Hi All,

I have just received my landing papers for Canadian Immigration. I thought of travelling to Canada to complete my Landing process and apply for the SIN etc. However, my H1B visa satmped in the passport is expired and so is my wife's H4. We had got it extended, but we never got a chance to go to India to stamp it. The visa stamped in the passport is already expired.

My question is, will be able enter Canada andcome back with my I-797 & I-94 papers without stamping the H1B ? If it is absolutely nexessary to stamp it in US Consulate in Canada, am not sure whether they will approve it as all my education was in India. I have been here in US for the last 6 years and am in my 7 th year ( extension for the 6 mnths I stayed outside US during the first six years). Please advise what I should do.. If any one has any similar experience could you please share it with me ?

Thanks to all of you in advance!

I am an IT professional ( Project Managment profile with a PMP certification) with about 11 years of overall experince primarily in Mainframe application. How good is my prospects there in Canada? Which would be a better place for me Vancouver or Toronto ?

Thanks a lot all,

Regards,

Sunil George

You cannot get it stamped here. You will have to get it stamped in your home country generally. As you wil be a permanent resident here this rule might not apply to you. Do check with the Embassy.If denied you might have to go back home and get the stamping.

Do not come here you have no prospects in this country.You will end up as pizza delivery or do odd jobs. There are no IT jobs here. This is one of the most stupidest country for educated people.Your qualification and experience would not matter.If you are really luck you will find a job .
This place is full of unprofessional, semi educated , uncultured illlerate people.

You dont reialize the value of what you have unless you lose it.
There is no country as great as USA for professional people.
Dont make this mistake. You will regret. Choice is yours.
I came from US after being there for 6Yrs as IT professional.

You will need the stamp to re-enter the US, you should check with the consultate here if they'll do it for you or not. Maybe someone who has done this recently can advise.

I moved from the U.S. to Canada after 6 yrs. and am loving it here, never once thought about moving back. I think this is one of the best countries in the world to settle down. Certainly not as many jobs as the U.S., its a much smaller economy with a much smaller population. And the "job prospects" question is kinda redundant, because you only truly find out if you look yourself.

Generally speaking, I feel the IT market these days is doing much better, however there's no guarantee on how long it takes to find a job. Varies for everyone.

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Are you there?

Hi sunilgeorge,

As long as you enter back to US within 30 days, you can use automatic revalidation even if you have expired H1 and H4 visas. You should have the copy of I-797 and I-94.

But to use the automatic revalidation, you shouldn't have applied for visa in one of the US consulates in Canada and you are not from one of the 7 countries.

Check the internet under "Automatic Revalidation".

Thank you ,Sridharm,BlueLobster and raajen for taking your valuable time to reply to my question. I greatly appreciate your spirit to help others.

After reading Sridharm's reply I was a little disappointed but got some hopes back after reading BlueLobster and raajen's replies. Thanks a lot for it.

I do understand that some people become totally negative in their attitudes, may be because of their own past experience and that each life is unique and the success will depend a lot your luck too.

BlueLobster,

I know it would be difficult to make a generic statement, but still how'z work culture there in Canada compared to US ( I presume you are also into IT only)? Where are you currently ? Is Vancouver a good place for IT ? I know it is not as vibrant as Toronto. I am planning to move there leaving my family in India till I get a job.

raajesn,

Thanks for the information you provided. I was kind of worried becuase if I get stuck there , unexpectedly I will be trouble. I have a lot of stuff to dispose here and need to take care of before I permanently move. Are you aware of any cases like mine, who have actually travelled to Canada and came bac with an expired visa( but valid I-797 &I -94) without stamping the visa?Not that I don't trust you, just for a secured feeling.

Thanks to all again,

Regards,

Sunil George

Hi,

Many people have done it and posted their experiences in the forum in http://www.immigration.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK

Thanks a lot, Raajen.

Regards,

Sunil