After six years in the United States on an H-1B visa, which was set to expire, I was preparing to return to India to await word on my I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) application. At that time, the emerging COVID-19 pandemic had shut down international air travel and I found myself stuck in Boston. I worked with my US employer to find an option that would keep me working with them in the same time zone. My attorney had heard of the MobSquad solution, he contacted them, and we drove from Boston to Halifax to start the process.
Relocating to Halifax was as easy as shifting to another city in the United States. With Mobsquad I am still working with the same company and managing the same projects and clients. Many of my clients don’t even know that I have moved to Canada. They still call me on my Boston office extension, and I receive their calls on my cellphone here in Canada. My Halifax time zone is one hour ahead of Boston, so I even have more time to interact with Team India.
MobSquad was very helpful in getting the visa work done in a couple of months even with restrictions imposed by COVID, like closed immigration offices and slow responses. They have tools to make everything so easy. My visa application was approved in three days. Any delay was due to the Visa Application Centers being closed for fingerprinting.
My family has adapted to life in Halifax with no problems. In the US, my kids were sitting at home attending schools via Zoom. Here they are happier now as they are going to school every day and have made many new friends. Through MobSquad, my wife got an open work permit here and now she has a job. She couldn’t get a work permit in the US even after six years, so she is liking Canada even more than me.
People are welcoming in Canada and we have made many good friends. Though I miss my old cricket team, the Chelmsford Chargers, and my cricket friends in the US, I joined a cricket club here. With things in Canada being so similar to the US, the transition was easy.
MobSquad eliminated my continuous anxiety about US visa issues and are helping me on the way to my Permanent Residency status here in Canada.
What matters most to me is the happiness of my family, and this played a big role in my successful move to Canada. I am thankful to my former employer as well as MobSquad for making this possible.