CAN I MAINTIAN US GREENCARD AND THE CANADIAN PR CARD AT THE SAME TIME?

[shoki]

Hi,
I live in America and I have US Greencard and I just got my Canadian PR visa. So I just have a question that if I get my Canadian PR card would it affect my status in America as a Greencard holder? Would I have any difficulties mainting both of my cards?

 

[deweysmith]

Hi,
I live in America and I have US Greencard and I just got my Canadian PR visa. So I just have a question that if I get my Canadian PR card would it affect my status in America as a Greencard holder? Would I have any difficulties mainting both of my cards?

The existence of one does not affect the other. They both have residency requirements that must be met. I'm not familiar with the rules around the US green card but in order to maintain Canadian Permanent Residency you must reside in Canada for a 2 year period in the last 5 years.

 

[747-captain]

Hi,
I live in America and I have US Greencard and I just got my Canadian PR visa. So I just have a question that if I get my Canadian PR card would it affect my status in America as a Greencard holder? Would I have any difficulties mainting both of my cards?

It will be virtually IMPOSSIBLE to maintain both American and Canadian Permanent Residence because of residency requirements, as has been stated in the post above me.

I'm much more familiar with the US green card requirements:

First you are at a very high risk of losing your permanent residence if you live outside the US for 180 days or over each year. This is a sort of "unwritten rule" that immigration officers use when admitting you into the country. Technically you can stay outside the US for more than 180 days, but you need a really STRONG reason (medical problems etc.) to apply for special permission. This is called a re-entry permit (a version of the advance parole). But you can pretty much do this only once. So in the long run this will not work.

Keep in mind unlike Canada which has a well defined (I'm assuming, I'm not sure about this) "2 year out of 5 year rule", the US uses an "intent-based" rule. This means if it looks like you did not intend to make the US your permanent home, they could revoke your green card at any time. So just having Canadian PR could be grounds for them revoking your US PR.

This "intent" rule is also why you have to file US Taxes as a RESIDENT, every single year, to keep permanent residence. (keep in mind both US citizens and permanent residents have to pay taxes - over $100,000 of income - to the IRS regardless of where that income was earned.). This requirement itself will make it impossible to maintain both PRs.

So, the bottom line is you might be able to hang to both PRs for a couple of years using some of the above tricks, but in the long run you will inevitably have to give up one of them. Also if you plan on getting Citizenship, you will never ever be able to do this in either country because again you will not have met the residency requirements (and these are far more demanding than the PR ones)!

And finally, if it were me and I had a choice (and this is just my personal view), I would most definitely keep the US green card. There is simply no comparison - the decision would not even be close.

Economically speaking the US is a 1000 times better place to live in. Everything is super hyper expensive in Canada (meaning a humongous part of your paycheck would go for expenses). Some things are not even remotely comparable. Eg: I pay $60/month for car insurance here. I've heard car insurance in Canada (say Toronto) is something like $200/month. That is a shocking 300%+ more than here

Then to add insult to injury salaries are lower there. Factor in the exchange rate (currently at a pathetic 78c to the US dollar) and you can begin to see where this is leading. Thirdly, not only are everyday items 20 to 30% more expensive, but to once again add insult to injury you pay a whopping 13% sales tax ON TOP OF that!!!.

Now I can see the argument for the higher sales taxes, but the reason things are more expensive TO BEGIN WITH, is because they don't have much competition there. A few companies have monopolies on everything and they have to essentially pay what is rammed down their throats.

 

[ttrajan]

Very difficult to maintain both PR,s in the long run. If you stay 7 months in USA and 5 months in Canada every year, then it may be possible? You need to stay 2 out of 5 years in Canada to retain your PR status. Stay in Canada during summer and USA during winter.

 

[deweysmith]

One tip: If you are married a Canadian you retain your Canadian PR no matter where you live, as long as you live with them… this includes the United States. Do note, however, that this time does not count towards citizenship.

 

[747-captain]

Very difficult to maintain both PR,s in the long run. If you stay 7 months in USA and 5 months in Canada every year, then it may be possible? You need to stay 2 out of 5 years in Canada to retain your PR status. Stay in Canada during summer and USA during winter.

Theoretically that would be possible, because if you stay outside the US for less than 180 days, then from an "intent" point of view, the US is assumed to be your de facto residence. However, I cannot think of an employer who would allow a person to do something like this.

So, unless the OP was a millionaire without need for employment, self-employed with a type of business that allows this flexibility, or a retired person without any work obligations, this would not be a feasible option in practice! Most regular employed Joes like me would not be able to pull off something like this

Personally, I think the OP was just asking if they would simply just be able to keep both PRs without going to any extremes!

 

[nishant322]

What about commuter green card ? I read about it yesterday you could get a commuter green card in the US and then once you become Canadian citizen, you convert to full green card. With a commuter green card you don't need to maintain residency in US but need to be a commuter, daily,weekly or seasonal and that you need to have a job in US.

 

[747-captain]

What about commuter green card ? I read about it yesterday you could get a commuter green card in the US and then once you become Canadian citizen, you convert to full green card. With a commuter green card you don't need to maintain residency in US but need to be a commuter, daily,weekly or seasonal and that you need to have a job in US.

You're absolutely correct. I completely forgot about "commuter status". As long as one can prove they have "regular and stable" employment in the US, that should work.

But it still appears very restrictive to me from an employment perspective. While there is no limitation on where the employment can be, it would be realistically impossible to work "on a regular basis" at a place which is not within "commuting distance" of the border! Places like Buffalo and Detroit seem to be the only choices. And we all know that Detroit is not exactly an employment seekers paradise :

Another important point however, is that the time spent in commuter status does not count towards residency requirements for citizenship.