The Canuck EI Thread

[twin810s 23]

So I'm new to this whole EI thing. I've been steadily employed for over 20 years. When I moved over to the US, I filed for EI on June 22, 2014. Easy enough. The whole time, on My Service Canada Account, my claim read, paraphrased, "We've received your application and are working to process it in a timely manner. If your employer has submitted all ROEs electronically, no further action is required on your part" yadda yadda. So I sat and waited to hear what they had to say; whether I was approved or not.

Though it appears that I was approved for the maximum benefits payable, I got a message this past Wednesday, July 9, 2014, which read "No Employment Insurance benefits are payable as of June 16, 2014 because you failed to follow an instruction sent to you." EI/Service Canada never sent me anything. I never received any "instructions" except to sit tight and wait for them to process my application. There was something in my messages that said, paraphrased, "Your report for the week beginning June 15, 2014 can be mailed on June 27..." I realize this is probably the 'instruction' they are referring to, but I figured that, seeing as the benefits were not yet approved; I had received no correspondence from them with any detailed instructions, "report cards" to fill out or nothing to mail them; that this was for a week that was prior to my even filing for EI; and the other message saying no action was required on my part, that I had nothing to send them. I had been actively looking for work, I just had no forms to fill out and no address in which to mail them, had I even had any to mail. I have since gotten a job but it pays less than EI pays and, as it states under 'Long-Tenured Workers (as I am classified), I am not required to accept any position that pays less than EI benefits. Not to mention that my new work delayed my start date by a week after I accepted the job (cutting my first paycheck in half), reduced my wage by 20% from what we agreed on in my interview and when I accepted the position (which ACTUALLY cut my first paycheck down to 40% of what it was supposed to be, after the week delay in starting), and also basically lied to me about many other aspects of the job I asked about, from holidays to scheduling to hours and days I'd be required to work (nothing like accepting a 2-week alternating days (9am-5pm)/afternoons (3pm-11pm) Monday-Friday job with paid holidays, then finding out that I actually have to be available to work at any point from 8am-1am, Monday to Saturday (plus an hour commute each way); I'm subject to mandatory overtime; holidays are worked and scheduling is done a month at a time, with notice for the following month's schedule being given the day before it becomes effective; and it is definitely NOT alternating shifts - I could be stuck working the night shift for months at a time, and probably will for my first 2-3 months (shifts are automatically assigned by a computer program based on analyzation of a multitude of your previous month's performance metrics compared to everyone else's - the better your metrics add up to versus everyone else's, the better your shift versus theirs). It's a very 'live to work' mentality. I took this job because it would allow us to see each other every evening (even if just an hour or so before bed while on afternoons) plus every weekend. That's the goal in getting a visa and moving to be with your new spouse. This job would basically, at least for the next two months, only allow us to see each other the same amount of time we did when I lived in Canada, except that I'm making half as much money.

But I digress...

I've filled out and am preparing to mail a 'reconsideration' for my EI benefits. Does anyone have experience with these, or has anyone experienced a situation similar to mine with EI? How long do these reconsiderations generally take? I'm concerned about it because it states that they will be contacting me in the next two week, I assume by phone, and having a cell phone at my current workplace is grounds for dismissal (federal guidelines for privacy and such). Without having EI 'in the bank' just yet, I don't want to leave this place. I budgeted my savings for a certain amount of time of unemployment while waiting for income - be it from a job or EI, but both of those have now failed me, and the savings are running low. I need to figure out a contingency plan in case this takes a while or fails completely.

[Sweetmelissa 82]

Do I need to wait until my fiance and I are officially married before filing for EI as a K1? I teach high school so I am wanting to give my official notice now so there is sufficient time to find my replacement, but I am not planning on entering the US until late August and having a September wedding. Sounds like most people recommend filing within a month after quitting.

Help!

Edit: Is it correct that a copy of K1 Visa and i-94 are all thats needed to "get the ball rolling" so to speak.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Sweetmelissa

[NikLR 13,227]

Yes to the second part. You can apply while still in Canada as well. You are supposed to file within 4 weeks of quitting according to Service Canada.

[gwenstar 66]

Just an update - got the first EI check. Had a similar experience as everyone on here....horrible trying to get through to talk to someone on the phone and then keep them on the phone long enough to get things all sorted. However, once my husband got to talk to someone he was able to confirm they got the information he had submitted online to open the claim as well as the documents that he faxed to them.

One thing that we noticed that is different from the instructions from service canada - if you have a regular (within Canada) EI claim they send you a 4 digit code to create a login to the system and check your information. Even though they sent us the code, it did not work for claims outside of Canada. I don't know if that is the same thing for everyone, but that is how it went for us.

Short timeline -

June 16: last day worked

June 21: entered the US on a CR1 visa

July 2: submitted information through service canada website to open EI claim

July 11: received paperwork with code and initial forms to report any work or attempts to work

July 14: called service canada about claim - faxed them the required documents - reported (lack of) work and attempts he was making to get employed

July 21: follow up with service canada - they said they mailed a check the previous week and we ended up getting it in the mail the same day he called.

First check was for the dates July 6 to July 12. They pay every 2 weeks based on what he is eligible for weekly. There was 25 percent taken out of the benefit amount for tax/fee for being in the US instead of Canada.

My husband had not provided his bank account information when he first reported the claim/faxed documents so that is why they sent a paper check this time. He can call and give them that information so it will switch from a papercheck to direct deposit into his RBC account. Also RBC was really good about getting him set up with an american account and line of credit.

Thank you to everyone for answering questions and helping us through this part of the process!!! Feels reallllly good to be mostly done with paperwork for a while....lol

[gwenstar 66]

Update - make sure to provide your bank information. We are having major issues depositing a canadian cheque. Even though he has a RBC account for Canada and US, it is going to be a pain to actually get the money to be available in the account (have to send it back to Canada and then wait until the monies are released). Lesson learned! Just when I think I have things figured out.... lol

[kc247 22]

Update - make sure to provide your bank information. We are having major issues depositing a canadian cheque. Even though he has a RBC account for Canada and US, it is going to be a pain to actually get the money to be available in the account (have to send it back to Canada and then wait until the monies are released). Lesson learned! Just when I think I have things figured out.... lol

Wow they have to send it back to Canada? You would think it would be easier. We have an account with Wellsfargo & didn't have too much trouble depositing a Canadian cheque, the teller didn't know what to do and had to get help but they said I just couldn't cash it, had to deposit it, and it wouldn't be available until the next day.

[kc247 22]

Question..

I just got a job on Monday, right now I am only training so I have 2 short shifts a week, until August 25 when I go to 32 hours a week. When I do my report on Friday..they ask if I worked.. I say yes. They ask if I got a full time job during that perioud... I would say no, right? Because it is part time? Will I still get a portion of my payment since I am not working as much as I did at home?

[gwenstar 66]

Wow they have to send it back to Canada? You would think it would be easier. We have an account with Wellsfargo & didn't have too much trouble depositing a Canadian cheque, the teller didn't know what to do and had to get help but they said I just couldn't cash it, had to deposit it, and it wouldn't be available until the next day.

That is what RBC said...also that once they received the check there could still be a hold, which seems weird to me?? We are trying to find another way to do it that would be quicker. Good to know that Wells Fargo is easier to work with and it didn't take long to go through. I guess paypal used to let you know do mobile check deposit and it worked with canadian cheques - they just removed that feature last month though.

[pro_star 52]

Well...I have no idea if I did that correctly. I guess we'll see...

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I don;t think you'd find a Canadan bank that could cash US cheques any easier either...but it is super frustrating to not realize it until you're here! I personally still had a TD account open so I had mine deposited there. I happened to have outstanding debt in Canada so I used it to pay off that...kind of convenient to have a Cdn account to pay a Cdn bill.

[gwenstar 66]

kind of convenient to have a Cdn account to pay a Cdn bill.

totally! the EI direct deposit into the canadian account makes that so easy - pay his canadian bills from there and don't lose anything on the exchange rate.

We couldn't deposit the check in our accounts so we are just mailing it back to Canada. Seems so silly, but whatever, now I know! Husband called and gave the bank info to service canada - took about 5 minutes and now he is all set up for direct deposits.

[GermanCanadian89 7]

Update - make sure to provide your bank information. We are having major issues depositing a canadian cheque. Even though he has a RBC account for Canada and US, it is going to be a pain to actually get the money to be available in the account (have to send it back to Canada and then wait until the monies are released). Lesson learned! Just when I think I have things figured out.... lol

I'm glad I read this!

I kept my Canadian RBC account and I'm still using that for EI to deposit into there. There would be no way in hell I would let the banks around here cash a canadian cheque. They would screa that up royally. I live in a very small town/area. I think there is one bank and when I came over, I had canadian cash to exchange and they're totally confused!

Once my claim goes through, I just plan on using paypal to get the money over here. If I didn't have that option, I just would've mailed my bank card to my mother and have her wire it over.

However, I do have a question. I quit my job in Aug. and filed in April for Mat leave. I had to appeal my case because they didn't want to give it to me. But, I finally think I got through to them. They mailed me slips for me to do my reports. Two of them were when I was at the end of my pregnancy and I accidently marked NO for able willing and capable. I was able and willing just at that far in pregnancy not capable. I ended up marking both yes and no and just wrote in everything. Does anyone think I'll get penalized for that?

[gwenstar 66]

I kept my Canadian RBC account and I'm still using that for EI to deposit into there. There would be no way in hell I would let the banks around here cash a canadian cheque. They would screa that up royally. I live in a very small town/area. I think there is one bank and when I came over, I had canadian cash to exchange and they're totally confused!

Once my claim goes through, I just plan on using paypal to get the money over here. If I didn't have that option, I just would've mailed my bank card to my mother and have her wire it over.

That is funny about them not knowing what to do with Canadian cash - well not funny but yeah. I live in NYC and we were still having such a hard time. Pay pal works great for transferring money, sucks that it takes a few days, but its a great option to have! If you are able to set up a RBC account for the US, it makes things even easier when it comes to transferring money. I did't actually open the account, my husband did but it seemed like it was super easy.

Also random side note not about EI - when you are purchasing things online, there are places that will take a Canadian bank card that has the visa logo. I had my husband set up on my ATT account with his canadian card and he could make payments through the online system. So sometimes instead of transferring money, I would just have him pay a bill directly or make a purchase on amazon or whatever.

Edited July 29, 2014 by gwenstar

[thatangela 134]

Question..

I just got a job on Monday, right now I am only training so I have 2 short shifts a week, until August 25 when I go to 32 hours a week. When I do my report on Friday..they ask if I worked.. I say yes. They ask if I got a full time job during that perioud... I would say no, right? Because it is part time? Will I still get a portion of my payment since I am not working as much as I did at home?

Yes, you say "no" to full-time. You are allowed to collect -- I'm trying to remember what the cap is ... ugh -- $250 per week in pay without it affecting your claim.

Ed note: That's at least for self-employed people. It looks like it's different for regular employment:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#Working

Edited July 29, 2014 by thatangela

[thatangela 134]

My situation is a tad different. My employer and I came to a mutual agreement that my job sucked and he could get his daughter to do my job for much less money. (Don't ask ... and be careful about working for shady-looking startups.)

So I already have an active EI claim. I opened it the same week we sent in my I-129F. I should have enough hours to get me through the CSC process (#fingerscrossed) and then some. I don't want to tell EI what I'm up to with my immigration until it's absolutely necessary (Vancouver interview complete, or at least scheduled).

I suppose at that point I will have to suspend my claim and then re-start when I get my EA?

Has anyone been through a similar experience?