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Anxiety! Not ready to move to Canada permanently, alternatives?

Express Entry
#1

Hello,

I’m in the Bay Area on H1B and have submitted my express entry application couple of months ago, expecting a COPR by April, medicals expire in Sept 2021. My plan was basically to finish soft-landing first and move to Canada IF AND WHEN I land a job (Don’t want to risk US job in search of Canada job).

But looking at the current trend, seems like soft-landing is no longer an option? What does it really mean?

  1. Are we “forced” to move before medicals expire? Will we lose the PR entirely if we don’t initiate permanent move?
  2. Are they automatically extending expiry for any COPRs issued? That is, do they assume 2021 is another COVID year so they simply send us a COPR that expires in 2022?
  3. Has anyone responded to IRCC saying they’re not ready to move permanently anytime soon? Can we keep extending the expiration endlessly as long as the pandemic situation is same.

Just trying to assess and plan my life for the next 1-2 years. Any inputs would be highly appreciated.

#2

I’m not qualified to respond to your question on this thread but just wanted to ask a question related to COPR. I thought IRCC is only selecting applicants for COPR that are already in Canada because of COVID lockdowns. Is that not the case ?
If you are in H1B in USA was your application still considered even though you just submitted express entry application just two months ago or you just submitted the documents but were already selected based on your points a while back.

Thanks!

#3

Not sure about the first part of your question, since I don’t know anyone who applied in the last 6-7 months or so. It’s a good point though.

We submitted the application and got selected in one of the draws in November. Our score was 470+ so we got the ITA right after the draw. We were able to submit the express entry application and even got an update on the next steps i.e biometrics. I know they had halted the express entry draws altogether sometime in 2020, so it all depends on that cycle. The more frequently they conduct the draw, the more chances of you getting picked for ITA. Either way, there’s nothing I know of that says you can’t submit an application.

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#4

@mnirp Sorry I don’t have answers to 1,2 and 3 but with regards to your concern regarding a job, you could start looking now, and on an average you should be able to find a job in 3-4 months if you have a PR. If you get a job you are happy with, you could move permanently before September.

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#5

How do you know if your application will be approved by April? For my brother (From Sydney, Australia) it took around 4 months. For one of my friends in the US, it took him 8 months.

#6

@gadaakhil when did your brother and friend complete their applications and submit? Was it during COVID times or before? We are in the same boat of having submitted our final app in October. Our estimated completion date in our portal is April, but who knows if that’s accurate. I’m from the US and I’m applying as a joint app with my partner who is French.

#7

They show us a rough estimate (progress bar) when we login into our application.

#8

Do you know if it’s a good idea to apply for jobs in Canada from US?

#9

@mnirp certainly! Many people start applying for jobs in Canada before leaving the US and in fact land job before moving.