Citizenship / U.S. business

[debysousa]

I've applied for my citizenship after living in Canada since 2006 as PR, arrived in 2005.
I travel a lot and I am self employed so I think that cause me to get a RQ, Ive just completed it and am sending it back. I believe I have a very strong response as I have been living in Canada and have all documents to proof it such as lease agreements from all residencies in the years (2010/2014), lease agreements from business that I have had during the period, tax filling, back letter saying I have had an active account with them since 2007 with average over 30 transactions a month, personal doctor letter saying Im his patient since 2007...(my health record didn't arrive but I am sending after).
This year I decided to start a business in the U.S. (have already opened a commercial location here) and have spend 4 months here, going back to Canada now for a little bit... I have been advised to apply for a non-immigrant business visa (L1) so I don't have to be limited by the 180 days in the use limitation and I will be ok to work my business here. Its a visa for 1 year with potential to extend for 3 years but its a non immigrant visa so it doesn't lead to a green card.
Would applying for this visa interfere with my citizenship?

If a judge asks, I will be spending more time in the US since I am starting my business here, I have had my business in Canada for over 6 years and still on going (I don't have a physical location there anymore, just my team and I receive income) but I will continue to go spend some time in Canada...however the nature of the visa I would be getting is one of a person that intends and is committing to going back to their country of residency. I have no intention to be a permanent resident in the US. I believe if a judge would interview me they would have no question of my intention in staying in Canada for life as thats the truth.

Any feedbacks/opinions is appreciated. Thanks


We received your application for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship) on September 24, 2014.
We sent you a letter acknowledging receipt of your application(s) on February 12, 2015. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.
We started processing your application on March 2, 2015.
Your file was transferred to the Calgary office on March 31, 2015. The Calgary office will contact you.

 

[dpenabill]

I've applied for my citizenship after living in Canada since 2006 as PR, arrived in 2005.
I travel a lot and I am self employed so I think that cause me to get a RQ, Ive just completed it and am sending it back. I believe I have a very strong response as I have been living in Canada and have all documents to proof it such as lease agreements from all residencies in the years (2010/2014), lease agreements from business that I have had during the period, tax filling, back letter saying I have had an active account with them since 2007 with average over 30 transactions a month, personal doctor letter saying Im his patient since 2007...(my health record didn't arrive but I am sending after).
This year I decided to start a business in the U.S. (have already opened a commercial location here) and have spend 4 months here, going back to Canada now for a little bit... I have been advised to apply for a non-immigrant business visa (L1) so I don't have to be limited by the 180 days in the use limitation and I will be ok to work my business here. Its a visa for 1 year with potential to extend for 3 years but its a non immigrant visa so it doesn't lead to a green card.
Would applying for this visa interfere with my citizenship?

If a judge asks, I will be spending more time in the US since I am starting my business here, I have had my business in Canada for over 6 years and still on going (I don't have a physical location there anymore, just my team and I receive income) but I will continue to go spend some time in Canada...however the nature of the visa I would be getting is one of a person that intends and is committing to going back to their country of residency. I have no intention to be a permanent resident in the US. I believe if a judge would interview me they would have no question of my intention in staying in Canada for life as thats the truth.

Any feedbacks/opinions is appreciated. Thanks


We received your application for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship) on September 24, 2014.
We sent you a letter acknowledging receipt of your application(s) on February 12, 2015. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.
We started processing your application on March 2, 2015.
Your file was transferred to the Calgary office on March 31, 2015. The Calgary office will contact you.

Good news: you have not received a pre-test RQ. You could sail through the process without a wrinkle.

This has a lot to do with the fact that how things go for your application has a lot, lot more to do with the relevant four years in the residency calculation than it does what you did before or after those four years.

The odds of RQ go down considerably if your case is transferred to the local office with no pre-test RQ issued. Only if something comes up or looks awry in the pre-interview check or in the interview itself are you likely to be given RQ. If you do not get RQ, the coast is clear, sailing should be good.


But of course, as you apprehend, if CIC is apprised of your activities abroad that might trigger RQ, and once you are in the RQ'd case queue things can get complicated for an applicant who is spending extended periods of time abroad.

And yes, when it comes time for the interview, it is possible the interviewer will notice and pay attention to the entry of a U.S. visa even though it is dated after you made your citizenship application. Not every one reports that the interviewer examines all pages of all passports. My sense is that most do. My interviewer certainly did. (Quickly, glancing, but there were not that many stamps to examine, as most of my travel was between Canada and the U.S. for which I had only a couple stamps, most stamps pre-dating the relevant four years.)


Time outside the relevant four years:

As I said, the focus of CIC's assessment is specifically on the relevant four years prior to the date the application was submitted.

In particular, what you were doing prior to the four year period is almost totally irrelevant. (Many would think that living in Canada before the four year period would be a positive factor; it is mostly a non-factor.)

The time period after the relevant four years (that is, after applying and while the application is pending) can be relevant, but it cannot be taken directly into account for purposes of the residency calculation itself. Its relevance is not easy to describe, except to say it can have a significant influence on how CIC and a CJ approach assessing you personally and your accounting of facts.

This is mostly about applicants CIC perceives to be in pursuit of a Canadian passport more than becoming an in fact citizen . . . includes those who former Minister Kenney oft referred to as in pursuit of a passport-of-convenience, or those applicants other times described as having applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport.

There is nothing about having applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport which disqualifies an applicant under the currently in effect law (which will govern all applications already submitted), and so that alone is not a reason why CIC or a CJ can deny citizenship. But make no mistake, if CIC perceives this, CIC is likely to make a concerted effort to dig up whatever it can find to justify denying citizenship. And at least some CJs appear inclined to do CIC's bidding in this regard. And at least some Federal Court justices are willing to back them up.

For you in particular, here is the rub: this issue is not about a formal qualification. It is far, far more about appearances and indirect influences. It is more about apprehending that CIC might perceive you to not deserve citizenship and because of that make it a lot more difficult for you.

If for example your application was not already in process but you were to apply later this year after the revised requirements come into force, and were thus subject to the new requirement that the PR applicant must intend to continue to reside in Canada, then it would be more about the actual factual circumstances in the period of time after submitting the application. Difficult to guess how it would go in that case, but I can readily see the focus of attention turning on whether the business in the U.S. was a primary business venture or merely a satellite venture of sorts for what is in large part a Canadian business. If the former, that would likely be a serious problem despite vehement assurances about a plan to continue living in Canada.

But in your case, there is not likely to even be an open discussion about your plans, or what the U.S. business is really about, since technically they are not relevant . . . even though we all know that despite their lack of relevance, the impression CIC has because of this is quite likely to have a significant, if not dominant, influence on how they assess your case.


This leads to what you speculate you could "explain" to a "judge."

You said: If a judge asks, I will be spending more time in the US since I am starting my business here, I have had my business in Canada for over 6 years and still on going (I don't have a physical location there anymore, just my team and I receive income) but I will continue to go spend some time in Canada...however the nature of the visa I would be getting is one of a person that intends and is committing to going back to their country of residency. I have no intention to be a permanent resident in the US. I believe if a judge would interview me they would have no question of my intention in staying in Canada for life as thats the truth.

Most of what determines how things go in your case, and ultimately the outcome, will be sorted out long, long before you ever have an interview with a Citizenship Judge. In other words, most of what affects the outcome in your case will be determined before there is any opportunity for a CJ to even ask about your business and your plans.

Either

-- CIC will be satisfied with the application and your residency, not issue RQ, but rather approve and grant you citizenship as a routinely processed case (the smooth sailing scenario), or

-- CIC will spot the U.S. visa or something else will catch their attention, leading to RQ, leading to a close examination of your CBSA travel history and probably exposing the extent to which you have been outside Canada since applying, leading to elevated scrutiny, delays in processing, and if in CIC's eyes they perceive you to be in pursuit of a passport-of-convenience, or otherwise one who has, in effect, in their eyes, applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport, there is an increased risk that the process will be particularly long with CIC digging for whatever reason might be found to deny citizenship

If the latter happens, years from now you will eventually be scheduled for a hearing with a Citizenship Judge. His or her focus will be on whether or not you proved your residency. His or her attitude will already be largely shaped by the referral submitted by CIC, which will probably largely be a composition of arguments against a finding that you have proven residency. The CJ may or may not be concerned with what you have been doing since applying, but that will not be the critical criteria. I am not saying this will happen, just that there is a risk it might, and if it does, by the time you are in front of a CJ, promises about living in Canada in the future are not going to carry much weight.

 

[pisces123]

I've applied for my citizenship after living in Canada since 2006 as PR, arrived in 2005.
I travel a lot and I am self employed so I think that cause me to get a RQ, Ive just completed it and am sending it back. I believe I have a very strong response as I have been living in Canada and have all documents to proof it such as lease agreements from all residencies in the years (2010/2014), lease agreements from business that I have had during the period, tax filling, back letter saying I have had an active account with them since 2007 with average over 30 transactions a month, personal doctor letter saying Im his patient since 2007...(my health record didn't arrive but I am sending after).
This year I decided to start a business in the U.S. (have already opened a commercial location here) and have spend 4 months here, going back to Canada now for a little bit... I have been advised to apply for a non-immigrant business visa (L1) so I don't have to be limited by the 180 days in the use limitation and I will be ok to work my business here. Its a visa for 1 year with potential to extend for 3 years but its a non immigrant visa so it doesn't lead to a green card.
Would applying for this visa interfere with my citizenship?

If a judge asks, I will be spending more time in the US since I am starting my business here, I have had my business in Canada for over 6 years and still on going (I don't have a physical location there anymore, just my team and I receive income) but I will continue to go spend some time in Canada...however the nature of the visa I would be getting is one of a person that intends and is committing to going back to their country of residency. I have no intention to be a permanent resident in the US. I believe if a judge would interview me they would have no question of my intention in staying in Canada for life as thats the truth.

Any feedbacks/opinions is appreciated. Thanks


We received your application for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship) on September 24, 2014.
We sent you a letter acknowledging receipt of your application(s) on February 12, 2015. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.
We started processing your application on March 2, 2015.
Your file was transferred to the Calgary office on March 31, 2015. The Calgary office will contact you.

I have a similar situation and am worried about the same, any suggestions or inputs will be highly appreciated:

I have applied for my citizenship (December 2014) after completing my 3 years of stay, my case has been transferred to the local office for processing, no RQ received as of yet, but I am concerned of a possibility of an RQ.

I have been running a US based business before I landed to Canada-- I landed here as a landed immigrant (PR).
I run my work remotely out of my home office and I haven't had a need to travel outside Canada.
After landing in Canada I continued to carry on my business and haven't been employed eslewhere, whatever funds we needed for the settlement and towards living cost I withdrew the same from my business and my spouse has took up a job here in Canada.
We have filed the taxes regularly for all the years, bought a house and have transitioned well into life in Canada.
Back then we I never heard about intend to reside clause but recently leaned about the new clause and the C-64 bill which has now become law(though I gather that this in not in force but what I have learned that it can still be applied and is up to the immigration officer to decide).

I am worried about getting a RQ because of this ... can this trigger an RQ? and can this situation be subject to the intend to reside clause ? Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated.

 

[dpenabill]

I have a similar situation and am worried about the same, any suggestions or inputs will be highly appreciated:

I have applied for my citizenship (December 2014) after completing my 3 years of stay, my case has been transferred to the local office for processing, no RQ received as of yet, but I am concerned of a possibility of an RQ.

I have been running a US based business before I landed to Canada-- I landed here as a landed immigrant (PR).
I run my work remotely out of my home office and I haven't had a need to travel outside Canada.
After landing in Canada I continued to carry on my business and haven't been employed eslewhere, whatever funds we needed for the settlement and towards living cost I withdrew the same from my business and my spouse has took up a job here in Canada.
We have filed the taxes regularly for all the years, bought a house and have transitioned well into life in Canada.
Back then we I never heard about intend to reside clause but recently leaned about the new clause and the C-64 bill which has now become law(though I gather that this in not in force but what I have learned that it can still be applied and is up to the immigration officer to decide).

I am worried about getting a RQ because of this ... can this trigger an RQ? and can this situation be subject to the intend to reside clause ? Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated.

To be clear, for anyone with an application currently in process, the new so-called intent-to-reside provision does NOT apply.

There are many reasons why an individual might be issued RQ. Most of those are screened in Sydney before the application is transferred to the local office. So, applicants whose application is in the local office, and who have not been issued a pre-test RQ, have a significantly lower risk of getting RQ . . . exceptions would be for applicants with discrepancies between their travel and what is reflected in their passport stamps, applicants who have been issued residency or work permits in another country after applying (or who failed to report PR status in another country in their application if they were issued such status before applying), applicants who appear to have moved abroad after applying, or applicants whose documents or answers to questions at the interview do not comport with what was declared in the application.

That said, it always difficult to know one way or another who will get RQ and who will not.

If you are apprehensive about being issued RQ you mostly need to make sure you keep and maintain all relevant records, including especially records reflecting travel, where you live (place of abode), and whatever documents to have to show you are working at a location in Canada.

I am unclear about your "business" in the U.S. if you are actually doing the work exclusively from a location in Canada. Both the U.S. and Canada tend to define the location of a business based on the primary place the work is done (not where the product of that work is sold), so if the primary location for doing your business is in Canada, it is a Canadian business, subject to payment of Canadian taxes, even if your clients or customers or contract employer (or whatever the relationship is to the person or entity that pays you for your work . . . other than an employer if the relationship is an employer-employee one) are all in the U.S.

If you are an "employee" of a U.S. business, working remotely, that is a different scenario (and if that is the scenario I am unsure as to what is your place of employment).

But if you are self-employed or a sole proprietor or the equivalent, in essence selling a product or service to customers in the U.S., but doing all the work in Canada, that is a Canadian business exporting the product/service to the U.S.

None of which really matters much for the citizenship application except, of course, as you apprehend, being sure to truthfully declare what your employment is and where you work in the application and, if issued RQ, in responding to RQ. . . . and the possibility that a CIC bureaucrat will think you are perhaps actually working in the U.S. and have not fully reported all your travel outside Canada.

Life can be complicated, especially life and work that straddles international borders. You are who you are, and you do the work you do. If you are situated in Canada, that is the main thing. Tell the truth. If asked, explain your situation as clearly as you can. As long as you are abiding by all applicable laws governing taxes and business regulation and so on, there should not be any significant or unresolveable problems. Just be sure to keep and maintain records you have for the full residency period, records showing your life being lived in Canada.

 

[debysousa]

Good news: you have not received a pre-test RQ. You could sail through the process without a wrinkle.

Thanks for taking the time to respond... I have got a RQ and I just sent the reply to it with all the documents I've mentioned....

 

[pisces123]

Good news: you have not received a pre-test RQ. You could sail through the process without a wrinkle.

Thanks for taking the time to respond... I have got a RQ and I just sent the reply to it with all the documents I've mentioned....

@ debysousa - were you self employed before making the citizenship application? were you self employed all along? what did they ask in the RQ?

 

[pisces123]

To be clear, for anyone with an application currently in process, the new so-called intent-to-reside provision does NOT apply.

There are many reasons why an individual might be issued RQ. Most of those are screened in Sydney before the application is transferred to the local office. So, applicants whose application is in the local office, and who have not been issued a pre-test RQ, have a significantly lower risk of getting RQ . . . exceptions would be for applicants with discrepancies between their travel and what is reflected in their passport stamps, applicants who have been issued residency or work permits in another country after applying (or who failed to report PR status in another country in their application if they were issued such status before applying), applicants who appear to have moved abroad after applying, or applicants whose documents or answers to questions at the interview do not comport with what was declared in the application.

That said, it always difficult to know one way or another who will get RQ and who will not.

If you are apprehensive about being issued RQ you mostly need to make sure you keep and maintain all relevant records, including especially records reflecting travel, where you live (place of abode), and whatever documents to have to show you are working at a location in Canada.

I am unclear about your "business" in the U.S. if you are actually doing the work exclusively from a location in Canada. Both the U.S. and Canada tend to define the location of a business based on the primary place the work is done (not where the product of that work is sold), so if the primary location for doing your business is in Canada, it is a Canadian business, subject to payment of Canadian taxes, even if your clients or customers or contract employer (or whatever the relationship is to the person or entity that pays you for your work . . . other than an employer if the relationship is an employer-employee one) are all in the U.S.

If you are an "employee" of a U.S. business, working remotely, that is a different scenario (and if that is the scenario I am unsure as to what is your place of employment).

But if you are self-employed or a sole proprietor or the equivalent, in essence selling a product or service to customers in the U.S., but doing all the work in Canada, that is a Canadian business exporting the product/service to the U.S.

None of which really matters much for the citizenship application except, of course, as you apprehend, being sure to truthfully declare what your employment is and where you work in the application and, if issued RQ, in responding to RQ. . . . and the possibility that a CIC bureaucrat will think you are perhaps actually working in the U.S. and have not fully reported all your travel outside Canada.

Life can be complicated, especially life and work that straddles international borders. You are who you are, and you do the work you do. If you are situated in Canada, that is the main thing. Tell the truth. If asked, explain your situation as clearly as you can. As long as you are abiding by all applicable laws governing taxes and business regulation and so on, there should not be any significant or unresolveable problems. Just be sure to keep and maintain records you have for the full residency period, records showing your life being lived in Canada.

Thanks dpenabill

 

[dpenabill]

Thanks for taking the time to respond... I have got a RQ and I just sent the reply to it with all the documents I've mentioned....

I misunderstood, and thought you were only apprehensive that your situation would cause you to get RQ and you had the documents to submit.

Well, RQ is what it is. You have a residency case now and if you continue to stay outside Canada most of the time, the risk of a serious long-haul process is high, and the risk that CIC will do what it can to pick apart and find holes in what you submitted is also at least elevated significantly.

At this juncture, obtaining the U.S. visa would have minimal impact . . . it does not disqualify you. It was just something which might trigger RQ if noticed by an interviewer. But you already got RQ so it is of minimal import . . . you might be questioned about it, when interviewed, or if referred to a CJ hearing (a year or three from now), but actually that would be good, because that would give you an opportunity to explain what it is about and explicitly that it is a business venture which in the longrun will not affect you being settled permanently in Canada.

The relevant time period is still the four years preceding the date of applying. So if you can solidly document that you should eventually be granted citizenship . . . but again, if you continue to be outside Canada, CIC will be picking apart all the nooks and crannies in what you submit to prove residency.

If you are serious about pursuing your citizenship at this stage, in addition to actually living in Canada in the meantime, you may want to seriously consider investing in a lawyer.

 

[labeamer]

Any feedbacks/opinions is appreciated. Thanks


We received your application for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship) on September 24, 2014.
We sent you a letter acknowledging receipt of your application(s) on February 12, 2015. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.
We started processing your application on March 2, 2015.
Your file was transferred to the Calgary office on March 31, 2015. The Calgary office will contact you.

When was the RQ actually issued? If it's issued by CIC-Sydeny, i think they do it on the same day as the start of processing.

If issued by CIC-Sydney, does your online ecas status mention that a letter (RQ) was sent to you before they transferred your file to Calgary?

 

[pisces123]

I have a question about the section on the citizenship application form, in the section where it asks you employer details I have the name of my company but I am not an employee of the company, in this case do I have to specifically mention that I am the owner/self employed....if so is there a way to correct this?

Secondly the company is registered in the US not in Canada, however as I have mentioned that I work out of my home office in Canada, so the City and Country section of the employer details, do I need to mention US details or the actual work location (Canada) is fine?

Pls advice. Thanks

 

[debysousa]

Again thanks for the replies!!!
I am very serious about my citizenship and all the supporting documents for the 4 years period are absolutely solid and I reported all my travels. I just started to spend more time in the US (where my family reside) after submitting my application.
I didn't want to "touch" any US visa modifications but I just had a bit of issue with the american border because I have been coming too often so seems as I have no option but to change my visa.
I am thinking that if questioned on my citizenship I could explain that I am expanding my business and spending more time here, which in no way means I wouldn't be a canadian and getting back to canada right?
Is there such a thing as they giving citizenship to someone that is stabilizing residency in the US but still can prove intention to come back to canada?
I know that my case is getting complicated and I am scared to having my citizenship denied, its no lie that Canada is my home...after all this years I would hate to lose my rights :-(

For the questions, I have been self employed for the past 6 years.
My file shows exactly what I copied in there for timeline...no mention of RQ. I suspected I received it before transferring my files to local office.


If you are serious about pursuing your citizenship at this stage, in addition to actually living in Canada in the meantime, you may want to seriously consider investing in a lawyer.



[/quote]

 

[dpenabill]

I am very serious about my citizenship and all the supporting documents for the 4 years period are absolutely solid and I reported all my travels. I just started to spend more time in the US (where my family reside) after submitting my application.

I know that my case is getting complicated and I am scared to having my citizenship denied, its no lie that Canada is my home...after all this years I would hate to lose my rights :-(

Since your application is in process, as previously noted, the intent-to-reside provision does NOT apply.

The four years preceding the date of applying are indeed what really count. If your proof is nearly flawless, you should eventually be granted citizenship; if there are any flaws or gaps, however, your situation is one in which we have seen CIC go to extraordinary lengths to find and leverage those flaws into a reason to deny citizenship.

It is difficult to discern to what extent CIC focuses on situations like this. We only see anecdotal reports plus those which end up on appeal in the Federal Court, which total merely a tiny percentage of all citizenship cases and undoubtedly only a small percentage of applicants with what I would call border-straddling lives. There is no doubt about the extent to which CIC tends to go negative once it perceives an applicant to be, as I have said, one who is pursuing a passport of convenience or one who has in essence applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport . . . neither of which actually provide any ground for denial, and thus technically cannot be a reason to deny citizenship, but rather are descriptive characterizations of cases in which CIC tends to be as tough as CIC can be.

In the meantime, however, while the application is pending you must continue to comply with the PR Residency Obligation. Probably no pressure in that regard now, but if the processing drags on for years (many RQ'd cases do), you must nonetheless be certain to stay in compliance with the PR RO (730 days within the previous five years . . . which can be examined any time you re-enter Canada for example, as of that date).

I have a question about the section on the citizenship application form, in the section where it asks you employer details I have the name of my company but I am not an employee of the company, in this case do I have to specifically mention that I am the owner/self employed....if so is there a way to correct this?

Secondly the company is registered in the US not in Canada, however as I have mentioned that I work out of my home office in Canada, so the City and Country section of the employer details, do I need to mention US details or the actual work location (Canada) is fine?

As I said previously, I am unclear about the business, how it is setup or such. Indeed, I do not understand how the business can be one done almost entirely by you in Canada but be an "American" based business.

But note, I am NOT an expert either.

My own situation was a bit complicated in somewhat similar ways, and some might say I was a bit crafty in how I labelled things, but mostly I just made a concerted effort to truthfully, accurately, describe my work situation within the confines of labels which would fit in the boxes provided.

The obligation is to be truthful, and not just in a technical sense but in a sense that is not evasive, misleading, or in any way deceptive. For someone in a complicated situation, they need to figure that out for themselves. A straight-forwardly honest answer is usually the one that works best. If there are consequences (like increased risk of RQ) connected to that, it is what it is and it is still, almost always, better to be honest and straight-forward and if it triggers a request for further information or documentation, or RQ, then deal with that . . . and if RQ'd then do so likewise, respond to all the requests in a straight-forward honest way. This is what mostly works most of the time.

Again, anyone can get RQ. There is no point scurrying around trying to arrange things to avoid the issuance of RQ. Anyone worried about RQ should be focused on gathering, keeping, and maintaining good records regarding travel, place of abode (residence), documentation to show where one was actually working (home office expenses are deductible for both U.S. and Canada income tax, so of course the individual with a home office should have good records of all related, deductible expenses), and any other documentation of activity in Canada (doctor visits, community activities, and so on).

 

[pisces123]

As I said previously, I am unclear about the business, how it is setup or such. Indeed, I do not understand how the business can be one done almost entirely by you in Canada but be an "American" based business.

But note, I am NOT an expert either.

My own situation was a bit complicated in somewhat similar ways, and some might say I was a bit crafty in how I labelled things, but mostly I just made a concerted effort to truthfully, accurately, describe my work situation within the confines of labels which would fit in the boxes provided.

The obligation is to be truthful, and not just in a technical sense but in a sense that is not evasive, misleading, or in any way deceptive. For someone in a complicated situation, they need to figure that out for themselves. A straight-forwardly honest answer is usually the one that works best. If there are consequences (like increased risk of RQ) connected to that, it is what it is and it is still, almost always, better to be honest and straight-forward and if it triggers a request for further information or documentation, or RQ, then deal with that . . . and if RQ'd then do so likewise, respond to all the requests in a straight-forward honest way. This is what mostly works most of the time.

Again, anyone can get RQ. There is no point scurrying around trying to arrange things to avoid the issuance of RQ. Anyone worried about RQ should be focused on gathering, keeping, and maintaining good records regarding travel, place of abode (residence), documentation to show where one was actually working (home office expenses are deductible for both U.S. and Canada income tax, so of course the individual with a home office should have good records of all related, deductible expenses), and any other documentation of activity in Canada (doctor visits, community activities, and so on).

Thanks for the input...appreciate it, I plan to call CIC and ask them what needs to be done in this case, I think it would be a good idea and ask them before hand and take the necessary actions rather than wait for a RQ.