Citizenship application sent last month, hubby got a job offer from US

[Millu]

Frankly my suspicion is that the lawyer didn't look very closely at your case or understand it.

*But I'm not a lawyer, so please take all advice under consideration and make sure you understand any risks.

You already applied. Your PR status is safe. Even if CIC decides to archive your application for the next 2-3 years, you're not really losing anything by keeping the application going. The worst risk seems to be that you will get an RQ or a last minute test invitation that you'll have to drive all night to keep. Neither of these is the end of the world.

Just be sure to keep your documents related to your time in Canada in order in case of RQ. Don't throw out old bank statements or leases or hydro bills or traffic tickets. Keep track of any entries and exits to Canada.

Good luck.

Even if the CIC puts the "Intent to Reside" clause into force soon and applies it to your case, I don't see it being a big problem

Thank you!!
What intent to recide means and what problems it may cause?

 

[dpenabill]

Tried to look posts and got some answers, but wanna make sure i understand everything correctly before taking action or making decisions.
Hubby is Canadian, so is my son.
We will return Canada, but now my husband got offer from OH that companies in On cant offer him atm.
I would use my inlaws mailing address, they are 1.5h from Windsor. I would trust them to open my mail to be able to deliver the message from CIC asap.
I am stay at home mom, can drive across the border with short notice.
I can maintain my pr aboard right, since hubby is canadian. again using my inlaws address can order new card right? go early enough or get it mailed to me before current one expires.

What would be biggest concerns what comes to citizenship application and the renewing pr application?

The very good responses by eileenf cover this and most of your other queries quite well, but for clarification I do have some additional observations.



Additional observations:

Regarding "What would be biggest concerns [for] renewing pr application"

PRs do not "renew" PR. There is no application to renew PR status. Most references to "renewing pr" are made understanding this, understanding that the reference is actually about an application to renew the PR card, more precisely an application for a PR card to replace an expired (or soon to expire) PR card.

But the distinction warrants a reminder, some emphasis for clarification, particularly in regards to a PR living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse. There is no need to renew the PR card. PR status continues. The PR continues to remain in good status because, as noted, a PR gets credit toward the PR residency obligation (not toward citizenship) for time spent living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse.

CIC restricts eligibility for a new PR card to PRs in Canada. This does not, in any way, compromise the PR's status as a PR, so long as the PR remains admissible by complying with the PR residency obligation (met by living with citizen spouse for example) and, of course, not engaging in any criminal activity or otherwise becoming a security threat (such as supporting or participating in a terrorist organization, organized crime enterprise, or criminal gang). There may be some inconvenience, mostly due to not having a PR card when attempting to travel commercially to Canada, but travel to Canada from the U.S. by private vehicle should be no problem at all.

There is the temptation to use the address of a friend or family member, in Canada, for purposes of applying for a new PR card. It appears many do this, many without encountering a problem. But it is rarely worth the risk of fudging information you give to CIC just to avoid the inconvenience of not having a currently valid PR card. When dealing with CIC, your credibility is one of your most important assets, it is not worth risking the compromise of your credibility, and this is especially true while you have a citizenship application in process.



Regarding "What would be biggest concerns [for] the citizenship application"

This, I assume, is the main question you have. And again, eileenf's very good responses largely cover what needs to be known.

And I concur in what I perceive to be eileenf's assurances, but with some caveats:

Yes, of course you need to tell the CIC the truth about your living situation if you get an RQ. If you are worried about the negative repercussions of telling them the truth, it is really important to talk to a lawyer to better understand any risks involved with being honest and appropriately weigh them against the risks of misrepresentation (loss of credibility, further delays and investigations, and in extreme cases revocation of citizenship).

The caveats are related to the cautionary observation by CanadianCountry and what I am guessing is the source of your concern based on what you have read in posts in other topics.

This alludes to what is probably best summed up in eileenf's statement:

"Living abroad is a hurdle for some people in the timely processing of their citizenship applications but not a problem for others. CIC internal documents show that there is confusion within CIC about how to process the applications of those living abroad, so no one on here can tell you exactly how your application will proceed."

It is very difficult to clearly articulate how differently things can go or what makes the difference in how things go.

What is left out of the information at CIC, linked by thecoolguysam, is that CIC often targets applicants who are living abroad while the application is pending. When in the course of processing a citizenship application CIC ascertains or perceives that the applicant is living abroad, at least some of the time, and it appears to actually be more in nature of much or even most of the time, CIC elevates scrutiny and issues RQ, and in processing the RQ'd application, CIC can tend to be very strict if not harsh, tending to look for excuses to deny citizenship (such as a reason to conclude the applicant failed to adequately prove all time purportedly spent in Canada).

CIC's attitude about this is illustrated by the fact that the law passed last year (but not in effect as yet), the SCCA, will impose an intent-to-continue-residing-in-Canada requirement. Once that takes effect (which will not apply to any application already in process, and thus will not apply to yours), it will essentially give CIC a ground to deny citizenship to any applicant who is living abroad after applying even though the applicant met all the requirements at the time of applying. (It would be impossible to intend to continue living in Canada if the individual is not currently living in Canada.)

This is this government's typical shotgun approach in dealing with a small target: immigrants the government perceives to be in pursuit of citizenship of convenience, those more interested in obtaining the Canadian passport than in having an enduring commitment to Canada.

While the intent-to-continue-residing-in-Canada requirement is not yet in force, and does not formally apply to you, for several years now CIC has appeared to be doing its best to practically attain the same result . . . again, at least in some cases, maybe many cases, perhaps even most cases.

This is all discussed in some depth in various topics that talk about leaving Canada after applying.

And this leads back to the observation by eileenf that "Living abroad is a hurdle for some people in the timely processing of their citizenship applications but not a problem for others."

I emphatically agree. I also tend to think (as it appears eileenf does as well) that your particular situation tends to NOT be so problematic in this regard, that in your situation the bias against applicants going abroad while the application is pending is likely NOT to be a problem.

But that depends on a number of things, like showing up for a scheduled test or interview, for which the amount of notice can be remarkably short. (The forums are full of reports of mail being collected by family or friends and not opened in time for the applicant to make the scheduled appearance.) It depends too on all other elements in the application being in good order: as eileenf stated: ". . . you need to tell the CIC the truth . . . "

Why my (totally NON-expert) opinion leans toward this scenario not being problematic for you, despite the many horror stories about applicants who run into big problems in connection with living abroad while the application is in process (for an example, see the recent report by such an applicant in another forum posted at the immigration.ca site), is complicated. And there are more than a few contingencies, variable factors which can tip things one way or the other.



Which leads to the lawyer's observations:

Hubbys company immigration lawyer adviced not to take the job and wait my citizenship process to go thru before taking a job... ummm.. he said it wont go thru and is messy process.

Relative to this I do not agree with the observation by eileenf but I can easily see why that observation was offered.

Frankly my suspicion is that the lawyer didn't look very closely at your case or understand it.

Lawyers tend to be conservative. There are, of course, exceptions, particularly in situations where the client's interests demand a more aggressive approach despite risks, or where a lawyer is otherwise engaged in an effort to advance a particular legal theory despite the risks.

But in terms of general opinion, particularly a lawyer in a position providing services to clients on behalf of another party (such as a lawyer retained by a corporation offering services for the corporation's employees), the lawyer will give the safe opinion.

And, right now, the safe opinion is that living abroad while a citizenship application is pending risks CIC elevating the level of scrutiny, imposing RQ, being skeptical if not outright oppositional in assessing residency, resulting in, as the lawyer said, a messy process with a significant risk citizenship will be denied.

But, again, your circumstances are different from what CIC is really concerned about. And things should go OK, to a successful outcome, so long as you show up for all scheduled events, and so long as you can well-document your life in Canada during the relevant time period, including strong proof of actually being present in Canada for both more than 1095 days during the relevant four years, and for all the days you declared in your residency calculation. (The latter is important because if you fail to prove all the days you declared, then CIC can infer your account of time in Canada is not reliable, and thus you have failed to prove residency.)


You have already applied. So the decision now is really about whether to take the job in the U.S., live abroad, or to not go abroad. Either way you stay with the application, tell the truth when asked questions, make a concerted effort to show up on time for scheduled events, and if given RQ be diligent, thorough, and truthful, submitting extensive supporting documentation.

In the meantime, as eileenf also suggested, be sure to gather and maintain all the evidence of your time in Canada you can.

No need to rush out and get another lawyer now. Another lawyer might give you a slightly different opinion than the corporate lawyer, but again the application is in process. Sure, it would be safer to stay in Canada but there are probably other considerations, with more priority, for making that decision. If there are strong reasons to make the move, it is probably worth the risk.

But of course all this is just one more anonymous dude's internet opinion.

You can wait to see if you get RQ'd, and if you do, that is when you probably will want to see a lawyer for yourself. That's down the road awhile, so no rush.

And you may sail through the process without a bump.