Buying a Condo/cottage in Ontario

[butlertl 0]

Does anyone know if my husband (US citizen) and myself (I just applied for I-175 Adjustment of Status ....to get 10 year Green card) can buy a condo in Canada without my becoming a US Citizen? Would it be construed as abandoning my Green Card? We would use it for summers only as a seasonal residence. We live in Washington DC area and our retirement dream is to be in southern states on our boat in winters and in Canada in summers.

[Cdn_Ali 11]

There shouldn't be a problem with you owning Canadian property. Just make sure you follow the Canadian tax laws if you decide to rent it out as you will need to pay tax on the income. If your primary residence is still in the US, your Green Card shouldn't be at risk. (I'm not even planning to sell my Canadian property once I move to the US - it is my little piece of heaven.)

[warlord 73]

You just have to make sure you still meet the requirements of the Green Card. If you are thinking of applying for US Citizenship, then you must also maintain the continous residency. This means you can leave on single trips up to 6 months (over 6 months becomes more complex to prove residency intent) and you need to be in the US living for a set number of days before you qualify to apply.

If you have no intention of getting US citizenship, you will just need to prove your ties to the US (home, bills, etc) and demonstrate you were not living (including working) in Canada during your time away.

So technically it's not abandoning your Green Card, however if you 'moved' to Canada in the process and no longer maintained a home in the US and worked in Canada etc, then yes you would be classified as abandoning your GC.

Just make sure you don't stay out more then 6 months at a time and if you are wanting to get US Citizenship, then you need to also maintain a certain number of days in the US...