Planning a long visit

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

48 minutes ago, Boiler said:

A guy I worked with did this, had his job on return, sort of like Maternity Leave. Sounds like the OP needs to check what the situation is, they presumably have hired a temp to cover the 5 months. A letter from the Employer confirming the situation could well help.

My last company offered a 3 month sabbatical to employees who had been there a certain time, it was unpaid but they kept you on as an employee and continued health insurance /other benefits etc during this time. I did get a letter from them stating I was still employed despite the long leave.  Being told you will be “rehired in a heartbeat” is not the same thing. 

[Rlewis 73]

5 hours ago, Derek Scheyer said:

Yes thank you! I never knew when she came to visit they gave her a visa of any sort. She just uses her passport.

They don’t stamp our passports anymore, but B1 are business (I think?) and B2 are visitors/tourist. When she gets to POE she has to talk to the CBP agents and then they record the B2 on her profile. 
 

I used to have B2 stamps from CBP agents in my passports but I guess they stopped doing that for Canadians? Haven’t had a passport stamp for over a 2 years and I’ve visited more than 10 times this and last year. Canadians just have a slightly different system when it comes to crossing the border to the US 🙂

[Ontarkie 13,920]

7 hours ago, Derek Scheyer said:

Why would this be moved to tourist visas? The post is specifically about someone in the process of a k1 visa trying to attempt a lengthy visit. And curious how having a k1 visa could change the mind of a border agent and what advice we could get regarding that, so we don't make any mistakes during the process of our k1 visa.

I just got on, thankfully the others helped explained the move.  

[Derek Scheyer 83]

5 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

That doesn't sound like unpaid leave.  That sounds like a resignation.....She needs to be prepared to show strong ties to Canada and evidence that she is not going to stay in the US.

Sorry bad wording. She still has her job. They aren't "rehiring" her.

[Derek Scheyer 83]

4 hours ago, Boiler said:

A guy I worked with did this, had his job on return, sort of like Maternity Leave. Sounds like the OP needs to check what the situation is, they presumably have hired a temp to cover the 5 months. A letter from the Employer confirming the situation could well help.

No they're trying to train someone to permanently take over her position because she plans to eventually move here on the k1 visa. Their store has multiple managers.

[Derek Scheyer 83]

3 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

A visit falls under tourism. If it is too lengthy to be considered just a visit, then you are likely to be denied entry for the “visit”. 
No impact on k1 either way.

Is it possible to change your ticket and try again? How many denials can you go through before they ban you from flying?

[Derek Scheyer 83]

3 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

My last company offered a 3 month sabbatical to employees who had been there a certain time, it was unpaid but they kept you on as an employee and continued health insurance /other benefits etc during this time. I did get a letter from them stating I was still employed despite the long leave.  Being told you will be “rehired in a heartbeat” is not the same thing. 

Sorry it was bad wording. She will still have her job and remain an employee.

[Derek Scheyer 83]

2 hours ago, Rlewis said:

They don’t stamp our passports anymore, but B1 are business (I think?) and B2 are visitors/tourist. When she gets to POE she has to talk to the CBP agents and then they record the B2 on her profile. 
 

I used to have B2 stamps from CBP agents in my passports but I guess they stopped doing that for Canadians? Haven’t had a passport stamp for over a 2 years and I’ve visited more than 10 times this and last year. Canadians just have a slightly different system when it comes to crossing the border to the US 🙂

So is her coming to visit 5 months considered a B2? And would that effect her k1 process? Also would she need to request coming here on a B2 or will they just do that automatically? I've heard of other k1 applicants visiting for 3-5 months but no mention of any b2 visa.

[Boiler 43,577]

22 minutes ago, Derek Scheyer said:

Sorry it was bad wording. She will still have her job and remain an employee.

 

23 minutes ago, Derek Scheyer said:

Is it possible to change your ticket and try again? How many denials can you go through before they ban you from flying?

Well it is one or the other.

[Rlewis 73]

15 minutes ago, Derek Scheyer said:

So is her coming to visit 5 months considered a B2? And would that effect her k1 process? Also would she need to request coming here on a B2 or will they just do that automatically? I've heard of other k1 applicants visiting for 3-5 months but no mention of any b2 visa.

Yes that's a B2.

No it would not affect her K1, CBP officers cannot see she has applied for K1.

You don't need to request for B2 as a Canadian, you do US customs in Canada before you leave, you enter the customs after passing by security and meet a CBP officer, they ask you questions (Where, How Long, Why, Return date?) and then electronically record you in their system as a Canadian entering under a B2. 

 

B2 Visa is automatic for any Canadians entering USA, it's more of just something they label us under as we technically do not need any Visa to enter the US. That is probably why your fiance has never heard of it whenever she traveled. But when inputting her info in those machines at the Customs, it will ask her if her visit is "Business or Leisure" if Business, that puts her under B1 category, if Leisure, then B2.

Don't worry about the B2 too much, it's just the customs way of putting us under a certain category

 

They customs officer may or may not ask her more questions. It has always been the usual Where are you going? Why are you going? When will you return? Kind of questions for me, I think it is best to prepare her to have proof of strong relations to Canada this time since she's planning to stay longer. It is not uncommon for Canadians to go to USA for extended periods of time. How else would snowbirds seniors do it

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

26 minutes ago, Derek Scheyer said:

Is it possible to change your ticket and try again? How many denials can you go through before they ban you from flying?

No one can ban you from flying (well, an airline can ban you from flying on it but I don’t think that’s what you mean). They just ban you from entry. Luckily with Canada it’s preclearance so you get denied before rather than after the flight. Is that what you mean? You can change your ticket any time before or after you fly so not sure that’s meaningful.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

3 minutes ago, Rlewis said:

How else would snowbirds seniors do it

But they know they always go back, partly because they are careful to stay long enough in Canada each year to keep healthcare active...and they are not planning to move to the US on a K1. All prospective entrants are not equal.

 

And why on earth do you think CBP won’t know she has been petitioned for K1?

Edited August 21, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Rlewis 73]

21 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

But they know they always go back, partly because they are careful to stay long enough in Canada each year to keep healthcare active...and they are not planning to move to the US on a K1. All prospective entrants are not equal.

 

And why on earth do you think CBP won’t know she has been petitioned for K1?

I am aware of the snowbirds requiring to return as Canadians of different provinces need a certain amount of months inside their home province to retain their healthcare. As per Derek's point, their fiance's case is different than a snowbird obviously, but my point was that many Canadians travel to the US all the time, their category is not what B1/B2 CBP puts us under, it is more proving that their fiance would return.

 

However I made the assumption that as I was never inquired about the K1 on the visits, they would not be able to see the petition - if I am wrong then I retract the statement.

 

 

:   )

[HRQX 4,145]

32 minutes ago, Rlewis said:

you do US customs in Canada before you leave,

That is only if flying out of: Calgary International Airport, Edmonton International Airport, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Montreal Trudeau International Airport, Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Winnipeg International Airport. https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance

[Rlewis 73]

2 minutes ago, HRQX said:

That is only if flying out of: Calgary International Airport, Edmonton International Airport, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Montreal Trudeau International Airport, Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Winnipeg International Airport. https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance

Yes, correct, this was mentioned to me back in March ish when I was still working at the airport.

Although it seems they've increased the amount of airport hubs from YYC YYZ YUL and YVR during the height of covid to include more hubs now, which is good.

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Rlewis