Hey,
I am a Canadian resident (Indian citizen) living in British Columbia, working remotely for a major US lottery company (Atlanta, GA) on an H1B visa. I have been working for the same company for the past 4 yrs and started working directly after I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Georgia-Tech, Atlanta, GA). I initially worked for them in Atlanta until Dec 2004 and then re-located to Vancouver and have been working remotely since then. I travel to the US every few months to visit the client sites. Below are few questions I had and would greatly appreciate your input:
1. Since I intend to make Vancouver my home base would I be able to recapture the lost H1B time after the 6-yr period, considering I would have been out of the US for the majority amount of time.
2. My employer is willing to sponsor my GC. Also, I expect to obtain my Canadian citizenship by 2008. If I have a change in citizenship while my GC application is active, will it in any way (positive/negative) effect the processing time. Would I be able to escape the retrogression presently in place for Indian passport holders?
3. I am also looking at the option of working for the same company but as a contractor instead of an employee. What visa would I need to make this happen? Would I need to establish a company in Canada and have my US employer contract to that company. Also, would my US employer still be able to sponsor my GC or could I obtain my GC through another source.
Thank you for your time.
- Abhishek.
I am a Canadian resident (Indian citizen) living in British Columbia, working remotely for a major US lottery company (Atlanta, GA) on an H1B visa. I have been working for the same company for the past 4 yrs and started working directly after I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Georgia-Tech, Atlanta, GA). I initially worked for them in Atlanta until Dec 2004 and then re-located to Vancouver and have been working remotely since then. I travel to the US every few months to visit the client sites. Below are few questions I had and would greatly appreciate your input:
1. Since I intend to make Vancouver my home base would I be able to recapture the lost H1B time after the 6-yr period, considering I would have been out of the US for the majority amount of time.
2. My employer is willing to sponsor my GC. Also, I expect to obtain my Canadian citizenship by 2008. If I have a change in citizenship while my GC application is active, will it in any way (positive/negative) effect the processing time. Would I be able to escape the retrogression presently in place for Indian passport holders?
3. I am also looking at the option of working for the same company but as a contractor instead of an employee. What visa would I need to make this happen? Would I need to establish a company in Canada and have my US employer contract to that company. Also, would my US employer still be able to sponsor my GC or could I obtain my GC through another source.
Thank you for your time.
- Abhishek.