HELP PLEASE: Landing in Canada when I485 is pending/approved

W

waitingdood

Registered Users (C)
Hi -

I posted this message in a different thread but I realized that I should have been posting it here.

My I485 is pending but can be approved any time now. I am planning to land in Canada in a few weeks as a Canadian PR.

My questions are:

1) If my I485 is pending when I am in Canada, I should not have any problems coming back with my AP? Prq20 shared his experience. Can anyone share their experience too??

2) If my I485 is approved when I am in Canada, will I still be ok coming back into the US?

3) If my I485 is approved BEFORE I leave for Canada, will there be a problem coming back into the US? I read the past threads and they all seem to say no problem but they were a few years back. I really would like to keep both, at least for now, simply because I have spent some much money and energy on it and don't just want to waste it. Also, keeping the Canadian PR for now would give my relatives a few more points when they apply.

Does anyone have any advice on this? I'd REALLY appreciate your help! I read somewhere that if I can land in Canada after I get my US greencard, I may not be able to come back to the US. Is that true????

Please help. I am really losing sleep over this! :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Before asking all these questions, ask yourself "Can an individual be a PERMANENT resident in two different countries at the same time?"
 
Triple Citizen said:
Before asking all these questions, ask yourself "Can an individual be a PERMANENT resident in two different countries at the same time?"
Click to expand...

TRIPLE CITIZEN: obviously we all know the answer is no. You cannot MAINTAIN permanent residence in two countries. Note the key word here is "MAINTAIN".

However, before you start slashing out your anger at others, please read my questions again!

My I485 is NOT approved yet. Maybe it will and maybe it won't, before I leave for Canada. The issue is that I already made plans to land in Canada at this time. I started the Canadian PR application partly because I was depressed by the unexpected delays in my US PR process (retrogression, namecheck, etc.) So who knows what will happen?

Now my Canadian PR is approved, should I simply give up my plans to land in Canada simply because there seem to be some progress on my US PR? What if my US PR gets delayed again for another 5-10 years??? Can you not understand that since I have spent money and energy on both applications, I should at least complete the process for both, to give me the option of choosing one in the future if I need to?

All I wanted to find out from others was their landing experience in this situation.

TRIPLE CITIZEN: This is a supposed to be a forum where people offer advice and share experience to help each other. If you do not feel like helping, do not respond. If you have a lot of anger you need to vent, buy a punch bag.
 
Here are my opinions to the various scenarios:-

(1) Re-entry on an AP document should not be an issue. The only two issues I can see are:-
(i) You accrued more than any 180 days of illegal presence.
(ii) Upon return the ICE inspector may question your reason for visiting Canada. How the officer reacts to "Completing landing formalities" is up to speculation. The officer may consider that act as abondoning your AOS. The language on the AP document has a clause where parole may be denied if the basis of AOS is deemed invalid.

(2) Now if your I-485 is approved while you are outside the US, then your AP document becomes null and void. Theoretically, you need a GC or an I-551 stamp to re-enter the US. However upon approaching a POE, the officer will be able to find out exactly when the I-485 was approved. Entry should be granted, perhaps after a visit to secondary.

(3) Ideally you will have an I-551 stamp or GC in hand. Re-entry should not be an issue. In this case there is a small risk on the Canadian side. CIC may question your US status while completing landing formalities. Hearing you have a GC, they might want proof that you are indeed serious about residing in Canada.

I hope you do not lose anymore sleep. Also, make sure you process your ROLF refund, courtesy of Mr. Harper. Good luck!!!
 
Triple Citizen said:
Here are my opinions to the various scenarios:-

(1) Re-entry on an AP document should not be an issue. The only two issues I can see are:-
(i) You accrued more than any 180 days of illegal presence.
(ii) Upon return the ICE inspector may question your reason for visiting Canada. How the officer reacts to "Completing landing formalities" is up to speculation. The officer may consider that act as abondoning your AOS. The language on the AP document has a clause where parole may be denied if the basis of AOS is deemed invalid.

(2) Now if your I-485 is approved while you are outside the US, then your AP document becomes null and void. Theoretically, you need a GC or an I-551 stamp to re-enter the US. However upon approaching a POE, the officer will be able to find out exactly when the I-485 was approved. Entry should be granted, perhaps after a visit to secondary.

(3) Ideally you will have an I-551 stamp or GC in hand. Re-entry should not be an issue. In this case there is a small risk on the Canadian side. CIC may question your US status while completing landing formalities. Hearing you have a GC, they might want proof that you are indeed serious about residing in Canada.

I hope you do not lose anymore sleep. Also, make sure you process your ROLF refund, courtesy of Mr. Harper. Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your advice! Didn't mean to argue in my previous email. Just that I was very concerned and felt like I wasn't being helped. I spoke with my US and Canada immigration lawyer about this. They both say it should not be a problem, but another immigration lawyer on the Internet disagreed. So I wanted to see if anyone has any actual recent experiences.
 
You are welcome. I went through immigration and naturalisation in both countries. It can be mentally taxing. Although both my episodes took place a few years apart (1997-2002 Canada, 2002-present USA), it still had the potential to overwhelm one :)
Good luck!!!
 
waitingdood - Canada Landing

Waitingdood,

I am in the situation as yours, have you landed in Canada and returned using AP? Can you please share your experience?

Thanks in advance.

- Raas
 
Help needed from the Gurus

Triple Citizen, Air Canada and other Gurus,

Following is my information:

I need to land in Canada by June 16th, currently my I-485 has been under process for an year stuck in name check.

I have been here in US for 6+ years and I have not gone outside ever since I came here in 2001. I applied for my 7th year H1 B extension and that is also stuck in security clearance for 14 months now.

I do have EAD and AP. But I have very common muslim name and I am worried about the consequences of landing and coming back.

Appreciate the response from you all.

Thanks,
Raas
 
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