to become an american citizen or not

[Pauley 2]

Barring the technicality that Canada is not a foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignity , the US is only able to command obedience to its laws within its own boundaries. The oath as stated has no legality or recognition in Canada nor does it impact Canadian citizenship.

Technically, Canada, as a nation, is a sovereign state, and thus is covered by the US oath. As repeatedly stated above, though, Canada doesn't give a $#%& what you say in a spoken oath -- as long as you haven't filled out the Canadian paperwork to renounce, you're still a Canadian citizen.

[antda 13]

I posted this before on VJ...But I thought it would help here too...

Hi Everyone,

Lol...As a Canadian and have "been there, done that"....let me take a crack at answering this question...

Once your AOS is complete you will have a US 2yr Green Card. And then 2 years later you will do a ROC (removal of conditions) and will have a US 10yr Green Card. Throughout this time, you will still be a Canadian citizen and a US permanent resident, and will travel with a Canadian passport and a US green card. Travelling with both of these documents, you should have no problems.

You can then choose to apply for US Citizenship, based on the 3yr or 5 yr rule (see VJ guides and USCIS website for more info). But this is optional, and you will have to carefully consider such a decision. When you apply for US Citizenship, you will say a citizenship oath, go through an oath ceremony, and get a certificate of citizenship and will become a US Citizen.

And from there, you can apply for a US Passport, as US passports are only available for US Citizens..

Now, as far as Canada is concerned, you are still a Canadian citizen, as Canada allows dual/multiple citizenships and as a Canadian citizen you can still carry a Canadian passport (lol..I still do)...

You are still a Canadian, unless you formally renounce such. And rest assured, once you have US Citizenship, you can still keep your Canadian citizenship, with no problems.

However, when entering the USA, you are considered an American citizen only, and will have to travel back to the USA with a US passport.

In other words..

Canada = Canadian citizen and American citizen

America = American citizen only

And like Just Bob said earlier in another post....

"Luckily for you, for Canadian citizens it's no problem to hold two citizenships, so you will always have to use your US passport when leaving or entering the US, and have to use your Canadian passport when entering or leaving Canada. Outside those two countries you have a choice on what passport to use."

Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey too.

Ant

[antda 13]

Not a problem! As you've heard, even though the oath contains the words renouncing citizenship only hold water in the US. The actual words are: "that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;". Barring the technicality that Canada is not a foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignity , the US is only able to command obedience to its laws within its own boundaries. The oath as stated has no legality or recognition in Canada nor does it impact Canadian citizenship. Canadian laws state that there is only one way to renounce your Canadian citizenship and that is through an actual paper application that must be properly submitted and accepted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Verbally stating you renounce your citizenship while in another country doesn't count in Canada. The reason? Canada officially and legally recognizes having more than one citizenship - it isn't an either/or situation. To Canada, when you accept citizenship in another country you become a Canadian PLUS that other citizenship - in this case, American. The US does not recognize Dual Citizenship but since it has no real control over how other countries behave it 'ignores' the reality that there are US citizens who are still citizens in other countries. To the US, you are only a American citizen so would require a US passport for travel abroad and returning. For Canada, you can use either the Canadian passport (best when entering Canada) or the other country's passport and they recognize both citizenships as legal.

So, as a Canadian you can eventually obtain dual citizenship through your marriage. For many Canadians it is as much a convenience as it is an honour, as having US citizenship while living in the US makes life infinitely easier.

Kathryn41-What an interesting take on the situation, from a technical/legal prespective.......

Good point too, about the American citizenship oath not being applicable to Canada too...

(What you said..."Barring the technicality that Canada is not a foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignity"....)

Lol..So I guess this means I can still keep my Canadian passport and still be a Canadian citizen, with no problems....

I do travel with a Canadian passport..as I feel safer travelling with such because of the blank place of birth issue...

Heck, I still don't an American passport...(but that's another story....see VJ citizenship forum...)

And yes, while being American citizen is an honour/privillage, it also makes life in the US easier too..

But being dual American/Canadian (or even seen as triple in my case due to my other birth country).....Sure does make the immigration journey more interesting and more expensive and the travelling extra harder! .....But it's all worth it in the end...

Nevertheless, I'm glad to be a dual American/Canadian citizen.....

And to be honest with you...I can't decide which one of these both to keep...So I'm keeping both...

Ant

Edited August 6, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[Kayleigh+Kyle 0]

I'm bored & thought I'd throw my two cents in as a USC.

Kyle and I have talked about this issue a few times. His original thought was that he would have to give up his Canadian citizenship to be a USC. But when he found out that he didn't, he was much more receptive. The biggest benefit, of course, is that we would never have to deal with USCIS again! Another thing is that we're both young (under 25) and neither of us are into a full-fledged career, so we may want to move to Canada in a few years - who knows? We want to be able to move to Canada without wasting all of this time and money, so him becoming a citizen makes sense. Also, at their current prices, it would cost more money in the long run for him to stay in the US and keep getting green cards than to just shell out the money to become a citizen.

I would never see him as anything but Canadian. It would just be a choice we make to make life easier down the road for us.

[Rob'sLuv 1]

I wonder if anyone else feels like I do. I have been married for 4 years to an American citizen and I am Canadian. At times I think about getting my American citizenship but I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. I am a permanent resident and I am not sure why I would become an American citizen. I guess I have a strong attachment to being Canadian and am proud of my country and my heritage. I know I have nothing to lose by becoming a citizen and probably more to gain but I am what I am, no matter what you call me...I am Canadian dammit lol...does anyone else feel this way. Actually, I never really felt that patriotic about my country until I left it.....ok i am done ranting....I just wondered how other Canadians felt. <img src="http://www.visajourney.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="huh.gif" />

I'm someone looking at the same decision from the other side - a US citizen permanent resident of Canada. For me, the key is that we are allowed to be dual citizens. With that option, I see no reason not to apply for citizenship - whether it's me becoming Canadian, or you becoming American. Giving up what we were born to be is not required. I will always be a very patriotic American - but taking dual citizenship gives me the option to live in either country and that's important to me because I will one day have children and grandchildren on both sides of the border. As long as you're not having to give anything up, I think it's a no-brainer. Edited March 22, 2011 by Rob'sLuv