PR Renewal - Residency requirement

[beenew]

My PR is expiring in March 2013. Following are the timelines -
1) Got Canada Work Permit in Oct 2005. Being on Canada Company's payroll since March 2006. My parent U.S. company has a branch in Canada. Working 4-5 days a week in U.S and week ends usually in Canada.

2) Applied for PR in Oct 2006. Had U.S. GC at the time. Approved and became landed immigrant in Jan 2008. The cycle continues of 5 days staying in U.S and week ends in Canada.
2a) Always used U.S. GC to enter canada on week ends - never used PR while entering Canada.

3) Became US citizen in Jan 2010. Moved to Canada in Feb 2010 and commuting to U.S. daily till April 2011. Talked with border agents and called PR inquiry number 18002554541 to get country name updated on P.R. to U.S since I lost my citizenship with my birth country when I became U.S. citizen. Both mentioned not to worry about it and will be taken care of during PR renewal.
3a) Wife applied for Canadian citizenship in December 2010.

4) Wife gets GC and moves to U.S. in mid-April 2011. Still working for Canadian branch - Canada Payroll still active as of today. Wife's Canadian citizenship got Query and is now on hold pending U.S travel record (estimated time one year) and Canadian travel record (received within 2 months).

5) Moved back to Canada and commuting since October 2011 to U.S. daily. Has 2 canadian citizen children.

DECISION time - Move to Canada for good or find another job in U.S. (and move payroll to U.S. branch) that may not make it possible to commute daily from Canada and move entire family to U.S. and forget about Canada P.R. renewal and wife's Canadian Citizenship (her PR is expiring in April 2013).

6) Do not have Canadian driving license.

I am still with the Canadian branch of my Company - still on Canada Payroll - paid my taxes since 2006.

What are my chances of getting PR renewed? Can I do that if my job makes me move to U.S. ?

I appreciate you kind souls for taking time to read this lengthy details and providing feedback.

Thanks.

 

[Leon]

1) So you had a Canada work permit but were mostly working in the US? Did you initially get the job in Canada and they moved you to the US office?

2) You made a mistake using your US green card to enter Canada. You should have carried both and used your PR card to enter. This makes it harder to prove your record of entry and well as I suppose you were crossing on the land border and they do not tend to keep very good records. However, if you always came on Fridays and left on Sundays, that would count as 3 days in Canada every week because a part of a day in Canada counts as a full day in Canada for the PR requirements.

3) From Feb 2010, every day would count as a day spent in Canada if you were commuting daily. As for your wife, did she really have enough days in Canada to apply for citizenship?

4) So you also moved when your wife moved? It does however sound like you would have enough days to apply for your PR renewal. 3 days every week means 780 days in 5 years.

5) Nobody can decide that for you. With such an active travel history and not much data or proof of living in Canada as you were entering as a US green card holder for most of the time and they might not have made a record of your entries, it is quite likely that you will get an RQ and have a hard time with your PR card renewal unless you can state that this Canadian employer moved you to their US location. That could be your backup.

6) A US DL can be exchanged for Canadian in a heart beat. This is not a problem.

If you are working for a Canadian employer who transferred you to an branch in another country, you can theoretically keep your PR forever, same as your wife if she is staying with you. Her PR card expiring in 2013 does not mean she loses her status. If she can prove that she meets the residency requirements through having worked for a Canadian employer in another country or having lived with a spouse who was doing that, she would be able to renew her PR card again.

 

[beenew]

Leon,
First of all I am very thankful for your time and responses. I am very sorry I could not respond back earlier. I'll answer your questions -
1) My US employer has an office in Canada and being one of their senior most employee they transferred me to their Canada payroll. It was as new employment and not as transferee from US. My employer is consulting company and I ended up working for US clients while still on Canadian Payroll.
2) I would come home to Canada on Friday evenings and leave for US on Monday mornings - always by land. Does this mean that I should count 4 days as being in Canada every week?
3) I appreciate for the confirmation on number of days since Feb 2010. Do I have to mention my daily commuting trips when I file for Green Card renewal?
My wife had completed her required number of days before applying for Citizenship. She did not even visit U.S. (no visitor visa, only green card stamp on her passport) until she got her green card. They still gave her query - I suspect based on the green card stamp and unfortunately she did not argue with CIC officers that why she is getting US query when she did not even had a valid visa to travel to US till the date of her citizenship filing. Her first visit to US was almost after 6 months of filing for Canada citizenship.
4) Yes. Entire family moved to U.S.
5) As I mentioned earlier I am in consulting business and I work on-site at US clients. My Canada payroll is active till date - I am on bi-weekly payroll. You think that is enough or something else will be required? I can include employment verification from my employer when I file for PR renewal.

I have new questions that have transpired over past few months -
I may be getting a new client that would make it impossible to commute daily.
a) Can I and my wife file our PR renewal and move to US?
b) With little kids, it is impossible for my wife to be on her own for 5 days a week and I plan to move entire family to wherever the next client site is. Will this cause any issue with my and my wife's PR renewal and more importantly will this also adversely affect my wife's citizenship? My payroll is still with the Canadian Company.
c) I have read that in the forum that we can update our address to outside of Canada for PR renewal / citizenship application if one has moved outside of Canada. Is it advisable to update the address to my next US address or maintain a Canadian address just for PR renewal and citizenship application?
d) When I file for PR renewal should I mention every week's (Monday to Friday) trip out of Canada before Feb 2010 and count number of days within Canada as 4 days every week? The reason I have not taken Canadian license is because I have a car in U.S. (U.S. license plate) that I use for commuting. I have Provincial photo card that I recently acquired that I intend to use for PR renewal. Is this a good idea or it is better to get Canadian driving license.

I again regret that this has become a long post.

Many thanks for your time and guidance.

 

[Kummy29]

Leon - appreciate your courageous attempt...

I fainted reading the first 3 points...and closed this thread !

 

[Leon]

1) Since your US employer transferred you to Canada and not the other way around, I don't think your job protects your PR. However, you seem to have enough days in Canada anyway.

2) Yes, you would count Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 4 days in Canada per week.

3) It would be a good idea to mention it, yes. Otherwise, if they see it anywhere, they will wonder if it was a trip that you failed to mention.

5) Again, I am not sure your employment suffices to protect your PR, however, it may be useful if your employer knows about your living arrangements and commuting habits that they write a letter for you. Something like "Mr. beenew has been a full time employee at our company since date 1 and I know him to have lived in Canada with his family while commuting to work in the US between date2 and date3 as well as between date4 and date5, he was living in the US during the week but commuting to Canada on the weekends."


a) If your PR is expiring and you have enough days in Canada, you sure can apply for a renewal. However, with your travel history, it is possible that you will get an RQ.

b) Having moved to the US as a family should not affect your PR renewal unless they believe you were living in the US all along and may be lying about your living in Canada but that is another issue. As for citizenship, if there is any problem with her citizenship like RQ and not being believed she really qualified to apply or she fails the test and needs an interview, having moved outside Canada could be an issue.

c) You can update your address to outside Canada for citizenship but for PR card, they want you to have a Canadian address so I think you should just keep a Canadian address for everything.

d) Actually, PR's living in Canada aren't supposed to be driving US plated cars but I suppose you got away with it because you were using your US green card to enter. However, you can tell the truth about your drivers license. There was another guy on this forum not long ago who also had a US drivers license and never had a Canadian one and he got his PR renewed.

As for your wifes RQ for citizenship, she should make a big deal about showing her passport that she has had no US visa and I am sure she can prove when she got her green card. Other things to prove that she was living in Canada would include bank & credit card statements, phone bills, other utility bills, bills from the kids, for example sports or something with school and letters from their doctors and dentists saying they know your wife and the kids were living in Canada at such and such time.

 

[beenew]

Leon,
I appreciate your guidance and prompt responses. Please accept my gratitude from bottom of my heart, especially when Kummy29 warned you of my lengthy response and possible side effects like fainting . Kudos to you that a comment from a faint hearted did not discourage you to read and respond to my entire post.

Thanks

 

[beenew]

As for your wifes RQ for citizenship, she should make a big deal about showing her passport that she has had no US visa and I am sure she can prove when she got her green card. Other things to prove that she was living in Canada would include bank & credit card statements, phone bills, other utility bills, bills from the kids, for example sports or something with school and letters from their doctors and dentists saying they know your wife and the kids were living in Canada at such and such time.

Lean,
How does she make a big deal now? US FOIA is telling her that she will have to wait for at least 4- 5 years (they are currently processing 2007) to get travel document because of the huge backlog and budget cuts. I'll appreciate if you can guide us in whom should we contact to get her case moving forward.
FYI - we tried contacting our MP as well as in CIC to let them know about the huge backlog to get US travel record but as soon as they hear that she has US green card (that she received almost 6 months after her citizenship application) they shut her out asking her - why you need US green card?
(I am sure there are lot of folks who would want answer to this question. Answer is she is now a stay at home mom and my employer has never been able to find a client for me in Canada at mutually acceptable salary range. They have tried and at times I have stayed without client for few months before finally accepting a US client's offer. As of now I am at a convenient location where I can daily commute to US but we do not know what it is going to be in few months when my contract expires.)

Thanks

 

[Leon]

Your wife should send the citizenship department a nice letter point for point explaining to them why she should not need a US travel record and how it is unacceptable that they are using that to delay her citizenship application for the next 5 to 7 years without a good reason. She should send this letter in registered mail and a copy of it to her MP. Then see what happens Maybe nothing will happen but it is worth a try. In her point for point letter, she should include all new evidence for her living in Canada when she did and evidence for that she did not have a US visa, copy of her passport, all pages, something about her application for a green card, you must have the date when she received it etc.


I am not prone to fainting and besides, I am sitting down already

 

[Kummy29]

Beenew,

Please don't mistake me...I was just honest...!

Leon - Appreciate your attitude buddy !

 

[Sam0007]

Hello.
Can any one help me out for the following questions
1. I have got my pr card and my family and now i have to leave canada as i have good job at my home country while my family stays at canada. I know that in near future i mean 2yr out of 5 i can not full fill. Maximum time i can give is 2 months per year iwhich is not enough for renewal of pr card. My question is do i disqualify for renewal even my family stays at canada.
2. If my card expires and i can not come up to renewal requirements can i get travel document to visit my family.
3. What if do not get citizenship and my family wife and daughters get it,can they sponser me or in future i can get immigration on their behalf if they become canadian natinal.
4.

 

[Sam0007]

Sorry i missed my question no
4. Plz tell will i b eliglible for skilled worker class and can apply again while being selected once and expired pr card at any stage of my life if i want to leave my job and settle in canada.
Thanks

 

[Leon]

1. You have to meet the residency requirements like anybody else. You can not renew your PR card just based on that your family is in Canada.

2. If your card expires and you want to apply for a travel document, you will probably be refused if you don't meet the residency requirements and then you will most likely lose your PR.

3. Your wife can sponsor you for PR even without becoming a Canadian citizen. As long as she is a PR and is living in Canada, she can sponsor you for PR if you lose yours.

4. If you lose your PR and are still eligible for skilled worker or some other program, you can apply again. There are no hard feelings even though you had a PR before.

 

[Kummy29]

I would recommend to keep your PR status rather than applying all over again !

 

[Sam0007]

Thanks leon and all other for your valuable suggestions. I really appreciate it.
One more thing i would like to ask can u give me advice how my wife can sponsor my pr card or if u hv any link or information plz share. I would b gratefull.

 

[Leon]

If you decide to move to Canada while your PR card is still valid but you do not meet the residency requirements, it is possible that you would still be allowed to enter in which case you could stay for two full years and then apply to renew your PR card normally as you would meet the requirements again. It is not against the law to let your PR card expire, you do not lose your PR status because of that.

If you do let your PR card expire and then want to move to Canada, you have two options. You can apply for a travel document at the embassy but if they refuse, you will probably lose your PR but your wife could sponsor you for PR again or you could get a visa to the US and try to enter with your expired card at the land border and see what happens. If they let you in without reporting you, you could stay for 2 years and then apply to renew. If they report you, you could appeal based on that your family is in Canada. If you still lose your PR, your wife can sponsor you again.

You can read about sponsorship here: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/family-class-sponsorship-b5.0/ or here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp If your wife has to sponsor you for a new PR, it will cost around $1,000 or more if you include the cost of medicals, translating documents etc. and it can take between 6 months and 2 years depending on your country of nationality or residence.