Can NEW Canada Immigrant visit US immediately?

R

Ravi0598

Registered Users (C)
Hi folks,

My sister is planning to land in Canada for PR in Oct. She is also looking for job in Canada, but does not have anything in hand yet. So, our plan is that she goes to Canada for ONE week to establish PR status. The question I have is, can she visit me in US immediately after establishing PR status in Canada for a brief vacation before going back to India. Does she need a visa to come to US and do they give visa to brand new Canadian PRs? Anyone been this route?

Your comments are appreciated.

Thanks
Ravi
 
Your sister will need a Visa to the US, and normally it is very hard to get it

for a new immigrant. The US officier will ask your sister to provide (1) employment letter by a Canadian employer; or (2) her bank deposite certificate issued from the bank; or (3) a previous US visa stamped on her passport after she has landed to Canada for longer than 6 months. The above is based on my knowledge.
 
What about NAFTA

My sister does not have a job offer in Canada or in the US for that matter. What I was thinking was, since she does not have job offer in Canada yet, she will go there ONLY to establish her landed immigrant status and apply for PR card. Then she plans to go back to India till she can find a job in Canada. Since she would be a landed immigrant, does she need a visa to come to US for couple of days vacation. I thought you don't need visa under NAFTA or does that only apply for Canada citizens?

Also, if you do need a visa for just visiting US for a vacation, is it difficult to obtain from US consulate in Canada after you show your Canadian PR status?

Thanks for your reply.

Regards
Ravi
 
Birdy69, thanks for your reply.

I checked the INS site and link- I found that you could visit US for business or pleasure on B-1 visa and 28 countries are exempt from visa. This list of 28 countries does not include India (referring to your post where you said "if my sister is citizen of India"). Did I not look into right place or what?

Thanks
Ravi
 
There shouldn;t be any problems for your sister to come in to the US to visit you. However, the new landed immigrants in Canada are getting a PR Card something similar to US Green Card. My understanding is that it takes 30 - 45 days from the date of landing to receive this card, from CCRA.

Your sister need to have this before she can travel to the US. Just a stamp in her passport is not sufficient.

If she is entering Canada on the old immigration scheme (where one gets IMM1000 papers) then she can cross the border without any problems.

Also what address will she be using while in Canada? Relatives? She should also open a bank account and get her SIN number. SIN takes approximately 30 days to arrive.

Also it is better to cross the border via road than flying.

hope this helps!! Good Luck
 
Check that link again under the heading "Entry of Aliens Resident in Canada and Bermuda" . There is a link for Commonwealth countries and India is in it.

I am an Indian citizen and I lived in Canada for more that a year. I never had any problems in crossing the border (which I did at least twice a month) without a visa.

I don't know the latest rules, but up until last December I could cross the border based only on my Canadian PR (old style paper form) and Indian passport.
 
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