US outland applicants' thread :)

[Mariac819]

Yeah we are allowed to have Dual Citizenship. But, I am not interesting in thinking about more paperwork right now. Maybe in the next 5-10 years lol~

 

[keesio]

This!

There's been a lot of talk in my family on if I plan on going for full citizenship or not. I'm on the fence. I don't think it's particularly necessary and I don't want to risk having my US citizenship revoked.

I'm going to be enjoying life as a permanent resident. Why stress about another long paperwork filled process when you're still not even finished with your Permanent Residency process?

Heck I lived 9 years in Canada on a work permit! I could have applied for PR much sooner but I didn't stress over it. My company pushed me to for PR since they were tired of renewing my PR every year

However I want to clear up the dual citizenship worry. You can take another citizenship and not risk your US citizenship. Basically you are only at risk if you take another citizenship with the expressed interest in abandoning your US citizenship. You are also at risk if you take another citizenship of a country that the US considers at war with (like North Korea). The US may not exactly welcome dual-citizenship but they are more dismissive of your other citizenship than anything else (To the US govt, you are an American and any other citizenship you have they (mostly) don't care)

The truth is that it is actually hard to give up your US citizenship as even if you apply to do so, the State Dept can choose to reject your request. And the fees to apply have quadrupled to deter applications (and to handle the flood of requests). Remember that US citizens are one of two countries in the world that tax people on citizenship regardless of where you live. They don't want to give up that potential revenue stream so easily so they make it quite hard to renounce your citizenship.

But it did feel good to become a Canadian citizen. I was psyched to vote this year in provincial and municipal elections for the first time. After 15 years in Canada, I really started to follow the politics and it is nice to have a say now.

 

[Mariac819]

Hi everyone,

I am a little confused. What is CJIS?

Criminal Justice Information Services

On top of that my husband is moving out of his apartment and that is the address we asked for the clearance to be sent to.

Have mail forwarded to your new address. You can do this at the USPS.

OR

11. How do I notify the FBI if my address has changed since I submitted my request for my Identity History Summary or if I want to verify my correct address was submitted?

Please complete and sign the Address Change Request Form and fax it to (304) 625-9792, or scan the form and e-mail it to liaison @ leo.gov.

Note: Changes will not be made unless a signature is present on the form.

from: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/faqs

I have looked everywhere on the FBI website but can't see a contact number that I can call to check on the status. Does anybody know how to contact them for verification?

Sara1 posted the # a few comments above.

Also, another question. We have been holding off on the medical in hopes of having my step son and my husband get the clearance done here since its cheaper. My step-son is not available to come to Canada very often so it is not yet done. Can I just send in the app with the missing info and forward it in later? Is there a downside to doing this?

Thanks so much!!

It is always best to submit the medicals upfront but I have seen some submit them later when they are requested. Just remember this will mean that there COULD be a delay. Doesn't mean there will be but it will not be as fast as if you submit them upfront.

 

[IvanP]

This!

There's been a lot of talk in my family on if I plan on going for full citizenship or not. I'm on the fence. I don't think it's particularly necessary and I don't want to risk having my US citizenship revoked.

I'm going to be enjoying life as a permanent resident. Why stress about another long paperwork filled process when you're still not even finished with your Permanent Residency process?

The US can't revoke your citizenship just because you acquired citizenship in another country (there's Supreme Court precedent on this, but I don't recall the details).

Canadian citizenship gives you the right to vote and get a Canadian passport (you can vacation in Cuba!), but otherwise PR is about as good as citizenship. Wherever you live, the US will still demand that you file taxes every year, and will still want you to file those stupid FATCA and FBAR forms if you have an account with enough money in it to buy a decent used car... The question you might ask yourself after a few years of that bureaucratic nonsense is why you'd want to keep the US citizenship, not why you'd want to acquire the Canadian citizenship. But if you don't earn more than $100k a year, the US taxes are easy because you're eligible for the foreign earned income exclusion, and the US citizenship means you can breeze past the Canadians at passport control when entering the US, and the US can't refuse you entry, so border crossings are lower-stress... I doubt I'll ever ditch my US citizenship, but I'm sure I'll continue to question the benefits of having it.

 

[keesio]

Canadian citizenship gives you the right to vote and get a Canadian passport (you can vacation in Cuba!)

Note that even if you go to Cuba on a Canada passport, the US will still look at you as committing a crime. Regardless of what other passports you own (and used), you are a US citizen and always subject to their rules. You can argue that how would the US ever know that you went there. That is true. But I am quite risk adverse so I would never go when there are plenty of other places in the region I can go to.

 

[keesio]

But if you don't earn more than $100k a year, the US taxes are easy because you're eligible for the foreign earned income exclusion,

I dunno about easy... FEIE I can figure out but the FTC is still confusing to me. And if you have TFSA, RESP or Canadian Mutual Funds then it starts to become a major pain (I decided not to have any of those to avoid the headache). Throw in RRSP, RPP (where are the funds located?), stock options, etc considerations and well... I just decide to spend the 1K to have a cross-border tax professional to do it. I pay 1K to find out my tax bill is $20. As you can see, US tax obligations for overseas citizens is a pet peeve of mine!

 

[IvanP]

Note that even if you go to Cuba on a Canada passport, the US will still look at you as committing a crime. Regardless of what other passports you own (and used), you are a US citizen and always subject to their rules. You can argue that how would the US ever know that you went there. That is true. But I am quite risk adverse so I would never go when there are plenty of other places in the region I can go to.

If you're traveling on a Canadian passport it's extremely low-risk. Just don't use that passport for entry to the US.

 

[keesio]

If you're traveling on a Canadian passport it's extremely low-risk. Just don't use that passport for entry to the US.

Yeah I know it is extremely low risk. But like I said, I am very risk adverse. You would have to be extremely unlucky or careless to get caught. But still....

 

[Mariac819]

The US can't revoke your citizenship just because you acquired citizenship in another country (there's Supreme Court precedent on this, but I don't recall the details).

Canadian citizenship gives you the right to vote and get a Canadian passport (you can vacation in Cuba!), but otherwise PR is about as good as citizenship. Wherever you live, the US will still demand that you file taxes every year, and will still want you to file those stupid FATCA and FBAR forms if you have an account with enough money in it to buy a decent used car... The question you might ask yourself after a few years of that bureaucratic nonsense is why you'd want to keep the US citizenship, not why you'd want to acquire the Canadian citizenship. But if you don't earn more than $100k a year, the US taxes are easy because you're eligible for the foreign earned income exclusion, and the US citizenship means you can breeze past the Canadians at passport control when entering the US, and the US can't refuse you entry, so border crossings are lower-stress... I doubt I'll ever ditch my US citizenship, but I'm sure I'll continue to question the benefits of having it.

Even with a Canadian Passport I would never set foot in Cuba. It still says "US" as country of birth on the passport. I wouldn't trust heading to Cuba with them knowing I am from the USA .

Plus ... What Keesio said... It isn't worth it. Even if it is a cheap vacation spot.

 

[IvanP]

I dunno about easy... FEIE I can figure out but the FTC is still confusing to me. And if you have TFSA, RESP or Canadian Mutual Funds then it starts to become a major pain (I decided not to have any of those to avoid the headache). Throw in RRSP, RPP (where are the funds located?), stock options, etc considerations and well... I just decide to spend the 1K to have a cross-border tax professional to do it. I pay 1K to find out my tax bill is $20. As you can see, US tax obligations for overseas citizens is a pet peeve of mine!

Yes, only the foreign earned income exclusion part is easy. The FATCA and FBAR are a PITA (with stiff penalties for failure to comply). After a few years of paying someone to do your taxes, the US citizenship renunciation fees will start to look like a bargain... You can still pour all your money into real estate if you want to avoid those filings, though.

 

[keesio]

Yes, only the foreign earned income exclusion part is easy. The FATCA and FBAR are a PITA (with stiff penalties for failure to comply). After a few years of paying someone to do your taxes, the US citizenship renunciation fees will start to look like a bargain... You can still pour all your money into real estate if you want to avoid those filings, though.

My accountant does the FATCA forms but i actually do the FBARs myself. With the new electronic filing, it is not bad. It's just data entry and the real work is going though all your statements to find the max value in all your accounts. It's really the other crap like reporting all my business trips to the US and then having to go get the refund from CRA and other stuff like that.

Anyway I may try to take a crack at filling it all myself this time. I have 13 years of past returns to use as examples. I also have a good idea by now of how much I can contribute to my RRSP to get a decent refund from CRA but without losing to much tax credits so that my bill to the IRS gets too high. I wish there was some "TurboTax for US expats in Canada". I'd gladly pay a few hundred for that software!

 

[Mariac819]

I wish there was some "TurboTax for US expats in Canada". I'd gladly pay a few hundred for that software!

I am so worried about this ... UGH I wish there was one as well. I obviously haven't started this process yet but I know I will have to pay someone to help me out for a while until I get the hang of it.

 

[michminn]

I am so worried about this ... UGH I wish there was one as well. I obviously haven't started this process yet but I know I will have to pay someone to help me out for a while until I get the hang of it.

http://www.brighttax.com/?gclid=CO7ft9GTlMICFROTfgodWzEAWw

Found this sight, not Turbo tax though.

 

[Mariac819]

http://www.brighttax.com/?gclid=CO7ft9GTlMICFROTfgodWzEAWw

Found this sight, not Turbo tax though.

Cool thanks Mich! ... need to go read about it!

 

[rhcohen2014]

Cool thanks Mich! ... need to go read about it!

also according to my husband, there are accountants at H&R Block who specialize in cross border taxes (at least in ottawa). will be finding out about this come tax time.