jedinite

Excellent summary of your experience dnb. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Myself, I'm nervous and excited all at the same time about this interview. My wife is coming up here today to and we're going to celebrate American Thanksgiving in Canada with my family, then she has to head back to work after the weekend and I'm heading to Montreal for my interview. Wish she could be coming with me, but as I understand she's not required to. I hope it all does smoothly.

I booked my stay at the W Montreal, got a great rate $172/night for 3 nights. I expect to stay a few days in Montreal to tour the city since I've never been there. It's also only 0.5 km from the Embassy so that should be like a 5 min walk. I expect it to be all that W Hotels are, nice, ultra-modern and trendy. They are running a special now, if you book 2 nights you get the 3rd free when reserving with any AMEX card. I'm a week away from my interview, very excited and nervous.

Congratulations. Care to share any of your interview experience with us?

alternatively, if you are going to move to the US and you intend on going there before filing for your immigration papers and doing the adjustment of status route (which is faster since you are in the US to begin with) then you can probably just leave your ring with your fiancee until you move back. I know it's probably not the best idea but it saves you from getting into any sort of trouble with customs.

I am no customs officer but it would seem to me that if you declared it they could potentially get you to pay GST on it. But if you didn't declare it they could potentially confiscate it. Then again, if your fiance brought the ring up to Canada, proposed to you here, then you went down to visit him and then returned to Canada, well then you don't have to declare it because it's your property. Thus, could customs confiscate it because your fiance didn't declare it when he came, but you have it now? Not sure how that all works.

I'm sure they probably won't ask you to pay anything on it, and you'll only have to pay on the portion that your fiance paid for your setting and not the diamond if it was an heirloom. If they ask you and you tell them then yes you will get caught and you will have to pay. If you mention that you just came back from a trip and your fiance just proposed to you they will probably asked you about your ring. If you just said you're down for a visit with your fiance, I'm sure you'll go through without a hitch. Is it legal, that's probably a gray area. Is it moral? Also a gray area. But it seems to me that the people that are honest get punished more for just being honest. Why? Probably because the customs officials can prove it. Otherwise, who's to say your clothes were even purchased in Canada or the US, do you still keep receipts for them. Could they question you about wearing clothes that you wore while crossing the border, of course. Do they? Probably not.

Wish that US/Canada border crossings concentrated more on catching criminals trying to smuggle illegal goods in than punishing people that are honest and aren't trying to scam the system.

Thank you so much for your quick reply. It helped me immensely.

You're welcome. I was hoping that my experience would at least save a few people from making the same mistake I did.

NAFTA Visa or TN visa is a temporary visa that is only granted to foreign workers that do no intend on immigrating to the US. Since you have or have applied for a K-1 you have disqualified yourself from the TN.

In order to receive a TN visa you must fit certain criteria

1) Are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or Mexico to qualify for a TN visa

2) Have a 4 year degree or 5 years of experience in the field in which you are trying to obtain the visa for

3) You have a job offer letter from the potential employer which includes your occupational title, salary, term of employment (the new maximum for a TN visa is now 3 years), should have at least some details about what the employer's business entails and how long they have been in operation

4) Your job offer must be for a position which is considered to be on the high demand list, a professional, or specialty. Examples, IT Analyst, Accountant, Physician, Nurse, Engineer, a particular specialty which there is a shortage or lack of US workers that are able to fill the role.

5) Do NOT intend on becoming a permanent resident of the US

The last condition will get you no matter what. My suggestion for anyone currently on a TN visa, get it renewed prior to applying for K1/K3, or CR-1 immigration visas. Do not mention that you intend to marry or apply for a permanent resident visa at the POE (point of entry). Once you have a TN Visa, that is valid for a long enough time for you to continue working, you should submit your application for K1/K3 or CR1 and apply for a change of status. This will allow you to continue working while in the country and it speed up the process of your application. Trust me on this one, I was no allowed entry a year ago because I didn't know that you cannot apply for a TN and be married to a USC with intent to immigrated in the future.

SapphireDreams: Yes I work in the IT Industry, I have a few recruiters looking for positions for me at the moment and I had a very promising lead sent to me this afternoon, and November/December is the slowest timeframe for hiring in most companies since it's right around the holidays. Some companies may hire in Dec just to fill positions and to use the remaining portions of the budget up, the whole "use it or lose it" mentality for hiring. I'm not too concerned but I would like to move down sooner rather than later.

Everyone else (pretty much) Well it seems that I've sparked quit a debate and ruffled some feathers. I hope I didn't offend anyone but I know I probably rubbed a few of you the wrong way.

It's good reading your responses because it helps me understand different aspects of life and people's life choices. You guys are absolutely right, no one says that you need 2 people working in a household with or without kids. I'm not judging anyone's choices in life, I wanted to get an understanding if it was something more by choice or because the whole moving process is very difficult. And of course I understand many of you may have even considered taking a sabbatical and need to re-discover what you want in life, or you have enough savings and your spouse makes enough to support your combined lifestyle that you chose to help the community. I don't disapprove of that at all, and I don't consider not getting paid to do something the same as not having a job. Volunteer work is very much a job, and we must all be thankful of volunteers.

What I consider a "trophy wife/husband" is one that doesn't work, doesn't have responsibility, doesn't have goals, lives to either wait around for the spouse or lives a life similar to what you might see in Hollywood or House Wives of Orange County. Sure if you're husband/wife makes a lot of money that you can afford that lifestyle, well I am jealous of you and disappointed that instead of doing something good for society your contribution is gossiping about the latest news or shopping for the latest fashion. I know, I know very stereotypical view of a trophy spouse but that's the type of person I don't know if I could ever relate to.

On the other hand, there are people that drop all responsibilities and decide to live on welfare or whatever. And I view them very much the same as the "trophy spouse" I described above, except instead of having money and wasting time, he/she abuses the gov't for support and also doesn't try to get themselves out of the rut they are in, and they don't have the will to contribute to society. Please don't read into this if you volunteer, or have real responsibilities while your husband/wife is at work, you obviously aren't included in this category.

What I consider non-contributing people is someone that can't get up to do anything productive, thinks that playing video games all day is a task, doing leisurely activities each and everyday that is not some how leading to a pursuit in that activity as a task (ex. of non-contributing activities: going to the gym, playing sports, tanning, playing at the beach, shopping etc. ); of course if you are training as an athlete well that is an acceptable pursuit of a profession or if you have some hobby like painting or photography that could translate into something that would benefit society, therefore doesn't fit in my criteria of "slacker." I could write all the permutations of things that make up a slacker but I'm sure you can all use common-sense to figure it out. If you wake up to go surfing or just finished 3 levels in World of Warcraft, that's not helping me or anyone else in this society, it only benefits your personal enjoyment in life therefore you can't consider that a "productive" activity, therefore it fits in the slacker pile. Ok enough explaining that.

Specifically to MrsCat (and the like), I would consider you a homemaker despite the fact that you have no kids, because you do take care of the home. If you and your husband hired help to cut the grass, do cooking, shopping etc. then you'd remove yourself from the homemaker category but you do all that. So I apologize for not considering that homemakers do not always have to have kids.

Oh and if you've worked for a significant amount of time in your life and you have enough to sustain your own early retirement, then good for you and don't be offended by me because I don't consider you "slackers" either, you have put in your dues and done well for yourself so enjoy your reward.

To restate my reasoning behind my posting this thread, well it was to better understand people's choices in life and to discover whether there was either a lot of deadbeats trying to run away from responsibilities by moving to the US, or if these people put in their dues to society, or have had bad luck in finding employment or a career (including volunteer work) that they haven't be able to do anything. It wasn't to call anyone out or judge people individually. Though, if I'm to judge one person, it's the person that posted about ditching their Canadian debts to live in the US. It's people like that, that make the economy as bad as it is today and I don't think it's fair that the rest of us (either through tax dollars or losing jobs or whatever) have to pay more to make up for your mistakes.

Sorry for the terribly long rant and I hope I was concise enough for you all to understand it all. Love you all (except Mr/Mrs Deadbeat trying to ditch their debt).

Please know that I'm not judging anyone that doesn't work immediately or that is having a hard time finding a job. I just want to understand if there are a lot of people just coasting along without having to worry about work/money etc or if it's hard times and a bit of "finding oneself."

I've been thinking a lot about my post-interview, visa approval time period and trying to decide what I need to do to reunite with my wife in the US permanently. Right now I'm lucky to have a well paying job in Canada and I hope to find a job in the US in the next while but with the economy doing as poorly as it is and so many people getting laid off, and the holidays right around the corner there are just so many conditions to overcome it's a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping after the first week of January things start to pick up again. I'm really anxious to return to my wife but there's no way I can do it without first finding a job to support our lifestyle. I'm hopeful that my transition will be much easier because I've already spent several years working in the US.

Thank you all for sharing your experience and perspective on this topic.

Reply to this one not the other thread with the same title.

should not unemployed be a selectable option in the poll?

Yeah I accidentally hit enter instead of shift so it posted this thread.

If you're just reading this thread please go to the other one.

Ok, I am curious as to how many people on here are employed, going to school, homemakers (with kids), disabled, or are just unemployed.

After being a part of the VJ community for some time now, I've noticed that there seems to be a large number of people that are waiting for visas that are just unemployed. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I've always been someone that has earned his keep. I'm just curious for those people not employed or working what do you do to keep your day busy and are you unemployed by circumstance (i.e. cannot work b/c you are in the US awaiting visas) or by choice.

I don't mean to be judgmental or mean but it seems like in the last few months there are more an more questions about collecting EI or asking questions about remaining in the US for longer periods, etc. I am just wondering how some people can afford the time to just up and leave Canada to live with SOs in the US and not have a job, career or something other than his/her significant other as a purpose in life. And I'm curious as to what happens to a lot of these people after they get visas because they don't strike me as the type of people to be very proactive about pursuing some sort of career afterward.

Morally, I just don't believe in trophy wives (or husbands) but I understand that some people out there don't care that their SO's don't work or have careers and that they make enough for 2 people to live on. I consider homemaking an occupation because you're taking care of the children and that's a choice between you and your spouse. Anyways, I'm just ranting and I just wanted to get a feeling for how many Canadians become contributing members to the US workforce.

Ok, I am curious as to how many people on here are employed or going to school, or are just unemployed.

After being a part of the LJ community for some time now, I've noticed that there seems to be a large number of people that are waiting for visas that are just unemployed. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I've always been someone that has earned his meal. I'm just curious for those people not employed or working what do you do to keep your day busy and are you unemployed by circumstance (i.e. cannot work b/c you are in the US awaiting visas) or by choice.

I don't mean to be judgmental but it seems like in the last few months there are more an more questions about collecting EI or asking questions about remaining in the US for longer periods, etc. I am just wondering how some people can afford the time to just up and leave Canada to live with SOs in the US and not have a job, career or something other than his/her significant other as a purpose in life. And I'm curious as to what happens to a lot of these people after they get visas because they don't strike me as the type of people to be very proactive about pursuing some sort of career afterward.

The odds of you getting approved for an extension because you just want to stay are about slim to none. There needs to be extenuating circumstances on the need to stay longer than is permitted.

Listen to zyggy, he is the man on this topic.

I third this motion.

I don't know what you do for a living but it sounds to me like you don't work or go to school. If this is the case it will be very difficult for you to remain in the US legally without filing for a K-1 visa at least. This is a relatively long process if you leave the US and then file for it, by long I mean 6-8months which feels like forever when you're in a relationship and you really want to be with the one you love.

If the POE knows that you intend on entering the US with any intent to immigrate to the US they will deny you entry unless you have already filed for a K-1 or similar visa.

If you are a working professional, you have more options for staying in the US and being productive. You can find a job that fits the criteria for a TN Visa and you can get a 3 year temporary work visa to work. That should be plenty of time for you and your SO to figure things out and if he decides he wants to propose and get married to you then you can file for an adjustment of status while you're in the US working with a TN Visa.

And regarding the I-94, I would say, don't ask don't tell. Without an I-94 they can't really track how long you've been in the US unless they can only tell how many times you've entered the country. However, if you get an I-94 placed into your passport you're not necessarily flagged but you're at least a blip on their radar. Also, if you enter the US and stay more than 6 months and you are caught doing so you will be black listed and can be barred from entry for 3 or more years. I can't remember what the numbers are but I over stayed my TN Visa for 3 months which in itself wasn't illegal, but not something the POE likes to hear when you're trying to reenter the country. The POE officer told me had I stayed over 6 months past my visa expiry I would have automatically been barred for 3 years. If you are caught for more serious offenses you can be barred for 11years. The only way to remove a bar from yourself is to get a congressman or someone significantly high up in the US political system to pardon you.

So now you know the rewards and risks it's really up to you to decide what to do.

If I were you, I would only tell the POE Officer that you are visiting if questioned. If they ask who, you can be truthful and tell them your SO. They may ask you how long your stay is, make sure to give them an end date. At this point they may give you a I-94 based on the answer you give them. Therefore, if you say that you are going to stay for 3 months then they will give you 3 months on the I-94. If they are being particularly nice they may just give you a I-94 for 6 months. Whatever you do, don't overstay 6 months with an I-94 or you risk being barred.

Good luck.

Go Stamps Go!

Just wanted to get an idea of what you guys and gals end up doing once your paper work is approved and it's time to move down. Did you move then look for job? Look for a job first then move? Moved and didn't work? etc.

I know the economy is pretty bad now so I hope all of us getting approved in the next few months can actually find work once the paperwork is completed. I'm hoping some of you that have already had your PR's for a while can provide some guidance and perhaps we can use this thread to network to career opportunities.

Interesting pieces thetreble, you remind me to write more. I used to write a lot and recently I've only written a lot on forums and not much creatively in the last while. Thanks.

You are taxed on the entire amount of your RRSPs when you pull them out. The institution that holds your RRSP will automatically withhold a percentage (around 30%) for tax purposes I believe. Since RRSPs are a way of lowering your tax rate, you will pay on the interest you have earned on them plus the principle.

You will have to file this as current year income to the IRS but the amount that you paid for taxes already in Canada will be used towards your current year IRS tax filing. So if you paid 30% on your RRSP when you pulled it out to the CRA, and you owed 33% to the IRS the they would take your 30% you already paid to the CRA and give you a tax credit for it, and therefore you would owe an additional 3%. If you ended up paying 35% to the CRA and you owed the IRS 33%, then you wouldn't owe the IRS any additional money since the tax credit you would receive exceeds the taxes you owe. I do not believe that you can use the additional 2% tax credit against your US earned income, but you should check with your accountant.

If that the case that I need to pay the GST check that I cashed last month (obtober 2008), does the CRA will consider/use my Non-refundable Federal credit worth $7000's CAD to pay that amount? or this is didderent thing?

Was that a 2007 tax refund? If so then no repayment, because you were a resident in Canada for your 2007 tax year.

Sapphire is correct you have to consider when you moved to the US, this means you severed ties to Canada. If you still have property in Canada you are not and cannot claim yourself as a non-Canadian resident to my knowledge until you get rid of your ties to Canada. Consider if you worked in the tax year you received your refund as well. If you didn't work a day in Canada in 2007, then I would say that you are in a very gray area. If you did not work in Canada in 2007 then I would say it's both morally and legally incorrect to receive a tax refund.

Proving residency depends on a few things:

1) if you physically reside in Canada

2) if your belongings including any property, bank accounts and debt (loans) you own belongs in Canada

3) if you are required to pay taxes in Canada for the year you are claiming any refund

4) if you have a legal visa to another country, either to work or immigrate

Like I've said before if you are a "visitor" to another country even for an extended period of time, you are still considered a Canadian resident until such time and you declare to the CRA that you no longer reside in Canada.

CRA only knows if are not a resident if you file it with them or if someone files or tells them on your behalf. For a $700 refund, this is really a small amount and quite honestly they will probably not even look into your file unless you ask them if you have the right to claim it or if you have someone that reports you to the CRA. Until you declare yourself as a non-resident the CRA will assume that you will be filing Canadian taxes, and therefore are still required to file taxes up to and including the current year.

This isn't an a perfect example, but a few years ago in Alberta, the provincial gov't issued $400 surplus refunds to all Albertan residents. So long as you resided for a day in Alberta (say you offically left Alberta on Jan 2nd or were born on Dec 31st of that year) you were eligible for this surplus refund. I know several people that still received this refund even if they didn't live in the province at all, this is because they were still registered as residing in Alberta. Obviously if they were caught they would have to pay this amount back, but I didn't hear of anyone that was caught for misleading the gov't. This is immoral and I am sure if you were caught for this act that you would have to pay the money back plus interest and perhaps penalties. I was not declared a Canadian resident at the time because I had been working for several years on a visa in the US so I unfortunately missed this refund, but it wouldn't be right if I were to receive it.

Simply put, if you can live with it then I won't worry about it. The chances of them auditing you for $700 is pretty slim unless you have been dishonest about more than you elude to.

If you met a majority of the criteria that I listed above I am sure you can claim and prove yourself as a Canadian resident for the year that you received the GST refund. Remember it's for the year that you paid taxes not for the year that you are not in the country. Even if you left in Canada Oct 2007, you still had to file taxes for 2007 and therefore you would be eligible for the refund.

Be aware that if you are out of the country trying to immigrate to another country, you cannot claim for EI or other government funded relief programs, if you are caught for this you may be in trouble. And if you're in this situation I'd be much more concerned about collecting money from the Canadian government for unemployment than I would be for a small refund.

I believe it all depends on what your skills are and what industry you intend on working for.

I am currently in Alberta right now and the economy is still booming. Perhaps not as much as it was a year or two ago but compared to the rest of the country it's done and is still doing better than most other provinces. This is due to the fact that most Oil & Gas companies are based in Alberta. Calgary to more specific.

If you can tolerate a cold Alberta winter then it's pretty good here. We are East of the Rockies and the start of the prairie provinces so you get to see the beautiful mountains and vast foothills.

In terms of taxes, income and cost of living, Alberta is very comparable to the States. One big benefit of Alberta is it's the only province that does not have a provincial sales tax. Only GST which is a governmental sales tax. So instead of paying 5% GST plus 6 to 8.5% PST, you're only going to pay 5% on all goods and services. The tax savings on salaries are also very progressive. Alberta has been running in surplus for several years and has even given Albertan residents cash back from the surplus, I wasn't here to receive it but I believe it was $450 or something. Health care is more privatized in Alberta, so in that aspect it's also more similar to the US.

I assume that you work in Oil & Gas since you are working in Dubai right now. So you'll feel quite at home in Calgary's job place. A lot of the Oil & Gas companies offer benefits beyond salary, such as every second Friday off. And working in Canada vs the US is a bit different too. In the US you can expect to work more and longer, I've know people to work 6 days a week and put in over 75hours a week. In Canada, the most you'll be asked to work is 44hrs, but for most places it's 38.5 to 40 hours a week. Of course if you have a lot of work you need catching up on you'll probably go in on your own to catch up. But at least lifestyle-wise, working in Canada is more relaxed and less stressful compared to US counterparts.

One drawback of Alberta is culture though. There is a culture here, and it's not all "cowboys" as a lot of Eastern Canadians tend to think, but it is also not too far off from being all yeehaw. Alberta is quite a bit more "Caucasian" than other parts of the country, though I've noticed a lot more visible minorities in the last year than I did 7 years ago when I left to work in the US. You won't get the same nightlife and experience as living in Toronto or Montreal. You pretty much have to go out of your way to find culture and arts in Calgary or Edmonton.

If you are planning to leave the US because of economic reasons then I would say look into Calgary for careers as there is still a lot of unfilled jobs here and it won't take you long to find one. This economic turn down won't hit everyone, and it won't last forever. There's still a lot of opportunities in the US for skilled workers and professionals, it's the blue collar workers that get hit the first and the hardest in economic slowdowns.

Good luck with your decision.

You are a Canadian resident until you have officially been granted a temporary working visa or permanent resident visa from the foreign country, period. Until such time you are considered a visitor and your country of residence is Canada.

If you try and visit the US and tell them that you are living with your girlfriend, fiancee, or wife, they will require that you have a visa in order to stay otherwise they can refuse you entry or they will limit your visit by giving you a I-94 form in your passport.

Just think of it like this, if you were to go on a 1 year vacation to anywhere in the world, even if you weren't living in Canada that entire year, you would still have to file for Canadian taxes and declare yourself a Canadian resident, not a resident of the country you are visiting. Residency is not based on where your "stuff" is, it's based on where you are legally residing. The only way you can denounce your Canadian residency is if you have a visa to work, study or live in another country. From reading your situation it doesn't sound like you fit any criteria for a non-Canadian resident.

Filing for AOS does not mean you are a legal US resident, it just means you filed to become a PR. When you get approved for the AOS it will be from that point (date) on that you are considered a legal US resident. For all intents and purposes you are Canadian visiting another country. I know I've repeated myself with several different examples but I'm sure one of these examples will make sense to you.

I received mine at the local RCMP head office in Calgary. It only took about 5 mins to get it and didn't cost me a thing. It has an official seal that they pressed into the paper. I believe for your support documents it must be RCMP report and not a local city report. All cities in Canada will have a local RCMP detachment and most towns will have a county RCMP detachment assigned to them, you should check on the RCMP site to see where you need to go get yours. Having it in English is preferred or you can pay to have it translated somewhere and notarized.

We brought our results in the day after our interview, so I know it's possible in Vancouver. I'm not sure about Montreal though. That would be something to check into. I know myself, I would hate to wait for a few weeks after a successful interview to see if my medical results were alright. That's just me though!

The earliest they were able to get result back at Montreal was 48 hours AFTER, meaning you'd really need to get your exam done on a Friday and pick it up Tuesday. I don't know why they don't just get it to you sooner in Montreal.

My rationale for going to Toronto instead of Vancouver for the exam was the price for flights to Vancouver from Calgary were about the same as flying to Toronto. I've never been to Toronto and I have friends and family out there I can visit. And the price difference between an exam in Toronto vs an exam in Vancouver more than pays for my flight between Toronto and Montreal. Vancouver would be more convenient to fly out to if I wanted to take more time off of work, Vancouver only does exams on Wednesdays and occasionally Thursdays, thereby forcing me to take a few mid-week days off.

With your being in N.S. why wouldn't you have your medical done in Halofax by DR. Doane on Quinpool road ?

Unless things have changed you can get your medical done weeks before the interview, just bring the letter for your interview date with you to the medical

Good luck

Things have changed since Oct 22, 2008. Now there are only 4 places to get medicals done. 2 in Montreal, 1 in Toronto and 1 in Vancouver.

Medical exam results take at least the next day to get them back if you get it done in Toronto, it takes several days if you do it in Montreal. I would call the physician you wish to see in advance and book your appointment now. You'll need the letter for both your medical exam and your interview, plus 4 passport photos (3 for the medical, 1 to give to the interviewer if you have already sent in 2, otherwise you'll need 2 just in case).

If you don't receive your letter this week I would call or e-mail the NVC to see where the letter is, or you can get your wife to overnight her copy of the packet to you so you have it for the medical and interview.

I went with http://www.panelphysicians.com/ because they have both Montreal and Toronto offices.

Unfortunately a lot of us missed the change to the medical exam. If you go to the www.immigrantvisas.state.gov you'll be able to find the PDF of the list of certified medical examiners for the visa.

I too have to fly east to get the medical exam done. I am going to do my medical exam in Toronto a few days before my interview. Toronto/Montreal flights are relatively cheap on WestJet so it's not that big of a deal. I can see how you may be frustrated with the additional costs since you have 2 children that also need the medical done. I recommend making a trip out of it. Call Toronto to get a medical scheduled for the beginning of the week, then fly to Montreal. If you go to Montreal it takes them 4-5 days to complete the medical and since most interviews are scheduled on Wednesdays it makes timing it a real hassle.

Another alternative is Vancouver, but the doctor there seems like a rip off. When I called they said they charge $350 for the exam, nearly double the cost of the exams in Toronto or Montreal ($185). So really if you're flying out east anyways you mine as well make the trip as efficient as possible and the savings on the exams in Toronto or Montreal pays for at least part of the price of the airfare if not the whole flight. Flights between Toronto and Montreal are only $79-89 on WestJet (20% sale) or $59 if you are lucky to catch a 50% off sale.

If you need recommendation for doctors check out http://www.panelphysicians.com/

Good luck!