Visitor visa extension application pending while legal status in Canada changes

[azeemguy]

Posting in this section for quicker response :

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 visitor visa 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 visitor B1/B2 visa is still in process ? Can I withdraw my application or anything else ? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers !

[azeemguy]

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 ?

[peace999]

a visitor visa refusal has no bearing on an immigrant visa application ( except for those who are caught lying /misrepresenting).
So, even if you leave it like that ( under process) , it won't matter. No one is going to ask you why you did not follow it thru.Even if someone did, a very simple reason can be you decided to immigrate .( visitor visa success requires a non- immigrant intent), so you left it like that.

That said, 221g can and most likely will come into play again for an immigrant visa as well.
To avoid that , enter US on your canadian passport and adjust status to US green card in US avoiding the consular process and hence a 221g.
If you will have problems entering on your canadian passport based on your pending 221g as a Pak citizen, I think not. But I am not too sure; either try entering US as a canadian or talk to an attorney to be sure.

[azeemguy]

a visitor visa refusal has no bearing on an immigrant visa application ( except for those who are caught lying /misrepresenting).
So, even if you leave it like that ( under process) , it won't matter. No one is going to ask you why you did not follow it thru.Even if someone did, a very simple reason can be you decided to immigrate .( visitor visa success requires a non- immigrant intent), so you left it like that.

That said, 221g can and most likely will come into play again for an immigrant visa as well.
To avoid that , enter US on your canadian passport and adjust status to US green card in US avoiding the consular process and hence a 221g.
If you will have problems entering on your canadian passport based on your pending 221g as a Pak citizen, I think not. But I am not too sure; either try entering US as a canadian or talk to an attorney to be sure.

Interesting. Thank you for your valuable input. Can you point me to the right direction and let me know where can I find details about how to adjust status to green card in US avoiding the consular process ? Any help will be much appreciated.

[peace999]

there is another issue you must be aware of; though a lot of people adjust to green card through marriage to a USC after entering as a visitor , there is a certain amount of theoretical risk; when you say you are visiting US, and then apply for a green card , it can be construed as misrepresentation. Especially when you are already married.
I strongly suggest you talk to an attorney before taking any such decision. I have sent you names of a couple of good ones on PM here. Good luck.