Hello. Wanted to know if there’s something can be done when a seaman is let go by agency abruptly while the ship is stationed in Canada and being dropped off the Canada airport to go home to Philippines but stayed in Canada. Has a c1d transit visa. He felt sick-like covid, he wanted to also be re-united with his sick mom (chronic renal disease) and in dialysis. He wants to stay to care for her. She lives in the US as American citizen. Can he cross the border to the USA and have his visa adjusted to something else (tourist, care-giver, employment, etc.). He also has a pending immigration petition in the US filed by his mom in 2012. Hopefully, there is a way. Thank you for your time.
Fired seaman was to board plane to home and got dropped in Canada airport but stay in Canada instead
- Thread starter Curious0194
- Start date
How long has he been in Canada now?
He needs a B2 visa to enter the US as a visitor.
On what basis did he enter Canada?
He should return to the Philippines as soon as he can and apply for the US visa from there. Anything else is going to create problems and make it more difficult to get the US visa approved and/or remain in Canada with legal status. Wait times for US visa interviews are generally very long right now (i.e. over a year generally).
It would be extremely difficult to get a US visa when you already have a pending petition in the works . As well, entering the USA for example on a B1/2 with the intent to stay is fraudulent, and can result in you getting permanently barred from the USA . Taking care of your mother on a tourist visa is classified as illegal work
You’ll need to go back to the Philippines and apply for a B1/B2 there for your temporary visit
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
Wait time in Manila is currently 30 days
The reason the wait times are astronomically long to get a B1/2 appointment in Canada , is because Canadians don’t require a visa to enter and staffing at US consulates are based upon that . Not based upon the immigration levels set by the current Government
It would be extremely slim in getting a B1/2 and non existent if someone decided to just stay in Canada without authorization
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He may be in Canada without status which will make visiting the US and many other countries much more difficult. The earlier he returns to the Philippines the better. Much easier to justify that it took him a week to fly to the Philippines than multiple weeks but in general any form of overstaying is bad. His employer must have arranged some sort of visa for him to enter Canada. Is there a date stamped in his passport? He may have been only given entry into Canada for a day or two so that he could board a flight home.