Tourist visa extension application pending while legal status in Canada changes

[azeemguy 4]

Hello guys,

I have an interesting question. A little background on me, I am a Permanent Resident in Toronto holding a Pakistani passport. My wife and daughter live in the USA and they are citizens there. Few years ago I applied for USA tourist visa (B1/B2) and it took them 2.5 years to do the background clearance on me and eventually they approved a 5 years visa. At that time I was working in Canada on a work permit.

Then, my visa was about to expire in June, 2014 so in mid Feb, 2014 I applied for extension of my Visitor (B1/B2) visa and went for the interview. The lady advised me that she has tentatively approved my visa and kept my passports and told me that I will be getting an email in next couple of days telling me when can I pick up my passport. Couple of weeks went by and no update. Long story short, I picked up my passports for my Canadian citizenship test and they provided me the dreaded 221G yellow slip asking me for my history for past 15 years!

Now, coming to the main question. What will happen if my status in Canada legally changes and I no longer require a visa to enter USA? In this case, what will happen if I end up getting my Canadian citizenship and my application for USA tourist B1/B2 visa is still in process ? Can I withdraw my application or anything else ? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers !

Edited March 14, 2014 by azeemguy

[milimelo 4,479]

Not quite sure I understand your logic here - Canadian citizenship - drop the tourist visa application?

The US identifies you by your DOB, place of birth, name - among other things - DOB and POB do not change - given how long it took to get the first tourist visa, what makes you think becoming a Canadian citizen will make entering into the US any easier? You can be returned at POE to come back with a tourist visa based on your prior nationality.

Follow through with the tourist visa.

[azeemguy 4]

Not quite sure I understand your logic here - Canadian citizenship - drop the tourist visa application?

The US identifies you by your DOB, place of birth, name - among other things - DOB and POB do not change - given how long it took to get the first tourist visa, what makes you think becoming a Canadian citizen will make entering into the US any easier? You can be returned at POE to come back with a tourist visa based on your prior nationality.

Follow through with the tourist visa.

Thank you for the reply. Didn't mean to confuse anybody. I had applied for my Canadian citizenship less than a year ago and wasn't sure that how long would it take to finalize. There is no concrete timeline on that process. Therefore I thought that I should simply renew my USA Tourist visa on my existing status and deal with Canadian Citizenship separately.

Couple of questions :

1. Do you think it is possible to withdraw my application for the tourist visa ?
2. Do I need to update USA Consulate with change of my status should the Canadian citizenship finalizes sooner ?

Cheers !

[milimelo 4,479]

I know when people don't show up for the scheduled appointment they're counted as visa denied, but not sure what would happen if you wanted to withdraw the application after already attending an interview.

I'd go the route of emailing the embassy for guidance.

Now, with family USCs, are there plans to move to the US and become LPR or are you staying put in Canada?

[azeemguy 4]

So I called the USA Consulate in Toronto and enquired about this. The lady advised that if my status is changed to Canadian citizen then I should be able to travel on the Canadian passport without any issues. With regards to the pending visa application in the system she advised that I just have to update them with my updated status and either the application will live out its life (which is 1 year from the 221G notice) or I can choose to follow through with it to finalize it.

She also advised that if my existing valid visa (which is valid until June, 2014) is stamped "Cancelled without prejudice" then I cannot travel until either I renew my visa or become a Canadian citizen. However, if it's not stamped then I can travel on it until it expires.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Hello guys,

I have an interesting question. A little background on me, I am a Permanent Resident in Toronto holding a Pakistani passport. My wife and daughter live in the USA and they are citizens there. Few years ago I applied for USA tourist visa (B1/B2) and it took them 2.5 years to do the background clearance on me and eventually they approved a 5 years visa. At that time I was working in Canada on a work permit.

Then, my visa was about to expire in June, 2014 so in mid Feb, 2014 I applied for extension of my Visitor (B1/B2) visa and went for the interview. The lady advised me that she has tentatively approved my visa and kept my passports and told me that I will be getting an email in next couple of days telling me when can I pick up my passport. Couple of weeks went by and no update. Long story short, I picked up my passports for my Canadian citizenship test and they provided me the dreaded 221G yellow slip asking me for my history for past 15 years!

Now, coming to the main question. What will happen if my status in Canada legally changes and I no longer require a visa to enter USA? In this case, what will happen if I end up getting my Canadian citizenship and my application for USA tourist B1/B2 visa is still in process ? Can I withdraw my application or anything else ? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers !

If you are in the US and your visa extension is not approved you must leave the country, lest you accumulate illegal presence. If you have become a Canadian citizen all you need do is leave the US on your Pakistani passport and re-enter with your Canadian passport.

If you are in Canada, you can withdraw your visa application without prejudice, and travel to the US with your Canadian passport.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Gegel

[azeemguy 4]

I have a question. I am about to become a Canadian citizen and I would no longer require a visa to travel to the U.S. However my wife will be filing a petition later for me to migrate to U.S. permanently. Should I choose to not follow up with this extension application, would this create problems for my case when my wife files for petition ? If I don't follow up with this application then I believe this will be considered as I was refused a visa and I am afraid that this will cause issues in the future. Can anybody comment ?