One Spouse Becomes an American While The Other Becomes Canadian?

[Cheeseburger]

Well I doubt very much that what I am about to ask is possible but here it goes. I am getting married soon my wife being a Canadian citizen and me an American. We are not entirely sure who will go where. We prefer to stay in Canada. But right now I have the better job in the states than she does in Canada. And I only very recently got this job. The job situation may very well change. She hasn't been out of school long. So we hope that at some point I can move there to Canada and she will have a good enough income to support us until I find work.

My question... Can I apply for Canadian citizenship while she applies for American citizenship at the same time. Meaning we would both have duel citizenship and we could freely go wherever our careers take us. Or must we choose our fate now by picking one country and hope we make the right choice?

 

[scylla]

Neither of you can apply for citizenship directly. Your wife must first become a green card holder. After meeting the residency requirements for citizenship (several years of living in the US) she will then qualify to apply for citizenship. You, on the other hand, must first become a permanent residenc of Canada. After you become a permanent resident of Canada, you would have to live in Canada for three out of four years to qualify to apply for citizenship. Citizenship processing times are around two years. Since qualifying for both US and Canadian citizenship requires that you live in that country after you become a permanent resident / greencard holder, I don't think it's realistic to think that you can apply for both at the same time. You will have to pick based on the country you plan to live in in the immediately future.

 

[Nordicgirl]

Neither of you can apply for citizenship directly. Your wife must first become a green card holder. After meeting the residency requirements for citizenship (several years of living in the US) she will then qualify to apply for citizenship. You, on the other hand, must first become a permanent residenc of Canada. After you become a permanent resident of Canada, you would have to live in Canada for three out of four years to qualify to apply for citizenship.

Out of the three years, you have to have been at least two years as a permanent resident.

 

[Leon]

Like other people have said, you must work on citizenship for one of you at a time and that might mean not being able to freely hop between countries during that time.

Lets say you stay in the states for now. You need to sponsor her for a green card and then she has to live in the US for 3 years before she can apply for citizenship. It would make sense for you to commit to staying in the states during this process. If you move away during that process, she would lose the time she has put in for citizenship. Read more at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a0ffa3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a0ffa3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD If she stays outside the US for more than a year, she could lose her Green card. I do not know if there is a provision in the US for spouses to keep their Green card if they are accompanying a US citizen spouse abroad.

If you end up in Canada, she would have to sponsor you for a Canadian PR. In order to retain your PR, you must live in Canada or with your wife outside Canada for at least 2 out of every 5 years. In order to be eligible for citizenship, you must stay in Canada for at least 1095 days over a 4 year period. Days after getting PR are counted as full days. Days before getting PR are counted as half days. This means that you can apply 3 years after getting your PR if you were in Canada the whole time or if you were in Canada for a full 2 years before getting PR as well, you could apply already after 2 years as a PR. The citizenship process is currently taking around 20 months and although there are no rules that say you can not leave after applying, those applications tend to be scrutinized and may take even longer.

 

[ivelinan]

I was wondering, how does a US sitizen living in Canada with a PR card proove how many days they have been in the country since we are visa exempt? I live in Montreal with my husband but travel back to the States quite often. While I keep my own spreadsheet with those dates, I cannot help but wonder on what basis can I proove these once I apply for the passport? Can't they just as easily deny me because I have no solid entry and exit proof to back my word?

 

[Leon]

Before you apply, apply for your travel history from CBSA. Then you will see what they have on you which may be nothing if you have not been scanned as leaving or entering the country. You can include this with your application. I would also include tax records. If you are working, that is a pretty good indication that you were in Canada at the time. Bank records, shopping, ATM withdrawals can also help prove the same.

However, if immigration decides not to believe you anyway, you might have a problem.

 

[Msafiri]

Well I doubt very much that what I am about to ask is possible but here it goes. I am getting married soon my wife being a Canadian citizen and me an American. We are not entirely sure who will go where. We prefer to stay in Canada. But right now I have the better job in the states than she does in Canada. And I only very recently got this job. The job situation may very well change. She hasn't been out of school long. So we hope that at some point I can move there to Canada and she will have a good enough income to support us until I find work.

My question... Can I apply for Canadian citizenship while she applies for American citizenship at the same time. Meaning we would both have duel citizenship and we could freely go wherever our careers take us. Or must we choose our fate now by picking one country and hope we make the right choice?

As has been pointed out you can't have simultaneous citizenship processing because you can't meet the physical presence for US/ Canadian citizenship at the same time. Unless either one of you is a PR employed by the respective government and sent abroad to Canada or the US as the case maybe e.g military or diplomatic posting. Such employment usually counts as physical presence for naturalization purposes.