AINP - SRS H1B Landing Experience and post landing related activities.

[aine0617]

You guys are awesome, I am very late in following this forum, though I applied almost 2yrs back. Now I feel I am close to a decision either way is fine but I am optimistic and I am sure I would get it.
To all the people who are sharing their experiences kudos to you.
I read some of the questions here and I am not diff from others who are worried about landing. Before I start worrying about landing,

1. I want to know what is the scope of Job market in Alberta? what kind of jobs we need to do? working as a software professional which most of us are, we expect to grow in the same industry and I been searching Dice and other job boards and didnt find anything interesting in Alberta(infact nothing). So wat do we do?

2. Let me assume,I am prepared to land. Is there any Indian community that I can reach for to get a local address when we land?

3. Can I finsih the landing formalities and come back to US to complete my assignment and then leave?

4. I read they dont deliver PR to US address, so how difficult to get one posted to Alberta PO box?

Many of you might be in similar situations, just want to understand what u gusy doing after reaching alberta... exp guys can help with some valuable inputs

Appreciate your responses

 

[NewHome_Alberta]

You guys are awesome, I am very late in following this forum, though I applied almost 2yrs back. Now I feel I am close to a decision either way is fine but I am optimistic and I am sure I would get it.
To all the people who are sharing their experiences kudos to you.
I read some of the questions here and I am not diff from others who are worried about landing. Before I start worrying about landing,

1. I want to know what is the scope of Job market in Alberta? what kind of jobs we need to do? working as a software professional which most of us are, we expect to grow in the same industry and I been searching Dice and other job boards and didnt find anything interesting in Alberta(infact nothing). So wat do we do?

2. Let me assume,I am prepared to land. Is there any Indian community that I can reach for to get a local address when we land?

3. Can I finsih the landing formalities and come back to US to complete my assignment and then leave?

4. I read they dont deliver PR to US address, so how difficult to get one posted to Alberta PO box?

Many of you might be in similar situations, just want to understand what u gusy doing after reaching alberta... exp guys can help with some valuable inputs

Appreciate your responses

 

[NewHome_Alberta]

I have the same question for PR card. Can it be posted to alberta Fedex address or a PO box?
Did anybody try this? please share.

 

[monteiromarcosb]

I have landed with my family last Sunday 02/06 thru Coutts-Alberta. I confess that I had a lot of question in my mind about the landing process, so I did my best to be over prepared. The process was very simple, stress-free, and kind of fast. I drove from my home in Helena - Montana (3 hrs to the border) The weather in Montana was very nice (a little cold). The Canadian officer asked for my papers and passports and that's it! He didn't ask for extra pictures, didn't ask for money or any bank statements (the only question about money was if I had more than $10,000 which I promptly said no). He asked for the address to send the PR cards and then I gave the address of a friend in Lethbridge. I didn't bring anything with me so I gave my list of goods to follow without any problems. We (my wife 3 kids and myself) then drove to Lethbridge. We got ourselves a cheap hotel room to spend the night. Monday morning the weather was crazy with about 10'' of snow! it did not stopped us. We left early and apply for our sin cards (which will be mailed to the same address in Lethbridge). After that we drove straight to Calgary where we had some business to take care of. Today we are still in Calgary planning to go back to Lethbridge tomorrow. The weather in great! -11 degrees celsius, but the sun is shining and honestly it does not feel cold at all - I think I'm used to the Montana weather. I think you have to understand that is cold but dry so it does not feel cold even compared to places warmer but with a very wet climate like NY, NJ, PA. I forgot to tell about the chinook which warms the temperatures in 10 to 20 degrees in hours and sometimes stays for weeks!
We are plannning to go back to Montana this weekend!

We're planning to move for good after the kids are done with school in the summer!

Good luck for those who are coming to Canada! its a great country!!

 

[monteiromarcosb]

I have the same question for PR card. Can it be posted to alberta Fedex address or a PO box?
Did anybody try this? please share.

I was thinking about that option, but I think somebody in the forum said the cards are not sent to po boxes, I was thinking about the ups option of a po box with a formal street address, but I decided not to do it. I was lucky to find a friend in Montana whose parents live in Lethbridge and I used their address for now. I also contacted some old friends from the forum who had already landed to see if they could help me and I was very surprised to find out how many good people are willing to help in this forum. Why don't you try to contact old members who have moved to alberta to ask them if the could help you. unfortunately I don't have my own address yet, and it will take awhile until I get one.

good luck!

 

[aine0617]

Awesome! Congrats on your landing.

 

[DKSCHOWDARY]

I was thinking about that option, but I think somebody in the forum said the cards are not sent to po boxes, I was thinking about the ups option of a po box with a formal street address, but I decided not to do it. I was lucky to find a friend in Montana whose parents live in Lethbridge and I used their address for now. I also contacted some old friends from the forum who had already landed to see if they could help me and I was very surprised to find out how many good people are willing to help in this forum. Why don't you try to contact old members who have moved to alberta to ask them if the could help you. unfortunately I don't have my own address yet, and it will take awhile until I get one.

good luck!

Congrats.... for sure we know PO Box wont work... and i guess it would be risky to try UPS option. So the best bet i guess is to find somebody that is staying there....I am also actively searching for that..Let us see what happen...

 

[hsetin]

Hello Folks,
I landed in Calgary 2 months ago, and had a mix bag of experiences so far, here is a response to the email from aine0617.

1. How is the weather there? Smiley I live in minneapolis, So no different i guess and you enjoying the winter.
Well weather is kind of unpredictable, and for almost 4-6 months a year you should be prepared to stay indoors, there are brief windows of 7-10 days when a chinook(weather pattern) arrives and the temperature drops to above zero (up to 10 degree celcius), but other than that lots of snow and temperatures of -20 are a way of life. Needless to say, its painful to even walk outside from your house to the train station, or from your office to your bus/car.
For me this is quiet a big change from US, where snow would always melt away and life would be back to normal every 2 weeks, but here you might not see the ground for months straight. Also sunlight hours are less than most places in us AS WE are moving towards north pole and (they are more during summers). Most people are used to go to work when its dark outside, and for me its a big change

2. I am working in US, so once the decision is been made, assuming I got the visa, I would want to finish the landing formalities and then come back and work until this year end. So, how do I get a address to get the PR Card delivered, Can they deliver to any PO box?
As discussed on the forum earlier, PR card is not delivered to PO BOx, you might have to request someone to give his address in alberta and mail them a prepaid envelop so they might mail it you (use your PR skills
3. After I get the PR, can I continue to work in Vancouver or Toronto? Will my PR be still valid? Will the stay in toronto is considered for citizenship?
Well by law a PR gives you the right to live anywhere in the country, and that is what my (free) lawyer told me, I wasn't planning other places so i did not enquire a lot, you should consult a lawyer and may be share the opinion onthe forum as this is most often asked question, also i recently read about investor class people (mostly east asians) from other countries were given PR to move to quebec and they came in and very soon moved to vancouver (which along with toronto is the most coveted destinations, and for very good reasons)
4. How is the job market in Alberta, what kind of jobs we get there? I am in IT working as a programmer analyst, how does it help?
I am not in IT so i am not sure, but job market is pretty small and I ahve been told that pay rates are not as good as in US.
Couple of other observations I have made during my brief stay here include the fact that everything is atleast 20-50% more expensive here, and that includes, basic food basket items like milk, egg, bread/groceries, and consumer goods (apparel, hardware, auto, etc) , auto insurance (200%) and even freaking gas is more expensive than US although canada exports 80% of oil to US.
About jobs, so far I have not heard good things about the market, and have met people who were in hardware design, programming, and other hightech jobs struggling to find a footing here. But again I am not in it SO not the best person to offer advice.
If you are a blue collar worker like mason, barber, auto cleaner, labor, welder, etc.. than pay rates are amazing atleast >$20 per hour.
But surprisingly if you are an engineer or MBA, the pay rates only go up by may be $7-10. I know a few MBA graduates, and accountant working at $ 30 per hour which is way less than US standards.
I attended productivity seminar organized by Bank of Canada and they were discussing about how badly does the productivity per capita lacks behind US in Canada and how low is the intake of graduate/PhD level talent is in Canada.

On a different note, people are nice, and generally canadians are more polite than americans, and definitely more welcoming, its fairly acceptable/welcoming to call yourself a new immigrant, even banks have special programs for such people, because the immigration rates are pretty high in Canada.
There is definitely more equality in Canada.
Although surprisingly there are small pockets of ethnic communities everywhere, and people usually hang out with there own race/ethnic background,although that is true everywhere else in the world, but definitely more pronounced here than in US.

I was surprised to see that even second generation kids hang out in similar circles, (kind of reminded me of hollywood prison movies "stick with your own, or you get killed" , just kidding of course

There are a tonne of support programs for new immigrants, but if you probably wont relate with any of them because these so called new immigrants are those arriving under family visa categories and have pathetic communication skills and technical skills and pretty much end up spending years to get in to the industry.
I have never seen more desi/pakis working in gas stations and pizza huts.

 

[cchabert]

Hello Folks,
I landed in Calgary 2 months ago, and had a mix bag of experiences so far, here is a response to the email from aine0617.

1. How is the weather there? Smiley I live in minneapolis, So no different i guess and you enjoying the winter.
Well weather is kind of unpredictable, and for almost 4-6 months a year you should be prepared to stay indoors, there are brief windows of 7-10 days when a chinook(weather pattern) arrives and the temperature drops to above zero (up to 10 degree celcius), but other than that lots of snow and temperatures of -20 are a way of life. Needless to say, its painful to even walk outside from your house to the train station, or from your office to your bus/car.
For me this is quiet a big change from US, where snow would always melt away and life would be back to normal every 2 weeks, but here you might not see the ground for months straight. Also sunlight hours are less than most places in us AS WE are moving towards north pole and (they are more during summers). Most people are used to go to work when its dark outside, and for me its a big change

2. I am working in US, so once the decision is been made, assuming I got the visa, I would want to finish the landing formalities and then come back and work until this year end. So, how do I get a address to get the PR Card delivered, Can they deliver to any PO box?
As discussed on the forum earlier, PR card is not delivered to PO BOx, you might have to request someone to give his address in alberta and mail them a prepaid envelop so they might mail it you (use your PR skills
3. After I get the PR, can I continue to work in Vancouver or Toronto? Will my PR be still valid? Will the stay in toronto is considered for citizenship?
Well by law a PR gives you the right to live anywhere in the country, and that is what my (free) lawyer told me, I wasn't planning other places so i did not enquire a lot, you should consult a lawyer and may be share the opinion onthe forum as this is most often asked question, also i recently read about investor class people (mostly east asians) from other countries were given PR to move to quebec and they came in and very soon moved to vancouver (which along with toronto is the most coveted destinations, and for very good reasons)
4. How is the job market in Alberta, what kind of jobs we get there? I am in IT working as a programmer analyst, how does it help?
I am not in IT so i am not sure, but job market is pretty small and I ahve been told that pay rates are not as good as in US.
Couple of other observations I have made during my brief stay here include the fact that everything is atleast 20-50% more expensive here, and that includes, basic food basket items like milk, egg, bread/groceries, and consumer goods (apparel, hardware, auto, etc) , auto insurance (200%) and even freaking gas is more expensive than US although canada exports 80% of oil to US.
About jobs, so far I have not heard good things about the market, and have met people who were in hardware design, programming, and other hightech jobs struggling to find a footing here. But again I am not in it SO not the best person to offer advice.
If you are a blue collar worker like mason, barber, auto cleaner, labor, welder, etc.. than pay rates are amazing atleast >$20 per hour.
But surprisingly if you are an engineer or MBA, the pay rates only go up by may be $7-10. I know a few MBA graduates, and accountant working at $ 30 per hour which is way less than US standards.
I attended productivity seminar organized by Bank of Canada and they were discussing about how badly does the productivity per capita lacks behind US in Canada and how low is the intake of graduate/PhD level talent is in Canada.

On a different note, people are nice, and generally canadians are more polite than americans, and definitely more welcoming, its fairly acceptable/welcoming to call yourself a new immigrant, even banks have special programs for such people, because the immigration rates are pretty high in Canada.
There is definitely more equality in Canada.
Although surprisingly there are small pockets of ethnic communities everywhere, and people usually hang out with there own race/ethnic background,although that is true everywhere else in the world, but definitely more pronounced here than in US.

I was surprised to see that even second generation kids hang out in similar circles, (kind of reminded me of hollywood prison movies "stick with your own, or you get killed" , just kidding of course

There are a tonne of support programs for new immigrants, but if you probably wont relate with any of them because these so called new immigrants are those arriving under family visa categories and have pathetic communication skills and technical skills and pretty much end up spending years to get in to the industry.
I have never seen more desi/pakis working in gas stations and pizza huts.

Hey Hsetin how are you? in which part of Calgary are you? I'm in NW send me a PM

 

[aine0617]

Thanks for detailed info, sure it helps everyone here.
Not a good sign to see you talking so many negative things about Alberta. But, I am sure you will have fun in summer.

 

[cchabert]

Thanks for detailed info, sure it helps everyone here.
Not a good sign to see you talking so many negative things about Alberta. But, I am sure you will have fun in summer.

Agree, It gave me the impresion that you will stay indoors for months and this is wrong, there is a lot of outdoors activities for everyone and even at -20 if you go to Bownes river you can see a lot of people running or on their bikes, also people go to work and kids go to school like that, also all the schools by law need to put the kids outside to play everyday and my daughters hasn't complain about it.
One more the Chinooks came and goes during the winter, is not one week event, today we're at 4 celsius and next Wednesday we'll be down to -4 so it's nice!

Peace!

 

[virgos]

Guys,

I got my PR visa in Jan. I am planning to land via Detroit Bridge in March, will drive from Indiana, It is 3.5 hr drive for me to border.

1) Is it OK to land outside alberta. ( Reason I am doing this is because I will use AVR on my way back to re-enter US, and by Air it is difficult)

2) I have air tickets booked from Toronto to Calgary that I can show CBP officer in case he challenges my intentions, and have an address in Calgary.

3) Will be just landing and returning back in a week, after that I will move finally in Sep - Oct this year

Has anybody completed landing outside alberta recently ?

- Virgos
3)

 

[jovan]

Virgos,

Please, where did you get the impression that using AVR by air is difficult?

I have read accounts (both on this forum and on Trackitt) from people who used AVR by air and they all said it went smoothly.

 

[virgos]

Jovan....
Thanks for the info. I should have scanned the forum earlier.
I have the air tickets from Toronto to Calgary now.
So will be traveling by road and landing at Detroit border.
Does anybody see potential problems landing some place other than alberta.
- virgos

Virgos,

Please, where did you get the impression that using AVR by air is difficult?

I have read accounts (both on this forum and on Trackitt) from people who used AVR by air and they all said it went smoothly.

 

[AlbertaGovernor]

Jovan....
Thanks for the info. I should have scanned the forum earlier.
I have the air tickets from Toronto to Calgary now.
So will be traveling by road and landing at Detroit border.
Does anybody see potential problems landing some place other than alberta.
- virgos

There is no hard and fast rule that you have to land in Alberta only. All you got to do is convince the officer at the border that your intent is to settle in Alberta. Read the articles on the links below and take your call.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2010/ob251.asp


http://www.smeurrens.com/2010/11/pnp-participants-denied-entry-at-the-border/