Forum for US H1b to Canada PR discussion

[rj16]

It all depends on your credentials in US.

• If your employer is top notch (keep in mind North American top notch means something else than 3rd world top notch) you might call TATA or Wipro top notch according to your Indian standards but we don’t consider that. TATA can’t even put toilet paper in dollar store in US). If you are directly in payroll as a w2 employee for client, you will not even consider Canada. Not true for all. I've worked both as Full Time and Consultant and there are bad workers on both sides. You can easily argue that consultants are only needed because FT employees don't push the envelope hard enough. They lack strategic experience to see projects through completion etc. More often than not, consultants are used for project completions, not for doing routine job functions. There are exceptions and misuse of these services, but you can't paint them all with a broad brush.
• Your degree - if it is American degree and not from some Diploma mill located in US then you will not even consider Canada leave alone 3rdworld degrees. More or less true. But having a good degree doesn't necessarily dissuade people from going to Canada.
• If you have been fully paid without any issue as per wages on LCA and I797 and all pay stubs are with you, you will never consider anything but proper US GC filing. People may and do consider moving to Canada despite of having their affairs in order, getting paid well etc. For me, the biggest driver to move would be the freedom from unnecessary worries, freedom to look for career options outside my comfort zone, including starting business etc. I'm not saying Canada is better than US, but it is definitely better suited to a lot of people who are willing to put other priorities ahead of desire to stay in the US.

 

[rj16]

For real H1B deserving guy, no other country is an option but the United States. A friend of mine is DevOp Engineer and his H1B was filed by Chevron in Houston, Texas in 2009 which was a severely bad time for H1B guys and in 2012 he got his I140 approved and this guy was cool as amazing. No complaints about nothing. Infact rest of America was crying of recession, Fannie Mae bailout, AIG bankruptcy, Lehman Bankcruptcy and so on but he got no effect whatsoever.

He had Masters from UTEP (University of Texas in El Paso Campus)

This is how good and deserving H1B guys’ profile looks like.

Even today if you are fitting definition of good, GC approval is no big deal.

All those whose communication skills are horrible or good as per 3rd world standards, whose degree is drama, whose experience can’t be verified, whose very first H1 was thru consultancy, whose degree does not directly match skill set such as guy with Civil Engineering degree working as . Net developer simply because a New Jersey based body shop trained him - are example if those who are struggling like a cockroach in these times.

And nothing to worry because Darwin said hundreds of years ago “survival for the fittest” so fittest H1 guy should and will get GC sooner.

The point here is, what if he wanted to do more, start a business, change employers, reunite with family etc. No one is arguing US is a good place to be in. But there is a cost to that. And political environment in last couple of years has presented some unique challenges that were not present in the past. Maybe you can ask your friend, if he feels comfortable changing his jobs in the current environment. Not many will leave their comfort zones to move to Canada, but that is the point of this forum. I'm half certain I wouldn't move, unless I had a decent job offer (or a business opportunity) lined up in Canada to go to. But thanks for sharing your perspective. I agree most of your observations from a generalization point of view, but will not subscribe to them as absolute truth.

 

[rj16]

I think you've made some good points. A better political environment is definitely a strong consideration given the way the world is evolving now. As for taxes, don't forget the US is one of the most onerous one on taxes. You are taxed even if you do not stay a day in the US once you have a GC/Citizenship and for career opportunities go and work in a different geography. Unless you stay in Texas, you have to pay state taxes so overall tax burden is anything but low. The highest marginal tax rate is quite high (I paid that for many years while in the US). I have to disagree here. I think the tax rate is lesser in the US compared to Canada. For example, our family ranks in probably top 10-15% in the US household income. But with deductions, exemptions and marginal tax rates, our effective tax rate is 20-22%. This also include the state taxes. I believe Canada is more close to 30% for similar circumstances.
Healthcare is broken in the US and expensive (Canada is much better). Also the path to a citizenship (and getting reunited with family) is materially shorter as you rightly note (in half a decade, your passport troubles could be entirely behind you). Definitely. I can't believe how US healthcare is sustained in its current status. People pay so much money and still end up paying out of pocket for a lot of the services. I believe medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcies in the US. I think the politicians have cornered this market and there is next to zero chances of changes. Having said that, is it a problem to get appointments for preferred doctors in Canada? I haven't done much research, but if having free healthcare limits my ability to see a preferred doctor, it's not a desired situation as well.
Economy is probably the only negative consideration about the move. Canada is nowhere near as strong or vibrant or innovative. But the right people can always manage to find or create good opportunities anywhere. Besides, the degree of difficulty would be lower as Canada would likely be a less competitive pool than the US. Also with NAFTA, you may be able to bypass the H1B queue and work in the US easily afterwards. So you wouldn't be giving up on the US completely. This is also true. However, the pharmaceutical industry which I work in, it concentrated in Toronto area. This is a problem because the cost of living in the area. My understanding is that it's like living in San Francisco area and making a salary comparable to Texas or Atlanta area. I don't know how I would be able to maintain my current lifestyle. The only viable option I see is to stay in Canada and work for a US employer remotely. That exchange rate is going to come in handy for this.

 

[rj16]

Similar situation here. If you work for consulting, why don't you talk to your employer? They should be able to move you to Canada; it's shared pool anyway, no?

Who needs the current employer, if I can work as independent contractor from Canada . I'm kind of tired of people taking cuts for the work that I do. I know it's selfish since they helped me land the clients in the first place. But I feel like I have paid my dues and they have earned enough money off of me. But if I have to move to Canada without a job, I will consider keeping that arrangement going for a while.

 

[Baahubali]

I wish the NAFTA thing could benefit PR holders to some extent but unfortunately it doesn't. I would like to have an open gateway to US for work or tourism and also be able to make a choice between the two countries if I get a better opportunity from either of them.

 

[DEEPCUR]

I wish the NAFTA thing could benefit PR holders to some extent but unfortunately it doesn't. I would like to have an open gateway to US for work or tourism and also be able to make a choice between the two countries if I get a better opportunity from either of them.

Lol, you would then see tons of people mainly from India solely applying Canadian PR for immigrating to US. It should remain the way it is because both are separate countries. NAFTA route also has been abused to death by people from India and there is enough scrutiny by USCIS in that area too, and things would get only worse from here. Last month US immigration agency even published a memo for one of the occupation in TN visa (visa through NAFTA) which clearly showed what US is up to.

 

[Baahubali]

Lol, you would then see tons of people mainly from India solely applying Canadian PR for immigrating to US. It should remain the way it is because both are separate countries. NAFTA route also has been abused to death by people from India and there is enough scrutiny by USCIS in that area too, and things would get only worse from here. Last month US immigration agency even published a memo for one of the occupation in TN visa (visa through NAFTA) which clearly showed what US is up to.

Yea, it's more or less the same way Indians have been abusing H1B.