Husband - PR (CAN), Wife - Green Card (USA) at the same-time; is this possible?

[BossJosh]

Hey guys i am currently being sponsored by wife for Permanent Residence in Canada, but i was wondering if i can also sponsor my wife to get a Green Card in the USA? If we met all the requirements, and was able to do this, is it physically possible to do this; since Canada only requires 2 years of staying there, and usa requires only 3 years to stay in that country, for every 5 year period?

Oh yeah, Im an American Citizen, and my wife is Canadian Citizen, were trying to make things as easy and swiftly as possible.

 

[Leon]

If your wife is a Canadian citizen, you can keep your Canadian PR indefinitely because time spent with your Canadian wife outside Canada counts as time spent in Canada towards the PR residency requirements. You will therefore keep your PR forever, even if you live in the US the whole time.

I do not know what the rules in the US are. I have never heard 3/5 years for a US green card, just that they can revoke it if they believe that the person has permanently moved to another country. I do not know if they have exceptions for spouses. They also have a rule about needing a permit if you want to be outside for more than 1 year at a time. I knew people in the past who kept a green card by visiting the US every 6 months. I don't know if that still works. They probably have a better idea now if people are really living there.

 

[scylla]

I'd recommend you have another look at the Green Card residency requirements. They aren't quite as you've stated.

To keep your Green Card, the US is supposed to be your primary home. US customs typically starts giving people grief if you've been outside of the US for more than six months. If you're away for more than a year, you have technically lost your Green Card status and can expect US immigration to confiscate your Green Card on arrival. To be able to stay outside of the US for more than a year your wife would need a returning resident permit. She would need to apply for this after obtaining her Green Card status but before leaving the US. I don't know what the requirements are for the permit and how easy they are to obtain.

So to answer your question - if you plan to make the US your home, then your plans should work because each day you spend outside of Canada with your Canadian citizen wife will count towards retaining your Canadian PR status. If, on the other hand, you plan to live in Canada - sooner or later you're likely going to run into issues keeping the Green Card. Canada is OK with people being away for over a year and gives credit if you are outside of Canada with your Canadian spouse. The US takes a very different and more restricted stance.

 

[Leon]

One plan for the future would be to live in the US for long enough for your wife to get citizenship. You will still have your PR. Then move to Canada and you work on your Canadian citizenship. Or don't. You still keep your PR regardless. But with dual citizenship, your wife can stay outside the US again and doesn't have to worry about losing the green card

 

[BossJosh]

Awe wow thankyou guys for replying so promptly. Yeah you guys are right, Canada is lot more easy going than the USA. That is very beneficial that as long as I am with my wife, where-ever we are, that i can keep and will always have my PR. Its good that im am already on my way to getting my PR, but I wish i had my stuff together here in the USA. It would have been easier to start my wife's app for her green card first then get my PR second, because i already meet all the requirements to do so now, except the financial one. Yet because of that exception, its the reason why we chose the Canadian PR for me, first.

Leon is right that i will have issues trying to get my wife a green card: we are going to have to get my PR, then move from Canada, and settle in the USA for a couple of years in order for her to receive and maintain her green card until she gets her citizenship. I hope this doesn't take too long, Id like to start a family in a few years. It will be worth it though, when both of us will be able to stay in each others country for however long we want. I'm hoping that in the future USA laws will change toward our favor, as Canada has.