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Soft landing in Toronto

rk1988

Newbie
Feb 20, 2019
6
0
Hi,

Got my PPR on 17th July and have now submitted my passport. I will be travelling to India in November 2019 for H1B dropbox submission so before travelling I am hoping to get my COPR ( + my passport :)) .

While coming back, if I enter USA through Canada can I do soft landing + H1b formalities in Toronto airport and then enter USA? Any experiences?
The Canada visa in my passport will be single-use visa (IM-1 visa), so I will not be able to use it again.

During my H1B dropbox, my passport will have the Canadian visa so will it cause any problems in my H1b/H4 extension process?
 

Samoinp

Hero Member
May 30, 2017
514
131
Hi,

Got my PPR on 17th July and have now submitted my passport. I will be travelling to India in November 2019 for H1B dropbox submission so before travelling I am hoping to get my COPR ( + my passport :)) .

While coming back, if I enter USA through Canada can I do soft landing + H1b formalities in Toronto airport and then enter USA? Any experiences?
The Canada visa in my passport will be single-use visa (IM-1 visa), so I will not be able to use it again.

During my H1B dropbox, my passport will have the Canadian visa so will it cause any problems in my H1b/H4 extension process?
Why exactly are you speculating if Canadian visa will cause issues in your US visa extensions?
 

lampbreaker

Champion Member
Apr 7, 2015
1,733
376
Hi,

Got my PPR on 17th July and have now submitted my passport. I will be travelling to India in November 2019 for H1B dropbox submission so before travelling I am hoping to get my COPR ( + my passport :)) .

While coming back, if I enter USA through Canada can I do soft landing + H1b formalities in Toronto airport and then enter USA? Any experiences?
The Canada visa in my passport will be single-use visa (IM-1 visa), so I will not be able to use it again.

During my H1B dropbox, my passport will have the Canadian visa so will it cause any problems in my H1b/H4 extension process?
Yes, you can travel through Canada, get your landing formality done and then travel to US. However, landing formalities in Canada can take at least 2-3 hours, so book your flights accordingly. (I would leave 5+ hours of transit time).
There are no 'H1B formalities' in Toronto airport. It's just the normal port of entry process (immigration and customs), just done at Toronto airport instead of a US airport.

Having Canadian Visa in your passport will not make any difference to your US Visa application.
 

rk1988

Newbie
Feb 20, 2019
6
0
Yes, you can travel through Canada, get your landing formality done and then travel to US. However, landing formalities in Canada can take at least 2-3 hours, so book your flights accordingly. (I would leave 5+ hours of transit time).
There are no 'H1B formalities' in Toronto airport. It's just the normal port of entry process (immigration and customs), just done at Toronto airport instead of a US airport.

Having Canadian Visa in your passport will not make any difference to your US Visa application.
Thank you @lampbreaker . You are awesome!!!! And you are right, by 'formalities' I meant port of entry process. :)

Thank you for your reply@Samoinp. I was just being skeptical. I wanted to know if someone had a similar experience - Had Canada IM-1 visa and sent the passport for H1B extension stamping because nowadays US visa process has become insanely strict. But I guess @lampbreaker has answered that.
 

harirajmohan

VIP Member
Mar 3, 2015
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Hi,

Got my PPR on 17th July and have now submitted my passport. I will be travelling to India in November 2019 for H1B dropbox submission so before travelling I am hoping to get my COPR ( + my passport :)) .

While coming back, if I enter USA through Canada can I do soft landing + H1b formalities in Toronto airport and then enter USA? Any experiences?
The Canada visa in my passport will be single-use visa (IM-1 visa), so I will not be able to use it again.

During my H1B dropbox, my passport will have the Canadian visa so will it cause any problems in my H1b/H4 extension process?
I had Aus imm visa while stamping in India. Seems no issue. I even got 5 years H1 visa without any employer name or h1 receipt number.
I had the above visa and the Canada imm visa while stamping in Toronto. Seems no issue.
After soft landing, i received 3 year validity of I94 even when i had 1 year of I797.

So overall, if you are lucky then you get more validity due to people moving out of US;). But its not the case for all the time and not for everyone.
 
Last edited:

Samoinp

Hero Member
May 30, 2017
514
131
Thank you @lampbreaker . You are awesome!!!! And you are right, by 'formalities' I meant port of entry process. :)

Thank you for your reply@Samoinp. I was just being skeptical. I wanted to know if someone had a similar experience - Had Canada IM-1 visa and sent the passport for H1B extension stamping because nowadays US visa process has become insanely strict. But I guess @lampbreaker has answered that.
That was sarcasm. Did you ever think if your H1B visa or other visas on your passport could cause issues for Canada IM-1 visa?

Congratz on your PPR and freedom. Now stop bending over backwards.