Immigration: Moving to Canada via Express Entry

My Canadian Immigration Journey.

It has been a bit over 2 years since I moved to Canada, and what an amazing journey it has been so far. I had lived in US on H1b for almost 6 years, which was also the max-amount of time one can stay there as a worker unless they had green card sponsorship. I have been living in downtown Toronto since I moved here and honestly – one of the best decisions I ever made.

Living in US with uncertainty as an immigrant

Given my uncertainty as an immigrant in US as a result of long queues to get a green card, and more importantly the significant limitations on being on H1b – I had been looking at Canada immigration as an alternative for a long time, and even attempted to look to move to Canada in earlier years of my H1B. In my earlier years, I didn’t have enough work experience so would not have qualified for Express Entry skilled workers requirements. With my H1b almost expiring and getting a green card becoming unrealistic – I ended up applying for Express Entry in 2017 and had 4XX points.

Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

After getting all the documentation (which is quite straightforward) and submitting my application – I got an invite for the Ontario’s PNP program. If accepted, I would have an additional 600 points, which would put me well over the requirements of whatever minimum score I needed to get an invitation to apply for Permanent Residency via Express Entry.

The application process of going through Ontario’s PNP was quite rigorous and time-consuming and I finally did end up getting the 600 points and getting myself invited to Express Entry in the next invitation round itself. Getting documents all over again for express entry (significantly less effort as I did majority of the legwork during PNP nomination) and applying my application was less of a pain than waiting for my application to be reviewed and approved.

Getting Permanent Residency approved

I remember getting the Passport Request in February of 2018 and being absolutely jubilant. Within 2 weeks, I sent my passport for Permanent Residency visa stamping, and landing in Canada the first week of March. It took me 7 months solid after applying for Express Entry and landing in Canada.

Living in Canada has its challenges, but it has been a very rewarding experience – even more if you think about the fact that I have put behind visa worries which was a constant theme of my life.