My Story of Failing to Obtain H-1B Multiple Times. Getting Canada Work Permit as Software Engineer. My Canada Work Permit Journey Step-by-Step
My name is Kimcoder(?) and I am a South Korean and have been living abroad since 2007. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley as a computer science major and worked as a software engineer in San Francisco on Optimal Practical Training (OPT) and OPT STEM.
While on my OPT/OPT STEM , my employer sponsored my H-1B. Despite my employer sponsoring my H-1B multiple times, I never won the H-1B lottery. I vividly remember the moment when my lawyer told me that they had not received any receipt number for my petition. It had been almost 1.5 to 2 months since the lottery draw. If my petition had picked from the lottery, I would already have gotten a receipt number. My anxiety broke out and I did not leave my house the entire weekend. I hid from everyone and started worrying about my future — what happens to my relationship with my boyfriend? how can I re-adjust myself to South Korea if I need to go back? what if I can’t find a new job? will a new city be welcoming and exciting? That weekend was an emotional roller-coaster ride. It was clear that I had to step up and look elsewhere to continue my journey as a software engineer.
I woke up as usual to go to work after going through that stressful weekend. I had a cup of cold water, and checked the daily news on my phone. This was my morning ritual at the time. While I was scrolling down for interesting news, one title caught my attention — It was about Canada streamlining the immigration process for software engineers. This piece of news changed my life from 0 to 1 in an instant. Obviously, if I could go to Canada, it would be the best-case scenario because I would not be too far from my boyfriend (now husband) — and Canada is similar to the U.S.A. culturally. On that day, I made it my goal to immigrate to Canada.
At the time, I didn’t know anyone around me preparing to immigrate to Canada. Most of my U.S. friends didn’t have to worry about the immigration and a lot of my foreigner friends and acquaintances had received their H-1Bs successfully. I felt like I was alone. Moreover, I couldn’t find a lot of resources online as someone who is South Korean but has studied and worked in the United States for the last 10 years. That’s why I decided to start writing about my journey from the U.S.A. to Canada as a software engineer, hoping that this story could help somebody in a similar situation.
Before discussing my Canadian work permit journey, I’d like to give you a brief explanation about my situation at the time so that you have some background to understand that situation fully. By the Summer of 2017, I had been working for a startup for a while. My OPT STEM was about to expire so I had about 4 months to get everything set and start my journey in Canada. Also, my search was limited to Canada because I really wanted my relationship to work out (It was totally worth it!), but, in case things did not unfold like I wanted, I also interviewed for companies in Singapore, Germany, and the United Kingdom. After interviewing relentlessly for a month while working full-time, I had offers from Canada, Singapore and Germany. Without a second thought, I accepted the job offer in Canada (it was for a U.S. company with multiple branch offices around the world). Soon after that, the company assigned me a lawyer to start the work permit process.
Now, let’s talk about the work permit timeline and my journey step-by-step.
*Disclaimer — This is my personal immigration story and should not be taken as legal advice. Your situation may differ, please do the necessary research.*
My Work Permit Timeline (approx. took 4 months)
Work Permit Process Step-by-Step
Assigned a lawyer, Preparing Documents — Here’s a list of documents I had to prepare.
- Photocopy of your Passport (The passport should be valid for at least 1 year)
- Copy of your current up-to-date Resume/ CV
- Copies of immigration document(s) for current country of residence (if currently residing outside of your country of citizenship)
- A Photocopy of University Degree / Diploma
- Copy of your signed job offer letter.
- A questionnaire requested by the lawyer
The list is shorter than others who have an accompanying family so it’s important to double check what additional documents are required for that case. I was single and didn’t have an accompanying family at the time. Once I prepared the documents above, my lawyer finished everything. Compared to my other immigration journeys (U.S. K-1, U.S. F-1, Canada Express Entry), it was more manageable.
Advertisement Period — This was a confusing process for me in the beginning. I wasn’t aware that Canada requires Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) which protects the Canadian labor market from foreign workers. Before my employer applied for my LMIA, they had to advertise the position I was accepted for at least 4 weeks in the local Canadian labor market. If they could not find a local resource for it after the advertisement period, the employer can continue to apply for a LMIA. When you first hear this, it’s scary. There’s a chance that a local Canadian resource can take the position and you might have to start the entire process again. My other offers from the other companies were already expired by then so my only way-out was to get the work permit successfully in Canada. One great thing during 2017 was that my employer was expanding greatly in Vancouver so they had more positions available than hirable local resources. Because of this, my lawyer told me submitting a LMIA for me should not be an issue.
LMIA Applied — After a certain advertisement period has passed, the lawyer decides whether or not they can move forward with applying for my LMIA. My lawyer didn’t give me too much details on when and how they decided so I can’t really talk much about that. However, they mentioned that it might take at least 8 weeks to 24 weeks to get a LMIA approved. The approval rate can vary depending on an applicant’s background and experience level. Thus, it was hard to tell when I could get mine approved. Regardless, the only thing you can do is wait. So I did.
LMIA Approved & eTA Applied — I didn’t have a tracking number to check my LMIA status. When it was approved, my lawyer notified me. It was approved in about 1.5–2 months since my LMIA was submitted by the lawyer. At this stage of the process, all I need was to check in with my lawyer to verify the documents and prepare for a “port of entry” (which I will talk about right after this section). My departure and start date of my new job was confirmed at this time. To enter Canada, I applied for eTA (electric travel authorization) which is a travel authorization for citizens from visa-waiver countries with Canada. My lawyer told me to apply for this because I would need it for the port of entry. It was quick and easy and took me about 10 hours to get my eTA approved.
Preparing Port of Entry Documents — A LMIA approval is not a visa. I had to take the proof of my approved LMIA and other supporting documents that my lawyer allocated and then do a port of entry. Here’s a list of the additional documents I had to collect for the port of entry.
- Reference letters from previous employers
- Port of Entry fee (cash/credit card)
The most difficult part of this step was to get the reference letters. I had a template for the letter but my past employers would send the reference letter in their own format so I had to go back and forth to fix the letters to comply with the Canadian immigration.
Before Departing — Once previous steps were completed and my lawyer sent a packet with my LMIA supporting documents, I booked a one-way flight to Vancouver, Canada. On my departure date, the airline made me sign a waiver because I technically didn’t have a visa to enter Canada and there’s a possibility that my entry could be denied. Again, I started thinking about the worst case scenario and was worried about signing the waiver. At the end of the day, it was a process that everyone has to go through so I signed it and left my home country with 2 suitcases — I was into a minimalistic lifestyle in 2017 so all my stuff fit into 2 suitcases.
Port of Entry — When I got off from the plane, I was impressed by how clean the Vancouver airport was. I followed the crowd and lined up for the customs inspection as the rest of people from the plane would do. When I approached an officer, I had to clearly indicate that I was there to do a “port of entry” not to enter as a tourist. Apparently, I could mistakenly enter as a tourist if I didn’t clarify so my lawyer made sure I mentioned this. The officer guided me to the 2nd inspection room, which was right in front of the customs line. I walked into the room, patiently waiting for my turn. Although my flight arrived in the early afternoon, the room was pretty empty — I think it was because my arrival was right after the New Year’s Day. An officer called me and took my passport and the document stack that my lawyer prepared for me. I was expecting the process would be long and stressful; but, to my relief, the officer asked a couple of questions and finished it quickly. The next thing was to pay a fee for the “port of entry” right outside the 2nd inspection room.
Overall, the experience was pleasant and less hassle than the other immigration processes I went through for the past 13 years of my life. I know it could be difficult for a lot of people who might have to find their way out of the USA due to H1B-related issues. I will write more stories about my journey from the USA to Canada and how I obtained my Canadian permanent residency in 6 months. Also, to people who might be forced into a long-distance relationship with their loved ones because of the immigration issue, I will share my own long-distance relationship experience in another post.
