Hello all,
This is particularly for H1B holders fearful of using the AVR rule for landing.
Quick background on my case: I never had an H1B stamped on my PP, my wife came on visiting, changed her status to F2 then changed again to H4 .
My PR landing was at Edmonton, lovely cold place where I intend to move
Airport formalities was straightforward (I will not give verbal discussions like I have seen others do). First point after landing from Chicago by air was the immigration booth where my family and I (total 3) were referred to the immigration office. Landing was around 11pm. Immigration officer was friendly asked for our documents and where we were coming from. Asked for how much funds I was carrying, had 3000 USD in cash and 14000 bank statement. He did not physically see the cash and ignored the bank statement. Completed the paperwork and asked us to sign individually on the IMM form.I indicated that my wife's middle name was missing too letters, he said thats fine her name was too long to fit into their system. I asked if the pictures were okay and he had a second look at each and said they would suffice. He took our address in canada and said we should expect our cards 5-8 weeks. I produced my goods to follow list and he said thats for customs and directed us to the cashier (all these took about 15 mins)
At the casier (and this is where you have to be careful), officer was not conversant about what to do with the list and kept going back and forth with the supervisors to sk what should be done. Finally got it right, stamped both copies (you should have two copies each filled out) attached a barcode to each and warned us not to lose our copy (a duplicate will not be issued) after that we were done.
Next day went to Canada place and got our SIN number (advice always have all your forms filled out , print them online and fill them out). Canada place wait time was like 15 mins before we were called. Here I indicated that my wife's middle name was missing too letters. I was advised that it happens often and my best bet was this to avoid change of name hassles later: Make sure on the SIN application her initial is used instead of the name on the IMM because Canada office cannot use anything except what is on the document. That way you only need to produce documentation later showing her middle name begins with same letter. Went in with a lady who cross checked all the information give and was so happy we had the forms previously filled out. Got our SINs letters in 15 minutes, cards to be mailed (another reason why that address is so important). Next stop was the health office.
Requirement in the province was any utility bill, drivers license etc with your address on it . Well problem was being a new immigrant we did not have this yet. But problem was solved using the SIN document which had the address. Wait time here was 30 minutes because of lunch break. Lady at desk asked for the documents, made copies and told us the coverage started immediately but the cards would arrive via mail in 4 weeks.
Spent the next few days meeting friends, touring the West Edmonton mall (crzy massive place and too many people gosh)
Back to US. Arrived 3 hours early to avoid any unnecessary immigration delays due to use of the AVR rule. US immigration is in Canada. Checked in at the immigration booth where we were asked to fill out new I-94 cards then we were moved to a waiting room. After about 7 minutes I was called and the immigration officer asked for copies of my old i-94 departure cards (good thing I never handed them over and always kept them) He was pleased and asked me to take a seat , after 5 mins called me again and asked who my sponsor was, and how many times wife changed status (she changed from B2 to F2 to H4) , answered the questions and provided all 1-797 forms . He was satisfied and went ahead to explain the rule (AVR) I was using. He was pleased that I was organized and had all documents in place that he requested. He commented that people often had hard times not carrying all their records on them therefore making his work more difficult. He noted that I had become a canadian resident because he saw my IMM attached to my passport pages. He folded the bottom portions of the i-797 into two and without detaching them attached them back to a pp page. He said he did this so whenever I used the rule again in future the immigration officer could have easy access to the file number quickly. He explained courteously the reason why we were segregated for a while was to enable him conduct necessary research and wished use a safe journey back home.
Thats it we are now formally Canadian Residents.
Looking for a job there already and also have experts rewriting my american resume to fit Canadian standards. Also got a responsible realtor to look for good deals. I guess thats it. I am done. Good luck to everyone! And for those who say canada is all bad no its not, already talking to some recruiters for some well paying jobs!
This is particularly for H1B holders fearful of using the AVR rule for landing.
Quick background on my case: I never had an H1B stamped on my PP, my wife came on visiting, changed her status to F2 then changed again to H4 .
My PR landing was at Edmonton, lovely cold place where I intend to move
Airport formalities was straightforward (I will not give verbal discussions like I have seen others do). First point after landing from Chicago by air was the immigration booth where my family and I (total 3) were referred to the immigration office. Landing was around 11pm. Immigration officer was friendly asked for our documents and where we were coming from. Asked for how much funds I was carrying, had 3000 USD in cash and 14000 bank statement. He did not physically see the cash and ignored the bank statement. Completed the paperwork and asked us to sign individually on the IMM form.I indicated that my wife's middle name was missing too letters, he said thats fine her name was too long to fit into their system. I asked if the pictures were okay and he had a second look at each and said they would suffice. He took our address in canada and said we should expect our cards 5-8 weeks. I produced my goods to follow list and he said thats for customs and directed us to the cashier (all these took about 15 mins)
At the casier (and this is where you have to be careful), officer was not conversant about what to do with the list and kept going back and forth with the supervisors to sk what should be done. Finally got it right, stamped both copies (you should have two copies each filled out) attached a barcode to each and warned us not to lose our copy (a duplicate will not be issued) after that we were done.
Next day went to Canada place and got our SIN number (advice always have all your forms filled out , print them online and fill them out). Canada place wait time was like 15 mins before we were called. Here I indicated that my wife's middle name was missing too letters. I was advised that it happens often and my best bet was this to avoid change of name hassles later: Make sure on the SIN application her initial is used instead of the name on the IMM because Canada office cannot use anything except what is on the document. That way you only need to produce documentation later showing her middle name begins with same letter. Went in with a lady who cross checked all the information give and was so happy we had the forms previously filled out. Got our SINs letters in 15 minutes, cards to be mailed (another reason why that address is so important). Next stop was the health office.
Requirement in the province was any utility bill, drivers license etc with your address on it . Well problem was being a new immigrant we did not have this yet. But problem was solved using the SIN document which had the address. Wait time here was 30 minutes because of lunch break. Lady at desk asked for the documents, made copies and told us the coverage started immediately but the cards would arrive via mail in 4 weeks.
Spent the next few days meeting friends, touring the West Edmonton mall (crzy massive place and too many people gosh)
Back to US. Arrived 3 hours early to avoid any unnecessary immigration delays due to use of the AVR rule. US immigration is in Canada. Checked in at the immigration booth where we were asked to fill out new I-94 cards then we were moved to a waiting room. After about 7 minutes I was called and the immigration officer asked for copies of my old i-94 departure cards (good thing I never handed them over and always kept them) He was pleased and asked me to take a seat , after 5 mins called me again and asked who my sponsor was, and how many times wife changed status (she changed from B2 to F2 to H4) , answered the questions and provided all 1-797 forms . He was satisfied and went ahead to explain the rule (AVR) I was using. He was pleased that I was organized and had all documents in place that he requested. He commented that people often had hard times not carrying all their records on them therefore making his work more difficult. He noted that I had become a canadian resident because he saw my IMM attached to my passport pages. He folded the bottom portions of the i-797 into two and without detaching them attached them back to a pp page. He said he did this so whenever I used the rule again in future the immigration officer could have easy access to the file number quickly. He explained courteously the reason why we were segregated for a while was to enable him conduct necessary research and wished use a safe journey back home.
Thats it we are now formally Canadian Residents.
Looking for a job there already and also have experts rewriting my american resume to fit Canadian standards. Also got a responsible realtor to look for good deals. I guess thats it. I am done. Good luck to everyone! And for those who say canada is all bad no its not, already talking to some recruiters for some well paying jobs!
all this years here now I can see my parents