Canadian Citizenship & H1B

Status
Not open for further replies.
I

iit123

Registered Users (C)
I am a Canadian Immigrant who's about to get his Canadian citizenship. I have a job offer to join an American company and I have got my H1B work visa. I wanted to know in the event I get my Canadian citizenship, will my H1B work visa be still valid (as my old passport, that has the H1B visa, will be cancelled cause my current citizenship will no longer be valid upon taking Canadian citizenship.

Any relevant information will be appreciated.
 
It'll be valid. As a citizen you don't need to go to the consulate and get the Visa stamp. Just a CDN passport and I797 would suffice your needs.
 
So in the event one has got his I797 and NOT got H1b visa stamped on the old passport (that will be no longer valid after getting Canadian citizenship), can they use it with the Canadian passport to work in the US?
 
As a CDN Citizen , you don't need a physical stamp in the passport. Just go to the CDN border and show your I797 along with your CDN passport or Citizenship Card. That's one of the advantages of taking CDN citizenship. You don't need to go to the Consulate, wait in the queue and stamp the passport. Please go to www.grasmick.com. You can see lots of info related to your case in the immigration forum.

PS: My gut feeling is that you don't even need CDN passport while crossing the border. Your Citizenship Card and I797 Visa paper should be sufficient. If you are going to Canada to get the citizenship then get the citizenship card and go back to US. You can apply for CDN passport from US. I think it takes around 21 days.
 
IIT123, I have a canadian passport and an H1B stamped on my indian passport (which strangely has not been marked cancelled by the indian consulate even thought i took my cdn passport to apply for a visa)

Border crossing isn't an issue at all. I have carried my citizenship card and indian passport with H1 and it's worked, i have carried my citizenship card and I797 and that too has worked and i've carried both passports as well (though that confused some junior level officer because he thought i had 2 nationalities and argued a lot with me over it). either way, it works.
 
Guy!

Thanks for the awesome response...but i still have a question...what happens if a person got his H1B approved but didnt get it stamped on his Indian passport and got his Canadian citizenship? Could he use his Canadian passport to go work on that H1b (cause Indian passport will be invalid once you get Canadian citizenship)?
 
Guy!

Thanks for the awesome response...but i still have a question...what happens if a person got his H1B approved but didnt get it stamped on his Indian passport and got his Canadian citizenship? Could he use his Canadian passport to go work on that H1b (cause Indian passport will be invalid once you get Canadian citizenship)?

He has to use his Canadian passport and H1B papers. You don't even need to take the Indian passport in this case. So the answer to your question will be YES
 
Sorry. I should have written as ..

YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO CARRY INDIAN PASSPORT IN THIS CASE.
 
IIT123,

For one, the indian passport doesn't automatically get cancelled. You have to either take it to the indian consulate to get it cancelled or whenever you apply for the first visa to india, they will ask you to bring the indian passport for cancellation.

The approval paper and your canadian passport/citizenship card suffices for US-Can border crossing.
 
H1 visa canadian citizen- getting I-94

Hi,
I am a cdn citizen and have recd. H1 approval notice (valid from oct 1st 2005). As you have mentioned in these posts, I do not need to go to US consulate in Toronto for H1 stamping.

Can I go with the (H1 approval notice, Cdn passport, employer documents etc.) to the Pearson Airport in Toronto and get I-94 ??

Pl. reply back as it may be very helpful to me.

Thanks ,
mshar01@yahoo.com


Raj009 said:
It'll be valid. As a citizen you don't need to go to the consulate and get the Visa stamp. Just a CDN passport and I797 would suffice your needs.
Click to expand...
 
Can I go with the (H1 approval notice, Cdn passport, employer documents etc.) to the Pearson Airport in Toronto and get I-94 ??

Yes You can. Just take all the docs and you should be fine. No need to go to consulate if you are a Canadian citizen.
 
Raj009,
Thanks a lot. I appreciate your help and tips in this matter.

mshar01

Raj009 said:
Can I go with the (H1 approval notice, Cdn passport, employer documents etc.) to the Pearson Airport in Toronto and get I-94 ??

Yes You can. Just take all the docs and you should be fine. No need to go to consulate if you are a Canadian citizen.
Click to expand...
 
Can I come to US and work with Canada Citizenship card & I-797 without cdn passport.

Raj/priya/iit and All,

Thank you all for your valuable information.

I'm about to get my CDN citizenship and I need to travel back to US due to my work schedule & other issues. I read that if you apply passport from CDN you need to send your cdn citizenship card along with the passport application. In such case I'll apply CDN passport from US.

Any thoughts on this!! Please answer :confused:

here is my question

my prev H1B visa stamp is expired (Indian passport), but I have the valid I-797. As Raj said, can CDN citizen come to US and work with CDN citizenship card & I-797 at the POE or should I use Indian passport using ARV (Automatic Revalidation)?

Does my status will change if I use cdn citizenship card?

I really appreciate your help.

Thank You


Raj009 said:
As a CDN Citizen , you don't need a physical stamp in the passport. Just go to the CDN border and show your I797 along with your CDN passport or Citizenship Card. That's one of the advantages of taking CDN citizenship. You don't need to go to the Consulate, wait in the queue and stamp the passport. Please go to www.grasmick.com. You can see lots of info related to your case in the immigration forum.

PS: My gut feeling is that you don't even need CDN passport while crossing the border. Your Citizenship Card and I797 Visa paper should be sufficient. If you are going to Canada to get the citizenship then get the citizenship card and go back to US. You can apply for CDN passport from US. I think it takes around 21 days.
Click to expand...
 
H1B stamp on passport

hi,
I too have canadian passport and H1B visa. Do i need a I-94 when i apply for SSN in US. I came to US in Sept (do I have to go back to CDN border to get I-94 as the Social Security no. issuing officer asked me for my I-94)
Thanks
mshar01@yahoo.com
Priya75 said:
IIT123, I have a canadian passport and an H1B stamped on my indian passport (which strangely has not been marked cancelled by the indian consulate even thought i took my cdn passport to apply for a visa)

Border crossing isn't an issue at all. I have carried my citizenship card and indian passport with H1 and it's worked, i have carried my citizenship card and I797 and that too has worked and i've carried both passports as well (though that confused some junior level officer because he thought i had 2 nationalities and argued a lot with me over it). either way, it works.
Click to expand...
 
Apply in US or Canada?

All,

I lived & worked in Canada for nearly 4 yrs before taking up a job in the US last oct on H1. I was already a few months into the citizenship process before I moved down south. Now my oath notice has arrived and am wondering how to proceed with applying for canadian ppt after receiving citizenship card. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

1. Get citz card and return to US immediately w/ I797, Indian ppt containing visa. Would this work in both situations - drive across or fly? Then apply for cdn passport in US. Whats the advantage/disadvantage?

2. Get citz card and apply for ppt immediately in person in Canada. Request the "urgent" process (what would be the criteria to define urgency?) and hopefully get it in a day. Is this a viable situation? Whats the advantage/disadvantage?

Priya75/Raj/Ksr - what did u guys provide as pewrmanent/mailing address on the ppt application form? US or Cdn address? Also can one pick up the passport in person as well? How did you guys proceed with this process?

Sorry for the long post ...

Thanks ...sns.
 
apply for the passport and give your address for purpose of mailing. the urgent process does not really do that much in my experience.
 
Hi Raj009,
i read your replies so far and thought that may be you can help me out with this situation.
I am on H1 B visa currently working in Newyork. Recently, i got
canadian citizenship and so my passport has changed. Do i have to get an
H1 B visa stamp on my passport while entering the U.S(as i am planning
to travel outside the U.S.)or my I-797 approval notice would be good
enough at the port of entry? My Current H1 B visa stamp on indian passport is good through december 2007.From last 2 months i have been trying to find some information regarding this subject matter but having no luck so far. If anyone has any imformation regarding this please help me out. help me out!
thanks.
 
Do i have to get an H1 B visa stamp on my passport while entering the U.S(as i am planning to travel outside the U.S.)or my I-797 approval notice would be good enough at the port of entry?

Cdns do not need any US visa stamp in their passport - if you are having a cdn passport while travelling. Your I-797 is okay for you to enter the US. Have your recent pay stubs (a couple of them) just to prove that you still have your job. This is not necessary, but will be helpful if the officer asks the proof of your employment..
 
I have called twice at www.amcits.com(where u take the U.S. visa apppointment in montreal) and spoke two different reps both the times. bothe of them gave me different information and that's how i am very confused. According to one of them, canadian citizens get visa stamp at the the U.S. port of entry and are required to carry all the documents as you are required to carry in a counslate for visa stamp. Do you have any experience of canadian citizen getting visa stamp at potrt of entry??????


bigboy00 said:
Do i have to get an H1 B visa stamp on my passport while entering the U.S(as i am planning to travel outside the U.S.)or my I-797 approval notice would be good enough at the port of entry?

Cdns do not need any US visa stamp in their passport - if you are having a cdn passport while travelling. Your I-797 is okay for you to enter the US. Have your recent pay stubs (a couple of them) just to prove that you still have your job. This is not necessary, but will be helpful if the officer asks the proof of your employment..
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top