hello all,

I would greatly appreciate if somebody can give me advise on the following situation.

1. I am an Indian citizen and was on F-1 visa till Dec 2003 and then changed my status to H-1b (I have valid I-94 and I-767 but no visa stamp on the passport)
2. Recently I was approved for canadian PR and I got 'immigrant visa' for Canada stamped on my passport. I have to go to canada till Mar 2005.

But I have become nervous and worried because people I interacted with told me that you will have difficulty in getting an H-1 B visa.

If somebody has gone thru this experience please advise me.

Also will it be a safe bet to go to canada or go to India for H-1B stamping.?

Thanks a lot
AG

Say What ????

what do u mean by 'Say What'

You might be confusing US immigration with Canadian immigration....this is a Canadian immigration board.

hi,

I do not think so.

I am asking from people who got canadian immigration and after landing for first time in Canada got their H-IB stamped from Canada

Why don't you move to canada permanently? Or are you just using Canada as a back-up plan?

You can apply for a visa in Canada, but if they refuse you your only option will be to go to India for the H1B stamping. Your best option, if you want to keep things safe, is to plan to move to Canada by March 05 - you still have quite a while, and the earlier you start your career in canada, the better it will be for you in the long term.

You might have significant trouble getting an H1B stamp in Canada because they evaluate your ties to canada. Since you would have just arrived there, they might refuse you the visa.

I am using a canada as a backup plan.
I have heard that H1B is a dual intent visa. You do not have to show strong ties.

Perhaps, but there's a reason why the H1B is a TEMPORARY visa and that it has a maximum imit of 6 YEARS.

You also need to keep in mind that you can only be out of Canada for 3 years out of 5 from the day you land.

Thanks prodigy.

I am aware of the Canadian requirement of 3 yrs out of 5.

I know many people who landed in canada and then returned to US. The only difference between me and them is that they had an H-1B already stamped on the passport and I just have a H-1B status and a valid I-94 and I will need an H-1B stamp on my passport to enter US again.

So I am asking all people who are members or visit this forum, kindly let me know if you come across a case similar to mine and what was the outcome.

-AG

According to the site below, the nature of the expired visa on the passport is not relavent:


http://www.isso.cornell.edu/immigration/autoreval.html

But they are not an official site. So I don't know. I think you should be fine re-entering with a valid, unexpired I-94.