Leaving Canada and move to the US on H1B while citizenship application is pending

[abhinav92]

Hello All!

I will be eligible to file for Canadian citizenship this year in June. My employer is based out of San Francisco, California and I worked there on H1B before moving to Canada as a PR holder. They allowed me to move temporarily to Canada to finalize citizenship and want me back to the states as soon as possible. IRCC website says you can leave Canada after filing for the citizenship as long as PR status is maintained which will be the case for me. I have a few questions and would appreciate it a lot if I can get any guidance or helpful suggestions.

1. Can I move to the USA on H1B on my current Indian Passport right after applying for Canadian citizenship? The H1B application should take about 2 months to process. Is it worth waiting for 7 months (which is the current processing time for Citizenship) or make the move right after applying for Citizenship and come back to do the citizenship test and Oath ceremonies when the time comes?

2. If I move to the states on H1B with my current passport, do I need to get another I-797 when my Canadian Passport arrives and I give up my current passport?

3. Can I apply for urgent processing for citizenship due to the fact that my current employer wants me to move back to the states as soon as possible?

 

[Maruchan]

Hello All!

I will be eligible to file for Canadian citizenship this year in June. My employer is based out of San Francisco, California and I worked there on H1B before moving to Canada as a PR holder. They allowed me to move temporarily to Canada to finalize citizenship and want me back to the states as soon as possible. IRCC website says you can leave Canada after filing for the citizenship as long as PR status is maintained which will be the case for me. I have a few questions and would appreciate it a lot if I can get any guidance or helpful suggestions.

1. Can I move to the USA on H1B on my current Indian Passport right after applying for Canadian citizenship? The H1B application should take about 2 months to process. Is it worth waiting for 7 months (which is the current processing time for Citizenship) or make the move right after applying for Citizenship and come back to do the citizenship test and Oath ceremonies when the time comes?

2. If I move to the states on H1B with my current passport, do I need to get another I-797 when my Canadian Passport arrives and I give up my current passport?

3. Can I apply for urgent processing for citizenship due to the fact that my current employer wants me to move back to the states as soon as possible?

I am in the same boat but I can postpone my move. To answer your question, ideally yes, you can move out after application but it is advised to wait till test or atleast AOR.

 

[Seym]

3. Can I apply for urgent processing for citizenship due to the fact that my current employer wants me to move back to the states as soon as possible?

Nop. "I want to get out of Canada ASAP" isn't ground for urgent processing. Canadian employment may speed up things, foreign employment doesn't.

 

[DrShrimpPuertoRico]

1. Can I move to the USA on H1B on my current Indian Passport right after applying for Canadian citizenship? The H1B application should take about 2 months to process. Is it worth waiting for 7 months (which is the current processing time for Citizenship) or make the move right after applying for Citizenship and come back to do the citizenship test and Oath ceremonies when the time comes?

If you're able to wait until citizenship processing is complete, that's absolutely what is recommended. If you believe your employment maybe in jeopardy by delaying the move, that's risk assessment that only you'll be able to make. I moved right after applying and returned to Canada to take the citizenship test and will return for the oath ceremony; but I acknowledge that there's some risk involved with that. The risk being that I've potentially made my application non-standard.

2. If I move to the states on H1B with my current passport, do I need to get another I-797 when my Canadian Passport arrives and I give up my current passport?

Your H1B is not directly tied to your citizenship in any way. Your approved I-797 will work with any citizenship/passport. If you obtain Canadian citizenship (and subsequently a Canadian passport), you can enter the US with just your Canadian passport and a valid, unexpired I-797. You won't need to get an H1B stamp on your Canadian passport.

3. Can I apply for urgent processing for citizenship due to the fact that my current employer wants me to move back to the states as soon as possible?

That will not qualify as a reason for urgent processing of Canadian citizenship.

 

[abhinav92]

If you're able to wait until citizenship processing is complete, that's absolutely what is recommended. If you believe your employment maybe in jeopardy by delaying the move, that's risk assessment that only you'll be able to make. I moved right after applying and returned to Canada to take the citizenship test and will return for the oath ceremony; but I acknowledge that there's some risk involved with that. The risk being that I've potentially made my application non-standard.

Sorry to hear that your application became non-routine. I thought non-routine applications were classified as such if only they followed a certain set of conditions as listed below:

• We need you to submit extra documents, like residence documents.
• You missed a test, interview or hearing.
• There’s a criminal, security or other admissibility issue.

Just the fact that someone leaves the country after filing their citizenship application could make their application non-routine? That is actually very scary.

 

[abhinav92]

I am in the same boat but I can postpone my move. To answer your question, ideally yes, you can move out after application but it is advised to wait till test or atleast AOR.

Yeah, hopefully AOR should take about 2 weeks to receive after applying. Thank you for your advice.

 

[DrShrimpPuertoRico]

Sorry to hear that your application became non-routine. I thought non-routine applications were classified as such if only they followed a certain set of conditions as listed below:

• We need you to submit extra documents, like residence documents.
• You missed a test, interview or hearing.
• There’s a criminal, security or other admissibility issue.

Just the fact that someone leaves the country after filing their citizenship application could make their application non-routine? That is actually very scary.

Oh sorry if it came across unnecessarily alarmist. To be clear, my application has not been classified as non-routine. I just said I risk potentially making it non-routine by moving immediately after applying. Looking around this forum, leaving Canada (temporarily or not) immediately after applying for Canadian citizenship appears to be a very common strategy and it doesn't appear to hurt actual citizenship approval.

 

[abhinav92]

Oh sorry if it came across unnecessarily alarmist. To be clear, my application has not been classified as non-routine. I just said I risk potentially making it non-routine by moving immediately after applying. Looking around this forum, leaving Canada (temporarily or not) immediately after applying for Canadian citizenship appears to be a very common strategy and it doesn't appear to hurt actual citizenship approval.

Ah, that is reassuring! I hope your application processes normally. Thank you again for your time! I am planning to wait till I get my AOR before I move out, that seems to be a safe option.

 

[canuck78]

Oh sorry if it came across unnecessarily alarmist. To be clear, my application has not been classified as non-routine. I just said I risk potentially making it non-routine by moving immediately after applying. Looking around this forum, leaving Canada (temporarily or not) immediately after applying for Canadian citizenship appears to be a very common strategy and it doesn't appear to hurt actual citizenship approval.

Would be cautious because new party could be in power when your citizenship is being processed and things like intent to remain requirement may return.

 

[RohanKumar007]

Would be cautious because new party could be in power when your citizenship is being processed and things like intent to remain requirement may return.

Very unlikely given OP timeline as it would require a citizenship amendment. Last amendment took almost 1+ year for approval and another few months before coming into force.
https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/42-1/c-6

 

[Seym]

Very unlikely given OP timeline as it would require a citizenship amendment. Last amendment took almost 1+ year for approval and another few months before coming into force.
https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/42-1/c-6

Yes and no.
Something like an intent to reside can easily be implemented without any bill.
Just imagine a directive from the minister stating that anyone leaving Canada for more than a couple months in a row will see the processing of their application frozen as long as they haven't been back for at least 6 months, to give priority to people actually living here, and ensuring people can actually make it to interviews, oath ceremonies or anything else in short notice. And if IRCC sets their processing objectives at 2 years (not unheard of in Harper days!) and starts routinely processing complicated applications in 3 or more, risks of PR breach go way up for people who apply on the way to the airport...

We're not there yet and there's no real point discussing hypothetical scenarios, but a day one change in a Poilievre government can absolutely be done.