Hello,
I had landed in Vancouver a month ago and had subsequently returned
back to the US. I had to go to toronto for an interview, these are my
experiances:
1) Northwest flight from Detroit to Toronto, no one asked about the
I-94.
2) Filled up the canada customs form, there were 12 lanes open at the
airport
when we landed, all were idle, the lady asked me: purpose of coming to
canada,
my answer: for the interview. how long since you are coming back ?
answer: 3 weeks ago I was in Vancouver, I went back to the US and am
coming back. how long will you be in canada , answer: if I get the job
I need to come back with my wife. All questions were asked very
politely and nicely, although in a bit bored and sleepy fashion ( it
was 8:20 am ). My landing paper was stamped with the date ( not the
passport ) and I submitted the customs form to another officer down
the line and I was done..a 30-60 second procedure
3) On my way back, filled up the US customs form and presented myself
to the "gateway to the USA" , the officer asked my visa type and
looked at my white I-94 card, slid my H1 visa ( which is not expired
but from my prev. company and the underlying petition for that has
been cancelled ) , asked how many days in canada ...I said 2. she
remarked that I need only the I-94 to come back and stamped the
customs form that I submitted, again no entry on the passport...entire
procedure 30-60 seconds again. Also all Qs asked in a very nice way.
So my observations are:
1) H1 visa stays valid until its expiry , DOES NOT matter if the visa
is from a previous company and that company has cancelled its H1
petition. I was carrying my new H1 xfer approval notice but no one
looked at it. I got the same input from the officer at Peace Arch in
Blaine, WA ( the H1 visa is not employer specific, the approval notice
is )
2) Canadian officers dont ask about US status , US officers dont ask
for Canadian status.
3)Both US and Candaian Officers are very polite and professional. if
you have your visas and docs in order, you have no problems at all.
4) I had heard a lot of bad experiances from Pearson airport, but this
one is one of the good ones..
5) So far I have been to canada 3 times now ( twice by land at two
crossings in BC/WA and once by Air here in toronto ) at all the times
no problems in immigration procedings at all.
I had landed in Vancouver a month ago and had subsequently returned
back to the US. I had to go to toronto for an interview, these are my
experiances:
1) Northwest flight from Detroit to Toronto, no one asked about the
I-94.
2) Filled up the canada customs form, there were 12 lanes open at the
airport
when we landed, all were idle, the lady asked me: purpose of coming to
canada,
my answer: for the interview. how long since you are coming back ?
answer: 3 weeks ago I was in Vancouver, I went back to the US and am
coming back. how long will you be in canada , answer: if I get the job
I need to come back with my wife. All questions were asked very
politely and nicely, although in a bit bored and sleepy fashion ( it
was 8:20 am ). My landing paper was stamped with the date ( not the
passport ) and I submitted the customs form to another officer down
the line and I was done..a 30-60 second procedure
3) On my way back, filled up the US customs form and presented myself
to the "gateway to the USA" , the officer asked my visa type and
looked at my white I-94 card, slid my H1 visa ( which is not expired
but from my prev. company and the underlying petition for that has
been cancelled ) , asked how many days in canada ...I said 2. she
remarked that I need only the I-94 to come back and stamped the
customs form that I submitted, again no entry on the passport...entire
procedure 30-60 seconds again. Also all Qs asked in a very nice way.
So my observations are:
1) H1 visa stays valid until its expiry , DOES NOT matter if the visa
is from a previous company and that company has cancelled its H1
petition. I was carrying my new H1 xfer approval notice but no one
looked at it. I got the same input from the officer at Peace Arch in
Blaine, WA ( the H1 visa is not employer specific, the approval notice
is )
2) Canadian officers dont ask about US status , US officers dont ask
for Canadian status.
3)Both US and Candaian Officers are very polite and professional. if
you have your visas and docs in order, you have no problems at all.
4) I had heard a lot of bad experiances from Pearson airport, but this
one is one of the good ones..
5) So far I have been to canada 3 times now ( twice by land at two
crossings in BC/WA and once by Air here in toronto ) at all the times
no problems in immigration procedings at all.