Live in WA work in BC; keep both US & Canada PR for citizenship

[ImmiToCanada]

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2018 and wish everyone a brilliant 2019.

I currently hold Canada PR. I landed in Sep 2016 and move to USA on H1B since Sep 2017. I also received EB1 140 approval and I'll likely get my USA PR sometime in 2020.

I'm currently considering a faculty position in Metro Vancouver area starting Aug 2019. After I get my green card or after I switch to I-485 filing from Montreal Consular processing of E1 immigrant visa, I plan to live in Washington State close to the US-Canada border and do daily commute to the office This is because I would like to keep both US & Canada PR to eventually get citizenship of both countries and also because living in WA is cheaper than BC considering the real estate, car insurance, fuel price etc.

Based on https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do;jsessionid=048370F574EFD955BFEA9FFB0427BB00?redir=faq#Q3, "the day you leave Canada and the day you return is NOT considered an absence" for Canadian citizenship application. So if I travel to BC on weekends, in theory I get 365 days per year for Canadian citizenship application. On the other hand, as long as I live in USA each night and file USA tax (also file Canada tax), the USA green card residence requirement for USA citizenship should be fine, right?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

 

[RDS1]

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2018 and wish everyone a brilliant 2019.

I currently hold Canada PR. I landed in Sep 2016 and move to USA on H1B since Sep 2017. I also received EB1 140 approval and I'll likely get my USA PR sometime in 2020.

I'm currently considering a faculty position in Metro Vancouver area starting Aug 2019. After I get my green card or after I switch to I-485 filing from Montreal Consular processing of E1 immigrant visa, I plan to live in Washington State close to the US-Canada border and do daily commute to the office This is because I would like to keep both US & Canada PR to eventually get citizenship of both countries and also because living in WA is cheaper than BC considering the real estate, car insurance, fuel price etc.

Based on https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do;jsessionid=048370F574EFD955BFEA9FFB0427BB00?redir=faq#Q3, "the day you leave Canada and the day you return is NOT considered an absence" for Canadian citizenship application. So if I travel to BC on weekends, in theory I get 365 days per year for Canadian citizenship application. On the other hand, as long as I live in USA each night and file USA tax (also file Canada tax), the USA green card residence requirement for USA citizenship should be fine, right?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

you can't have two PR at the same time. once either Canada or USA found out you will loose both.

 

[frange]

you can't have two PR at the same time. once either Canada or USA found out you will loose both.

I don't think so. If he satisfies to both US and Canadians residency requirements, he will be fine.

 

[keesio]

I don't think so. If he satisfies to both US and Canadians residency requirements, he will be fine.

Agreed. It is tricky and will raise some eyebrows but it is doable.

 

[itsmyid]

Agreed. It is tricky and will raise some eyebrows but it is doable.

That’s just some urban legend that’s been spreading for so long people start to think it’s the truth lol

They have no right to take away anybody’s PR unless one no longer meets the requirements

 

[ImmiToCanada]

Here is what I found https://www.quora.com/Can-one-maintain-both-Canadian-and-US-permanent-residency-at-the-same-time

Another thing that may work better is to first get Canadain citizenship and then get US green card. I could request re-schedule of interview of immigrant visa in Montreal consulate.

 

[RDS1]

That’s just some urban legend that’s been spreading for so long people start to think it’s the truth lol

They have no right to take away anybody’s PR unless one no longer meets the requirements

I am speaking from personal experience. don't guide somebody wrong . @ImmiToCanada is right. before getting USA Green card get the Canadian Citizenship otherwise he can loose both or have to surrender one PR no matter you satisfy all the residency requirements of both the countries.

 

[itsmyid]

I am speaking from personal experience. don't guide somebody wrong . @ImmiToCanada is right. before getting USA Green card get the Canadian Citizenship otherwise he can loose both or have to surrender one PR no matter you satisfy all the residency requirements of both the countries.

I personally know someone with both, applied for Canadian citizenship a year ago and finished his oath recently

 

[canuck78]

Don't all your US visas require you to be working in the US? Sounds like you haven't spent much time in Canada so if you move in August 2019 you'll likely have to enter Canada everyday.

 

[RDS1]

I personally know someone with both, applied for Canadian citizenship a year ago and finished his oath recently

He must have lied somewhere . as per law it is illegal

 

[itsmyid]

He must have lied somewhere . as per law it is illegal

No he didn’t, and his finger print was requested during the processing, and Where exactly did you see it “per law” anyway? What law? Anybody can claim something “per law” but doesn’t make it true unless there is a link that ends with .gc.ca

 

[frange]

He must have lied somewhere . as per law it is illegal

Please, give us your legal reference. Canada and the U.S. are two different countries and they both have their own immigration legislation.
I know someone who naturalized last October and he still a U.S. PR and he didn't lie about his US status. At the interview, the officer asked him how he managed both PR and he said that US give more flexibility about residency requirements. That's why he lives in Canada and sign up in the U.S. every 3 to 4 months.

Maybe You can be wrong in what you said.

 

[dpenabill]

The scheme involves risks. There are no definitive outcomes. There are practical contingencies which can and likely will influence how things go. Plans are one thing. Life tends to be another.

And there is a very real RISK that authorities on both sides of the border will look at this askance, perceiving this to be gaming the system, and thus lean toward the more negative inferences the facts suggest. Which is to say that even though reports indicate more than a few have succeeded in similar schemes, there are pitfalls lurking in the details.


In particular:

As I recall, the U.S. PR (Green Card) has an intent requirement, both for obtaining it and perhaps more importantly for continuing to be qualified to keep it. As difficult as it is for government bodies to know or discern an individual's intention, such that this is something many individuals can and do maneuver around, the other side of that coin is that government bodies can, and more than occasionally will, make inferences about a person's intentions. A border straddling lifestyle inherently invites questions and potentially concerns, potentially negative inferences about intentions.

In contrast, there is NO intent requirement to keep Canadian PR. So the problem in this scenario is NOT about keeping Canadian PR. All an individual has to do to keep Canadian PR is to be physically present in Canada just 40% of days in a five year span, which as already noted will include days only partially spent in Canada.

Similarly when the time comes to apply for a grant of Canadian citizenship. Odds tend to be rather good that as long as the applicant meets the technical requirements the process will lead to the grant of citizenship.

BUT again this scheme tends to flash news the individual is gaming the system, and when processing agents and officers perceive someone is gaming the system, that tends to put a lot of pressure on every requisite detail, and to the extent there is room for inference or judgment calls, no crystal ball is necessary to forecast how most government officials are likely to approach making such decisions in these circumstance.

 

[frange]

US residency:
- no more than 6months out of the country. You have to sign up in the U.S.between this period of time.

- pay taxes in the country

CANADA PR
- 2 years out of 5
- Pay taxes in Canada

NB: There is a tax agreement between them . So you only pay the difference on what you earned throughout the fiscal year.

Conclusion: An immigrant can easily have both PR without any issue since double PR is not prohibited by any of both countries.

Who else is not agree with me, come with your legal documentation.

 

[dpenabill]

Who else is not agree with me, come with your legal documentation.

Let's see your "legal documentation" first.

To be clear: Are you saying that the U.S. has dropped the intent requirement for Green Card holders?

To also be clear: continuing to have Permanent Resident status in one country tends to show the absence of intent to permanently reside in another country. As I previously noted, Canada does not impose an intent requirement (it was dropped for PR nearly two decades ago, as I recall, and dropped for citizenship by legislation adopted in 2017). So keeping Canadian PR status and qualifying for citizenship is largely a matter of physical ties, physical location.

If you have legal documentation showing that the U.S. has also now dropped the intent requirement, that would be helpful. Just a citation to the relevant U.S. Code provision would suffice. (For example, the Canadian statutory provision governing PR obligations is Section 28 IRPA, which is here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/page-7.html#h-20, which is further clarified in the applicable regulations, which are IRPA Regulations 61 and 62, which can be seen here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/page-14.html#h-32, both of which I have cited and linked many dozens of times. And of course IRCC publishes unofficial descriptions based on these, such as in the appendix to the guidelines for making a PR card application, which is also referenced and linked at the IRCC web page about information for PRs, here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/understand-pr-status.html)