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US citizenship processing times as comparison to Canadian Citizenship

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
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My friend who lives in the Washington DC area already got her citizenship for the US. She applied in June 2013 and already got it. It took her about 4 months. I applied in June 2013 as well. I wonder how long mine will take...
 

farrous13

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Oct 1, 2013
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Peter Griffin: hehe ;D.....Classic Canada
Dejaavu said:
My friend who lives in the Washington DC area already got her citizenship for the US. She applied in June 2013 and already got it. It took her about 4 months. I applied in June 2013 as well. I wonder how long mine will take...
 

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
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Sometimes I wonder if I should have asked my wife to sponsor me for the US citizenship. I would have been a US citizen by now ))))
 

farrous13

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Oct 1, 2013
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Dejaavu, Canada is a good place to live in. But not the best. I don't think we can categorize countries as the best to live in. Canada surely stands out, but is not the best for lots of people. I know friends that are much happier in the US. Some are much happier in third world countries.

But I am glad you like it here ;D

Dejaavu said:
I bought into Canada by seeing different rankings that put Canada as the best place to live :)
 

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
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I have lived in Finland, Canada and US in addition to my home country. Canada is a great country in many ways. The only problem I have is the bureaucracy. I am on parental leave which is great. But it is taking Service Canada forever to start paying me my EI parental leave entitlement...I called them 4 times and they keep asking me the same things over and over :)
Everything related to government services including immigration is a mess and takes forever to process....
 

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
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In the US it take five years before one can apply for citizenship so on the whole it is about the same timeline :)
 

Waitingforcitizenship

Full Member
Oct 4, 2013
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Dejaavu said:
My friend who lives in the Washington DC area already got her citizenship for the US. She applied in June 2013 and already got it. It took her about 4 months. I applied in June 2013 as well. I wonder how long mine will take...
How long it will take for Finland ??.
 

farrous13

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Oct 1, 2013
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Dejaavu. Why did you leave Finland? I believe the quality of living is high there. no?


Dejaavu said:
You have to live there 6 years to be eligible. The processing time is around 3-6 months.
 

EasyRider

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Oct 12, 2008
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Dejaavu said:
In the US it take five years before one can apply for citizenship so on the whole it is about the same timeline :)
It's not the same for a lot of people. Not everybody can apply and applies after 3 years.

I was on work permits for a number of years and had to wait at least 2 years after becoming a PR to apply, though I've already been present in Canada for more than 6 years at that time.

Other countries usually fully include time on working visas into calculation, but in Canada it's required to be a PR for at least 2 years, plus all other time counted for 1/2 day.

These 2 years and day as 1/2 days before PR policies look bizarre (never saw anywhere else treating a day of life as a 1/2 of a day) and hardly make any sense except delaying citizenship application.
 

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
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In the States, you need to be a permanent resident for 5 years before you can apply for citizenship. The exception is spouses of US citizens. They can apply after 3 years.
To maintain the permanent residence one needs to be physically present 182 days in the US. If they leave US for more than a year they have to get a permission.
 

Dejaavu

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Aug 17, 2013
530
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US immigration doesn't count previous presence in the US such as a work permit or studies for permanent residence days.
 

farrous13

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Oct 1, 2013
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I think we are missing the point. It's not how long a person has to wait to apply for the citizenship, it's how the CIC treats applications when received.

I wouldn't mind waiting 5 years to get the GR in the US knowing that I would be in safe hands when I send my application. In Canada unfortunately, it takes about 8 to 2 years to get the citizenship. Sometimes applicants wait 2 years and then they get an RQ. or worst case when applicants wait 2 years then to know that the CIC agent does not have a clue where their application is.

The above points are the most important. i.e. efficiency in executing and communicating.