to employer based work permits in which case you might have a work permit tied to one employer that is valid for another year, but you need to join a new employer - for which you need a new work permit and have LMIA etc along. So the validity is not a problem in this scenario.

What CIC agent told you applies to PGWP or bridging open work permit.

Regarding documents - you have to be extra sure. Carry every document you can including your degree, your past experience letters, recent pay stubs any thing. CBSA needs to be certain and they might ask you for extra docs assuming you are otherwise eligible.

Though I am curious if you already have a provincial nomination. Why don't you already have a PR application submitted.

If you were applying through express entry, nowadays you can submit a Bridging open work permit application ALONG with your PR application and be under implied status while it is processed. I fail to understand why you haven't done that.

 

[Pritut]

I think I did not do a very good job in explaining myself. I have gotten my PGWP and am trying to apply for work permit tied to an employer. I explained the entire situation to the cic agent and then she said don't apply until only 90 days are left. I have my PR application number as well as my MPNP which expires August 24th. I would not have applied for my PGWP extension and would have applied for my employer tied work permit if I had gotten my PNP earlier. By the time I received my MPNP I had already applied for my PGWP extension.

Now, I want to apply for my work permit extension that is tied to my employer I am working for. So, my only concern was when should be the right time to apply for it. PGWP expires nov 10th 2016. From your post I understood that it does not matter when you apply for your employer specific work permit. As long as your previous work permit is valid you just go to the border with all the documents(thank you for mentioning what should I take) and you will be good to go. Is that correct?

The reason for this rush is the fact that I am getting married in India on November 23rd so I need a valid work permit and visa before Nov so that I can go there and come back without any trouble. If I apply online it takes forever to arrive. My PGWP took six months to arrive the first time I applied.

Also, please let me know what is LMO? A lot of posts mentioned taking that when going to the border for extending wp.

Thank you so much for your time. Really Appreciate that!

 

[fkl]

I will answer the rest latter when i have time.

LMO / LMIA is labor market impact assessment (previously called labor market opinion) that an employer gets through a long process proving to government that they could not find a Canadian for this particular role and they need this particular person (Applicant) to be hired as temp foreign worker as he possess those skills. Its not an easy task to meet its requirements. But that is what i was referring to above.

 

[Pritut]

Thank you! Yes please whenever you have time reply to my questions.

I do not think my employer has LMIA. However, a coworker of mine filed her work permit with my employer and she got her work permit without LMIA. I am sorry if my statements are not making sense. I am a little clueless as to why I would be needing LMIA. I thought LMIA was needed for express entry. For work permit I thought you need to have PNP and support letter and your employer should pay $230 and you need to have that receipt. I am sure I am missing something.

Thank you! Looking forward to your reply.

 

[fkl]

Very few people do not require LMIA to work in Canada.

Some jobs are LMIA exempt, some people already have a PR in process beyond initial evaluation and are eligible for BOWP. Some people have studied in Canada and are issued a Post graduate work permit for the same duration as of their study. Others have spouses working on skilled jobs and hence are eligible for SOWP. AINP program is another option.

If you do not fall into any of those, there is no way you can get a work permit without LMIA.

Use of LMIA in Express entry is just an additional application of it. Because Canada doesn't want to bring people on work permits, they instead want people with Labor market approved jobs to come as permanent residents - period.

LMIA existed before too in the form of LMO and it is processed by HRSDC - not even CIC.

The 230$ fee that an employer pays called compliance fee is for LMIA exempt scenarios.

Since you are PGWP hence your case is related to above fee.

So you are good to apply close to the expiry of your WP but NOT TOO EARLIER. Because the work permit you get is NOT TIED TO EMPLOYER. So it is not a new work permit per say. It is just an extension of your existing Post graduate open work permit.

Following reference should be very useful.
http://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/work/work-permits/post-graduation-work-permit

Lastly, I would ask the same question again. If you already have a PNP approval why haven't you filed PR as yet? If you are applying in express entry, you can submit PR + BOWP applications together.

 

[Pritut]

Thank you for your reply and the explanation. Now the LMIA scenario makes sense to me. Like I said in my last posts, I have PR file number and also my PNP approved letter. I am not trying to apply for my Post Graduate work permit as I already have gotten full Post Graduate work permit after extension for one year that is valid till Nov 10th of this year.

I will have to apply for a work permit extension with the employer I am working with that will be a closed work permit. So, I wanted yo know if applying for that can be done at the border and what would be the right time to do so as I need a permit and a visa before November, probably in October. CiC says not to apply before 90 days and in my past experience i never received a new permit within 90 days or I shall say before the expiry of my old permit. Therefore was thinking going to border as one of my options.

 

[fkl]

Thank you for your reply and the explanation. Now the LMIA scenario makes sense to me. Like I said in my last posts, I have PR file number and also my PNP approved letter. I am not trying to apply for my Post Graduate work permit as I already have gotten full Post Graduate work permit after extension for one year that is valid till Nov 10th of this year.

I will have to apply for a work permit extension with the employer I am working with that will be a closed work permit. So, I wanted yo know if applying for that can be done at the border and what would be the right time to do so as I need a permit and a visa before November, probably in October. CiC says not to apply before 90 days and in my past experience i never received a new permit within 90 days or I shall say before the expiry of my old permit. Therefore was thinking going to border as one of my options.

WOW - so if you already have a PR in process, why are you worrying about a closed employer sponsored work permit.

Assuming you filed PR via express entry, you can simply submit a Bridging open work permit application now - which will be issued for roughly a period of a year - way more than enough for your PR to complete.

Also BOWP is usually issued a bit faster - keeping your current permit expiry in consideration by CIC. Besides, since you would have submitted application, you would be under implied status.

Let me know if I have missed any thing here.

 

[Pritut]

I do not mind getting an employer specific permit. Moreover it comes for 2 years and has high chances of approval. I applied for general PR and wait time is 15 months. So was just wondering when to apply for that at border.

 

[fkl]

I do not mind getting an employer specific permit. Moreover it comes for 2 years and has high chances of approval. I applied for general PR and wait time is 15 months. So was just wondering when to apply for that at border.

I think you are still not getting the point.

Unless your employer's job is some thing specialized which is LMIA exempt for a particular reason, there is no way you can get employer specific work permit without LMIA.

It is possible that a person WHO IS OTHERWISE eligible for an open work permit (say PGWP or SOWP) gets an employer specific work permit because he had a job offer.

In your case your PGWP period is already through. So the only basis of you getting a work permit without LMIA is your PNP + PR application.

If you base it entirely on your employer and go to border where CBSA might not even fully understand that your criteria for eligibility of work permit is your PR application, you might get a refusal.

So it doesn't matter if you mind it or not - if you are having a hard time explaining me your thoughts (i.e. your basis of eligibility) - I only worry what happens when you face CBSA.

PS. Very few jobs are LMIA exempt e.g. a post doc at a university for a specified researcher or something similar. I doubt yours is one - specially considering you just graduated recently and are barely in the start of your career.

PPS Once again, my advice - submit application for work permit to CIC now online. Clearly attaching your PNP and proof of PR application stating your current work permit expiry and proof of your employer paid compliance fee. CIC will see your eligibility and issue an employer tied work permit (which is all you want). Please ignore your prior experience with processing time. It has improved quite a bit recently and is around 2 months for a good complete application from inside Canada. This is what I would do if I was in your situation.

If it carries any weightage - I have been to the border and received a work permit. However, my existing work permit was with an LMIA and the new employer work permit was also for an LMIA exempt job with a big name company. And I am older, experienced and easier for CIC to accept as a resource needed by a new employer (justifying coming to border). Your circumstances seem quite different. You might still get it at the border, but I wont be that comfortable as compared to submitting it to CIC. CBSA might ask you for your AOR at the border i.e. proof of first stage approval of PR application which I believe you don't have and CIC doesn't issue those as such any more. But CIC would look through your PR app (in case of online application) and decide the work permit's status based upon that. So the latter is a more reliable option... More than enough said. Good luck

 

[Pritut]

Thank you so much for the advice. I will then apply online. My only question is that is it a thing with work permits other than pgwp that if you apply before 90 days the chances of rejection are higher? If so, I will apply on August 10 as it is 3 months from Nov 10 when my PGWP is expiring. Really appreciate your advice.