You can't switch an application from outland to inland. If you've applied outland and want to change to inland, you'd need to withdraw the outland application and submit an inland application and start the processing from scratch (and you wouldn't be able to do this until you are in Canada in September). I would stick with outland. Typically it's quite fast for Americans. You just won't be able to work until you have PR.
Ok, I guess I should clarify my work situation. I work for a non profit in US and have an H1B. They have agreed to let me work remotely, initially for 3 mo still based in US, and then afterwards as a contractor. This is a research non profit with 0 presence in Canada. I will be paid in USD into my US account.
From others in the forum and my readings, it's my understanding that I would not need a work permit as I am not competing with any Canadian for a Canadian job, which makes sense to me. Looking in the CIC website :
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/work/about.asp under
"What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”? :
What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”?
- An activity which does not really 'take away' from opportunities for Canadians or permanent residents to gain employment or experience in the workplace is not “work” for the purposes of the definition.
Examples of activities for which a person would not normally be remunerated or which would not compete directly with Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market and which would normally be part-time or incidental to the reason that the person is in Canada include, but are not limited to:
- volunteer work for which a person would not normally be remunerated, such as sitting on the board of a charity or religious institution; being a 'big brother' or 'big sister' to a child; being on the telephone line at a rape crisis centre (normally this activity would be part time and incidental to the main reason that a person is in Canada);
- unremunerated help by a friend or family member during a visit, such as a mother assisting a daughter with childcare, or an uncle helping his nephew build his own cottage;
- long distance (by telephone or Internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada;
- self-employment where the work to be done would have no real impact on the labour market, nor really provide an opportunity for Canadians. Examples include a U.S. farmer crossing the border to work on fields that he owns, or a miner coming to work on his own claim;
- short-term educational exchanges by high school students through international arrangements, such as the Regional Joint Cooperation Commission between Atlantic Canada and the archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
The highlighted section describes my situation so doing so as a visitor should not be an issue. Do I misunderstand the law in this case?
My other question is how to proceed in terms of crossing the border. Since I am not applying in-canada, it makes sense that I would fall under the
dual-intent case (which an officer has mentioned to me before once). I am completely committed to abiding by Canadian immigration law so I believe I need to show the officer that I will not in any way overextend my stay beyond my allotted time. But what would this be since apparently the officer at the border can decide the length beyond the regular 6 months? I understand that at the end of that time, I would not return to US but to my home country if I had to return "home". As terrible as this would be for my family, so be it. Should I also bring proof that my spouse is able to support me on her salary while I am on a temporary stay?
Maybe I should move this to another topic as we're getting off topic from my original question.
