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Mthornt

Hero Member
Dec 28, 2015
817
207
Canada
Congrats! Where are you located now? Did you find your job before getting permanent residence and before you moved to Canada? What field are you working in?

It's in finance, and I found it after getting PR. I'm in the US right now, but landed in Sept. and I'll be starting the job in Nov. In order to take the job I'll be moving to Quebec. I'm just really hoping we get our PR cards soon!
 

moose17

Hero Member
Jun 30, 2017
277
227
It's in finance, and I found it after getting PR. I'm in the US right now, but landed in Sept. and I'll be starting the job in Nov. In order to take the job I'll be moving to Quebec. I'm just really hoping we get our PR cards soon!
Congratulations, that's awesome! Do you have any tips on finding a job ahead of moving? I'm hoping against hope it works for us since it would make choosing and getting accepted for housing much easier.
 

katiegud

Star Member
Oct 27, 2017
54
59
Hi all, I just applied for EE a couple of days ago with a score of 444. I'm thinking that will be good enough to get an invite in the next few rounds, so I got my fingerprints done today through a channeler. I got the report back and it says:
A SEARCH OF THE FINGERPRINTS PROVIDED BY
THIS INDIVIDUAL HAS REVEALED NO PRIOR
ARREST DATA AT THE FBI. THIS DOES NOT
PRECLUDE FURTHER CRIMINAL HISTORY AT
THE STATE OR LOCAL LEVEL.

Is that what they all say? Do I need to get a local police certificate, too?
 
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Mthornt

Hero Member
Dec 28, 2015
817
207
Canada
Congratulations, that's awesome! Do you have any tips on finding a job ahead of moving? I'm hoping against hope it works for us since it would make choosing and getting accepted for housing much easier.

Honestly, it's just a numbers game, just keep applying and don't give up. Also, if you have a local address you can list on your applications it helps, once they know you're outside the country, most employers won't give you application a 2nd look. Last, I use an app called "2nd Line" to get myself a virtual Canadian phone number, so in all aspects it looks like I'm local and serious about the job. I was lucky enough to have family nearby, which made it possible for me to stay with them, and do multiple interviews without having to fly back and forth across the continent, I came from out west in the US.
 
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DEEPCUR

Champion Member
Apr 12, 2016
2,428
642
Honestly, it's just a numbers game, just keep applying and don't give up. Also, if you have a local address you can list on your applications it helps, once they know you're outside the country, most employers won't give you application a 2nd look. Last, I use an app called "2nd Line" to get myself a virtual Canadian phone number, so in all aspects it looks like I'm local and serious about the job. I was lucky enough to have family nearby, which made it possible for me to stay with them, and do multiple interviews without having to fly back and forth across the continent, I came from out west in the US.
Nice to know that. But how to justify virtual Canadian presence w.r.t current job in US? Should we say we already resigned US job and searching in Canada?
 

aminahc1

Star Member
Apr 6, 2017
56
30
Hey, fellow Americans who are getting the heck out of the States! I came to Toronto in 2013 and fell in love. A student visa was the only program I qualified for at the time because the CRS scores were so high back then. Graduated from undergrad in 2016 (non-traditional student), got accepted to a Canadian master's program and moved to Ontario in July of 2016. I found out earlier this year that I qualified for EE, so I started the process of getting ECA/language tests in about March of 2017. Got my ITA in May, got my PPR this month! Still waiting for the final documents, but it has been quite the journey. I don't think I've ever been happier to wake up under the Canadian sky as I was the day the Mango Mussolini got elected. I hope that all of my fellow Americans who want it get to become Canadian PRs very soon! They changed the requirements for citizenship, so I'm hoping to be able to apply for Canadian citizenship no later than 2020. O, Canada! <3
 

aminahc1

Star Member
Apr 6, 2017
56
30
Hey guys,

I'm not a US citizen but I've been living in the US for the last 12 years. My future in the US doesn't look like it will pan out how I'd hope so I'm taking a plunge and looking at immigrating to Canada hopefully on a permanent basis. Now, I already received my ECA and I'm expecting to get my IELTS result tomorrow (the online version anyway) and I'm planning on creating my profile then. Not really sure where I'll end up in terms of CRS score but I'm hoping it will be in the 410s - 420s or higher. That said, I started living in the US a couple of months before I turned 18 so I'm thinking the PCC from the FBI is the only one I will need. My question is how do non-US citizens go about getting the fingerprints taken and get them processed? I checked the site and it got me a bit confused talking about channel and whatnot. Do I just go to a police station and ask someone to help me with that?

The other thing, has anyone used their 401K as proof of funds? Does it matter if you are 100% vested? My plan is to use both my 401K and my savings as proof of funds. That said, if CIC looks back at the last 6 months, I've slowly built the funds to where I now have the required amount and a little bit extra, would that cause an issue because the funds weren't all in the account over the 6 months period?

Let me know your thoughts please.
I used that as my POF. Fully vested, and it seems to have been fine. The only difference between citizens/non citizens is that non-citizens can't use a channeler. You have to send them directly to the FBI.
 

Mthornt

Hero Member
Dec 28, 2015
817
207
Canada
Nice to know that. But how to justify virtual Canadian presence w.r.t current job in US? Should we say we already resigned US job and searching in Canada?
Generally I've just let them know I'm that I was re-locating to the area. The hard part is getting the initial interview, once you get a chance to speak to them, you can explain what your plans are. Some recruiters will toss an application even if the person is in Canada but in another province.
 
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DEEPCUR

Champion Member
Apr 12, 2016
2,428
642
Generally I've just let them know I'm that I was re-locating to the area. The hard part is getting the initial interview, once you get a chance to speak to them, you can explain what your plans are. Some recruiters will toss an application even if the person is in Canada but in another province.
Thanks. And how much pay cut you had to take from US salary? How did the negotiation start? With US salary or they started with a figure?
 

Mthornt

Hero Member
Dec 28, 2015
817
207
Canada
Thanks. And how much pay cut you had to take from US salary? How did the negotiation start? With US salary or they started with a figure?
I definitely took a bit of a pay cut, but not as much as you might think. I'm also going to be in Quebec, and costs are a bit lower it seems than Toronto or Vancouver. Negotiation is no different than in the US, at least in my situation, I let them know my requirements during the first interview and they met them. I then had 2 more interviews after that and I received the offer.
 

canada_eagle

Hero Member
Nov 17, 2016
208
58
My family and me will be landing during Thanksgiving week. We are PEI PNP nominees so we will then go to PEI to check out the province and figure out long term settlement plans. The process took a long time, so am really excited to get to this stage.

All the best for the rest of you folks too.
 
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trumprefugee

Champion Member
Jun 6, 2017
1,616
3,186
Ottawa, ON
Category........
PNP
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
2172
App. Filed.......
06-01-2018
Nomination.....
19-12-2017
AOR Received.
07-01-2018
IELTS Request
24-06-2017
Med's Done....
05-01-2018
Passport Req..
09-03-2018
VISA ISSUED...
02-04-2018
LANDED..........
28-05-2018
My family and me will be landing during Thanksgiving week. We are PEI PNP nominees so we will then go to PEI to check out the province and figure out long term settlement plans. The process took a long time, so am really excited to get to this stage.

All the best for the rest of you folks too.
Oh wow, PEI is a very small province, and not many people go there. I did look into their PNP program but am not sure I would want to settle there, and it seems they are not looking for ICT workers at this time. What do you see as the advantages of PEI in terms of settling there? Have you been there?
 

JERiv

Star Member
Jul 4, 2017
71
61
Texas
Hi @trumprefugee and @moose17! Our application actually just got approved this Friday, which is very exciting (and stress relieving) for us. COPR should be here on Monday (per FedEx). :)

On why we're immigrating, we're on the same boat really. My wife has always wanted to live abroad. Kind of a "life goal" for both of us, but not really in the cards due to life in general. However, after the election my BIL applied for a job in Canada both out of frustration from the election (the old "we're moving to Canada!" joke) as well as a kind of bad situation at his workplace. It turns out the employers took the application very seriously and jumped at the chance to bring him in. A few months later and he's now very happily relocated in Canada with his young children.

That pushed us to do the same. Because of the same reasons, really: healthcare, education (college costs), mass murders happening almost every week, guns everywhere, crazy ultra-conservative politics, Trump's daily barrage of crazy... the list is fairly big.

One big thing for us, my wife and her family are all legal Hispanic immigrants (naturalized US citizens) who grew up in the States. My sister-in-law is a very recent immigrant from another Hispanic country (now also a US citizen). I'm as Puerto Rican as you can get, so a multi-generational American citizen (but still obviously Latino). Why that's relevant is that everything that happened during the election related to immigrants and Hispanics in particular felt to my wife and her family like a very personal and very hurtful repudiation of who they are. It opened up our eyes to a lot of things we used to take for granted or ignore before. I sadly I don't think a lot Americans will ever be able to understand (or care) about that.

On the subject of jobs, my wife (primary breadwinner now) has been networking for the whole year with folks in her field in BC. She actually already had a very good offer, but it was for a temporary 1 year contract and we had to decline. We're hopeful once PR goes through it gets us over one of the biggest hurdles for getting her employed, outside of lack of open positions in her field. As for me, I'm a stay-at-home dad as of December (when I finally quit my job), but I plan to hopefully get another job once my wife finds a good job there. Networking seems to be the key, and starting as soon as you can is best. We've been lucky enough to travel to Canada a few times this year, and she's prioritized networking with folks in her field every time.

On the issue of family, that's a toughie. It's a very unique situation for everyone, I'm guessing. I still haven't told my side of the family. Most of them (all of the ones in TX) are hardcore irrational Trump supporters, especially my parents. We get along great, and love each other very much, but holy moley no one can ever bring up politics when we're together. And if anyone does, I shoot them down fast. Oil and water. My dad's so stubborn he puts entire packs of mules to shame.

Bottom line is that the move isn't really about politics. It's about trying to give your nuclear family the best opportunity you believe they can have. If we had to move to another state due to work, would that be any different? It's my own personal opinion that if they take it badly, that's more their problem than ours. In our particular situation, we almost already broke relations with them after the election. They decided to issue an ultimatum that they never, ever wanted to see my wife's family (who live in the same town), again because they felt insulted by something my BIL posted in FB. That just about broke us. They're lucky my wife forgave them, but that does not mean we will ever forget.

Ultimately, and this may sound somewhat selfish, we have to do what's best for us and our daughters. And if that's moving to Canada, that's what it is. My family will always be welcome in our house, be it here (about 1.5 - 2 hours away) or in Canada. And it's not like they (retired and financially doing well) can't visit. Regardless, I'll still wait until things are settled and we're definitely moving. I don't want to stir up drama while we're still here when things may not happen (no job for wife, no move). Not much more I think I can do other than that.
 

moose17

Hero Member
Jun 30, 2017
277
227
@JERiv , you're just ahead of us! We sent our passport copies and photos Friday and they're due to arrive in Ottawa tomorrow.

I'm so sorry about the issues you've had to deal with due to attitudes about Hispanic people. It's so sad that it's like that, and that people have so little empathy for others.

I feel very much the same as you about all of the reasons for moving (though with health care the most tangible and most related to my background, it will be our focus if people ask about reasons for the move) and how it feels like just doing what we can to give our kids the best opportunities as they grow up and to make life better for us too. It's crazy that even reasonable health care and college costs are "political" now!

We are planning to tell our parents in the next few days. For one, my family should mostly see this is a good thing (between our family's health issues and, like your wife, I always wanted to live abroad and my parents were always supportive of that) so it's been hard hiding it from them, and two, my mother-in-law has severe travel anxiety and we want her to have time to deal with this before we leave and to spend extra time with our daughter before it gets harder for her to visit (or maybe this will be the push she needs to get help so she can keep visiting regularly - like yours, money and time aren't impediments). We're set on moving by March though, even if we don't have jobs yet.
 

yodheydhara

Hero Member
Sep 12, 2016
270
73
Visa Office......
CPC Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
LANDED..........
09-10-2016
Hi all, I just applied for EE a couple of days ago with a score of 444. I'm thinking that will be good enough to get an invite in the next few rounds, so I got my fingerprints done today through a channeler. I got the report back and it says:
A SEARCH OF THE FINGERPRINTS PROVIDED BY
THIS INDIVIDUAL HAS REVEALED NO PRIOR
ARREST DATA AT THE FBI. THIS DOES NOT
PRECLUDE FURTHER CRIMINAL HISTORY AT
THE STATE OR LOCAL LEVEL.

Is that what they all say? Do I need to get a local police certificate, too?
I believe so. I dont think they ask for a local police certificate but it wouldnt hurt to get one. All you need to do is go to the local police station and put a request for police clearance certificate. I did it, even if it wasnt specifically asked for, just in case.