Need to visit Canada from US

[ad82]

I am currently on H1B, my PR card expired in 2018. I was not able to fulfil my residency obligation and i need to travel to Canada now for family medical emergency.
Since i am ineligible to apply for tourist visa to Canada, i would like to know what my other options are to visit Canada.



PS: I have not yet renounced my Permanent Residency.

 

[scylla]

I am currently on H1B, my PR card expired in 2018. I was not able to fulfil my residency obligation and i need to travel to Canada now for family medical emergency.
Since i am ineligible to apply for tourist visa to Canada, i would like to know what my other options are to visit Canada.



PS: I have not yet renounced my Permanent Residency.

You can re-enter Canada through a US/ Canada land border in a private vehicle and using your expired PR card.

 

[ad82]

Are you sure, that I just can drive from Buffalo to Canada without any visa and just using my expired PR card and not having met my R/O?

 

[ad82]

You can re-enter Canada through a US/ Canada land border in a private vehicle and using your expired PR card.

Even if I do that, whats the guarantee that they will let me in? To be honest I am there for my H1B and stamping and to see the sick family.

 

[scylla]

Even if I do that, whats the guarantee that they will let me in? To be honest I am there for my H1B and stamping and to see the sick family.

You are guaranteed to be let into Canada because you are technically still a PR. However it's quite possible that CBSA may report you for failing to meet the residency requirement. If you are reported, this will trigger the process to formally revoke your PR status. However you will still be allowed into Canada on this trip.

 

[canuck78]

Even if I do that, whats the guarantee that they will let me in? To be honest I am there for my H1B and stamping and to see the sick family.

Would not lie and only say you are only going to visit a relative. As long as you haven’t been reported for not meeting your RO on a previous visit you can enter at least on more time. There is a decent chance that you will be reported when you enter for not meeting RO that will trigger losing your PR status. At that point you can either appeal or lose your PR status. If you aren’t returning to Canada full-time and returning to the US having applied for your H1B the chance of winning an appeal aren’t great.

 

[ad82]

Last time when we drove thru Windsor, CBSA grilled us for very few days stay in Canada. That point in time, we had 1 month stay in Canada in total. We came to stamp for H1B.
We told them at Windsor we r going to return back to US and eventually move by the Spring of 2017 and they were okay with that. We started selling stuff in early 2017 and basically got rid of most of our unnecessary items, kind of mentally preparing ourself to move to TO.
We alsofound out in early 2017, that wife got pregnant and we had no choice but we stayed back in US as we had been here for 15 years, we knew the doctors, hospitals...
Due to my wife’s age, the doctors determined that she was a high risk pregnancy case.
Thankfully all went well with the pregnancy
but in this process we lost our PR and could not meet 2 out of 5 yr obligation.
We saw somewhere about H&C conditions and someone told us to apply, but we haven’t done that till now. I am unsure if we will get our PR back, if we apply now.

Thank for taking out time to read it out, any inputs would be appreciated.

 

[canuck78]

Last time when we drove thru Windsor, CBSA grilled us for very few days stay in Canada. That point in time, we had 1 month stay in Canada in total. We came to stamp for H1B.
We told them at Windsor we r going to return back to US and eventually move by the Spring of 2017 and they were okay with that. We started selling stuff in early 2017 and basically got rid of most of our unnecessary items, kind of mentally preparing ourself to move to TO.
We alsofound out in early 2017, that wife got pregnant and we had no choice but we stayed back in US as we had been here for 15 years, we knew the doctors, hospitals...
Due to my wife’s age, the doctors determined that she was a high risk pregnancy case.
Thankfully all went well with the pregnancy
but in this process we lost our PR and could not meet 2 out of 5 yr obligation.
We saw somewhere about H&C conditions and someone told us to apply, but we haven’t done that till now. I am unsure if we will get our PR back, if we apply now.

Thank for taking out time to read it out, any inputs would be appreciated.

Feeling more comfortable with doctors you already know would be a personal choice. Canada has doctors who could also deal with a high risk pregnancy especially if was just classified as a high risk pregnancy due to age. Was she on bed rest throughout the pregnancy? Hospitalized? Was she off work during the pregnancy if she works? If your PR card expired in 2018 and your wife got pregnant in 2017 you were already out of compliance when she got pregnant. It has also been quite some time since your child was born. You could have tried to argue about not being able to move based on pregnancy if you tried to move right after delivery but it’s been 3-4 years. There is no harm attempting to keep your PR status. When you enter Canada there is a good chance that you will be flagged for not meeting your RO and reported. If you try to appeal don’t think your chances are good but it’s up to you. IRCC can sometimes be unpredictable. To have the best shot you should really move to Canada and argue that you are ready to settle in Canada but it comes with a huge risk. You could be denied and would have to return home or the US if your H1B is still valid or your home country. Is your employer comfortable with you working from Canada? You may struggle getting health cards for your whole family. Do you have SIN#s? They should be on hold and apparently you now need a valid PR card to deactivate your SIN#. That could create issues with working if CRA sends you and your employer. It’s unclear what will happen when it comes to your ability to work if you don’t have an active SIN#. You would have to clarify with service Canada whether you can reactivate your SIN# without a valid PR card. Your child will only be able to enter Canada as a visitor so won’t be entitled to healthcare until you have either won your H&C appeal and then sponsored your child (around 1 yr) or not get reported and wait 2 years until you can apply for a PR card and then sponsor your child (around 3 years to complete). Registering for school can also be difficult in some cities without a valid PR card. You also have the option to apply for a PRTD based on H&C. You will be able to apply while living your life in the US and will be approved or refused. If approved you can keep your PR status and return to Canada. There is usually an expiry date associated with the PRTD so you’d have to return to Canada before a certain number of months and apply for a new PR card. You will still need to sponsor your child (around a year) but you can get a new PR card when you get to Canada. As a PR at least one parent needs to be in Canada to sponsor their child. You will need to take out emergency medical insurance for your child since your child will not qualify for healthcare coverage right away. How long until they qualify for health coverage depends on the province.

Very long winded so I’m sure you may have questions

 

[ad82]

Thanks, I am writing after a few days, as I was too tied up, I am off now for Thanksgiving for the week. Yes, there is a possibility that we could be refused entry and that’s what I worry about the most. It’s just not me and my wife, but includes a toddler. It’s the discretion of the officer, but we r still on H1 B in US and we dont see any GC progress till 2028.... due to the backlog.
We just can’t move to Canada right away, we would like to apply for H&C for sure.
Insurance wise, I think I can afford to buy a private one. Our first option was to apply for a visitor visa, but we realized that we had to apply for Renunciation, but looks like our GC/PR here in US is not going to happen anytime soon, so-applying for H&C would be appropriate. We also started the process in early 2020 to reapply for Express Entry, as we didn’t know H&C existed. We even paid the $1000 deposit to the lawyer to restart the new application, but then Corona hit the world. Our IELTS appointment got cancelled and there we no appointments till this year in June, but they were mostly out of our state 400 miles away. H&C is the route we would wanna go, but come with 100s of risk here to travel to Canada.
Our intention is to go for an H1B stamping and travel back to US with seeing our family in Toronto and possibly travel to India in future. Most US embassies outside the US have been backlogged, only a few Canadian ones are accepting application in December. When we come here, continue with our jobs and apply for H&C and try our luck to be a PR again.

 

[ad82]

Feeling more comfortable with doctors you already know would be a personal choice. Canada has doctors who could also deal with a high risk pregnancy especially if was just classified as a high risk pregnancy due to age. Was she on bed rest throughout the pregnancy? Hospitalized? Was she off work during the pregnancy if she works? If your PR card expired in 2018 and your wife got pregnant in 2017 you were already out of compliance when she got pregnant. It has also been quite some time since your child was born. You could have tried to argue about not being able to move based on pregnancy if you tried to move right after delivery but it’s been 3-4 years. There is no harm attempting to keep your PR status. When you enter Canada there is a good chance that you will be flagged for not meeting your RO and reported. If you try to appeal don’t think your chances are good but it’s up to you. IRCC can sometimes be unpredictable. To have the best shot you should really move to Canada and argue that you are ready to settle in Canada but it comes with a huge risk. You could be denied and would have to return home or the US if your H1B is still valid or your home country. Is your employer comfortable with you working from Canada? You may struggle getting health cards for your whole family. Do you have SIN#s? They should be on hold and apparently you now need a valid PR card to deactivate your SIN#. That could create issues with working if CRA sends you and your employer. It’s unclear what will happen when it comes to your ability to work if you don’t have an active SIN#. You would have to clarify with service Canada whether you can reactivate your SIN# without a valid PR card. Your child will only be able to enter Canada as a visitor so won’t be entitled to healthcare until you have either won your H&C appeal and then sponsored your child (around 1 yr) or not get reported and wait 2 years until you can apply for a PR card and then sponsor your child (around 3 years to complete). Registering for school can also be difficult in some cities without a valid PR card. You also have the option to apply for a PRTD based on H&C. You will be able to apply while living your life in the US and will be approved or refused. If approved you can keep your PR status and return to Canada. There is usually an expiry date associated with the PRTD so you’d have to return to Canada before a certain number of months and apply for a new PR card. You will still need to sponsor your child (around a year) but you can get a new PR card when you get to Canada. As a PR at least one parent needs to be in Canada to sponsor their child. You will need to take out emergency medical insurance for your child since your child will not qualify for healthcare coverage right away. How long until they qualify for health coverage depends on the province.

Very long winded so I’m sure you may have questions

Hey