Living in the US as a Canadian PR

[YouMissedMyHeart]

Hey all,

My husband is an American PR here. Our rental home in Canada is getting sold and we're considering moving to the states to benefit from cheaper housing opportunities since buying here is insane.

Does anyone know if this is possible to do for him as a PR? I'm a Canadian- from what I understand if he's living with me I count as an extension of Canada?

I'll have to look into whether or not I can even live in the states and commute into Canada for work but right now we're looking for any info at all re: what this would do for his PR status and ability to apply for citizenship in the future.

Thank you

 

[scylla]

Hey all,

My husband is an American PR here. Our rental home in Canada is getting sold and we're considering moving to the states to benefit from cheaper housing opportunities since buying here is insane.

Does anyone know if this is possible to do for him as a PR? I'm a Canadian- from what I understand if he's living with me I count as an extension of Canada?

I'll have to look into whether or not I can even live in the states and commute into Canada for work but right now we're looking for any info at all re: what this would do for his PR status and ability to apply for citizenship in the future.

Thank you

If you live together outside of Canada, he will be able to keep his PR status. However when it comes to applying for citizenship, this won't be possible until he lives the three years in Canada. He will not be able to qualify for citizenship living outside of Canada.

You can't "live" in the US as a Canadian. You'll need to get status in the US that allows you to do this. Most likely this means your American husband will need to sponsor you for green card status. Suggest you look into this asap since this could be a real barrier to your plans.

 

[YouMissedMyHeart]

If you live together outside of Canada, he will be able to keep his PR status. However when it comes to applying for citizenship, this won't be possible until he lives the three years in Canada. He will not be able to qualify for citizenship living outside of Canada.

You can't "live" in the US as a Canadian. You'll need to get status in the US that allows you to do this. Most likely this means your American husband will need to sponsor you for green card status. Suggest you look into this asap since this could be a real barrier to your plans.

Thank you for the quick info! Yeah, I'm currently looking into that. I asked around at work and people were mentioning that there are Canadians that with live with Americans and commute into Canada with some sort of work visa but it didn't make a ton of sense for me.

 

[scylla]

Thank you for the quick info! Yeah, I'm currently looking into that. I asked around at work and people were mentioning that there are Canadians that with live with Americans and commute into Canada with some sort of work visa but it didn't make a ton of sense for me.

Yes, I would focus on resolving this asap.

You won't be able to do this on visitor status in the US and you should expect problems re-entering the US at some point (likely sooner rather than later). A work permit is not the right solution since you will be working in Canada and not for an employer in the US. IMO you need to go the green card route with your spouse sponsoring you. However this takes time.

 

[YouMissedMyHeart]

Yes, I would focus on resolving this asap.

You won't be able to do this on visitor status in the US and you should expect problems re-entering the US at some point (likely sooner rather than later). A work permit is not the right solution since you will be working in Canada and not for an employer in the US. IMO you need to go the green card route with your spouse sponsoring you. However this takes time.

I think the best thing for us to do is to get him to finish getting his citizenship and then he can sponsor me there in the future. Housing isn't going to be cheap but we can at least pop out kids in a country with free health care lol

 

[MJSPARV]

I think the best thing for us to do is to get him to finish getting his citizenship and then he can sponsor me there in the future. Housing isn't going to be cheap but we can at least pop out kids in a country with free health care lol

Heads up as an American with family members who've gotten green cards... It's a long process and the US is very strict about entering the US while you're in the application process (i.e. expect that you can't and that trying may negatively impact your green card app). I know this is a Canadian immigration forum not US immigration forum, but you definitely should look very very carefully into what you're signing up for process/restriction wise if you apply for a US green card

 

[canuck78]

Hey all,

My husband is an American PR here. Our rental home in Canada is getting sold and we're considering moving to the states to benefit from cheaper housing opportunities since buying here is insane.

Does anyone know if this is possible to do for him as a PR? I'm a Canadian- from what I understand if he's living with me I count as an extension of Canada?

I'll have to look into whether or not I can even live in the states and commute into Canada for work but right now we're looking for any info at all re: what this would do for his PR status and ability to apply for citizenship in the future.

Thank you

If you are the one moving for your husband’s job and you commute to work in Canada there are no guarantees you’ll be able to count days spent with you towards RO for PR. Time with Canadian spouse is supposed to count if the move out of Canada is due to the Canadian. If you moved to the US due to your job opportunity then his time would count. Whether

 

[YouMissedMyHeart]

Heads up as an American with family members who've gotten green cards... It's a long process and the US is very strict about entering the US while you're in the application process (i.e. expect that you can't and that trying may negatively impact your green card app). I know this is a Canadian immigration forum not US immigration forum, but you definitely should look very very carefully into what you're signing up for process/restriction wise if you apply for a US green card

this is very helpful, thank you. we're looking at getting a lawyer to discuss our options since we live in a border town.
let me know if you know a good US immigration forum!

If you are the one moving for your husband’s job and you commute to work in Canada there are no guarantees you’ll be able to count days spent with you towards RO for PR. Time with Canadian spouse is supposed to count if the move out of Canada is due to the Canadian. If you moved to the US due to your job opportunity then his time would count. Whether

Did not know this- thanks for the info. Would it make a difference if he's been employed there for a while and we're just moving because we can't afford real estate here? I think the consensus is we're going to wait until he gets his citizenship anyway but it would be good to know.

 

[scylla]

Did not know this- thanks for the info. Would it make a difference if he's been employed there for a while and we're just moving because we can't afford real estate here? I think the consensus is we're going to wait until he gets his citizenship anyway but it would be good to know.

No, this won't make a difference. Real estate prices are irrelevant to the residency obligation.