Canada/US Dual Citizenship & Passport

[BULLWINKLE 3]

Once AOS is complete, do I apply for a US passport? Or do I just keep my Canadian passport and travel with that? Or can I carry a Canadian and US Passport?

Any insight is appreciated!

[canadian_wife 1,822]

It looks like from your timeline you are adjusting status from an F-1 to a permenant resident. The key here is permenant resdient, you will not become a citizen.

Once you have been an LPR for 3 years, you may then apply for citizenship

Good luck

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You will have to travel with your Canadian passport until you get a US passport. You'll get a US passport once you become a US citizen. The earliest that can happen is 3 or 5 years after you become a Lawful Permanent Resident.

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.

[NickD 202]

After nearly 200 years of free travel between the USA and Canada, that was all changed by the mere stroke of a pen with an executive order. Another stroke of the pen can change all that back to the way it was. If that happens, won't have to be concerned about carrying two passports.

[antda 13]

Once AOS is complete, do I apply for a US passport? Or do I just keep my Canadian passport and travel with that? Or can I carry a Canadian and US Passport?

Any insight is appreciated!

Hi Bullwinkle,

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 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...

"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

P.S. Feel free to join us on the "Canada" VJ forum to discuss more Canadian related issues too....VJ Canada Forum: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/93-canada/

Edited July 17, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[antda 13]

Oops...I meant 'Certificate of Naturalization' not 'Certificate of Citizenship'...

Lol..I'm getting my certificates mixed up.....

Ant

[bobby_kvisa 7]

If you hold both a Canadian passport and a US passport - won't it create problems along the lines of the stamps in your passport? Also for records of entry and exit (I assume they record your history of travel electronically).

If I travel from the USA to Canada and enter Canada on a Canadian passport - then the Canadian passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Then later when I travel back from Canada to the USA and I present a USA passport - the USA passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Will this create a problem in general? That is, the USA will not know when exactly I left the country because there will be no record of my having entered into the foreign nation. There will be no electronic record in the foreign country's travel history and no stamp on my USA passport showing entry.

If the USA asks the question "How long were you away" is it possible they may flip through the passport book to verify your answer? When your answer does not produce a match electronically or in the book and they want you to satisfy the answer - what will happen when you show that you traveled on your Canadian passport to Canada, and traveling back to the USA using the USA passport?

[NickD 202]

If you hold both a Canadian passport and a US passport - won't it create problems along the lines of the stamps in your passport? Also for records of entry and exit (I assume they record your history of travel electronically).

If I travel from the USA to Canada and enter Canada on a Canadian passport - then the Canadian passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Then later when I travel back from Canada to the USA and I present a USA passport - the USA passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Will this create a problem in general? That is, the USA will not know when exactly I left the country because there will be no record of my having entered into the foreign nation. There will be no electronic record in the foreign country's travel history and no stamp on my USA passport showing entry.

If the USA asks the question "How long were you away" is it possible they may flip through the passport book to verify your answer? When your answer does not produce a match electronically or in the book and they want you to satisfy the answer - what will happen when you show that you traveled on your Canadian passport to Canada, and traveling back to the USA using the USA passport?

Everybody that has to have dual passports can have that same question, simple answer is that our DOS partially created the problem, so its their problem, not ours. But so far, was never asked.

[bobby_kvisa 7]

What do you mean the DOS partially created the problem?

[lissa04 3]

First off they do not stamp your passport going into either country. Depending on how you arrive in Canada they may swipe your passport. Normally when I go home they just type in my license plate number. Second off if you hold both passports does it really matter how long you were gone? You are a citizen of both countries. The only time I think it would matter is if you are bringing items into either country as each one has a limit amount. If asked the question how long have you been gone just be honest. If the US really wants to know how long you have been gone, I am sure they can ask the Canadian side since the US/Canadian borders help each other out.

If you hold both a Canadian passport and a US passport - won't it create problems along the lines of the stamps in your passport? Also for records of entry and exit (I assume they record your history of travel electronically).

If I travel from the USA to Canada and enter Canada on a Canadian passport - then the Canadian passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Then later when I travel back from Canada to the USA and I present a USA passport - the USA passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Will this create a problem in general? That is, the USA will not know when exactly I left the country because there will be no record of my having entered into the foreign nation. There will be no electronic record in the foreign country's travel history and no stamp on my USA passport showing entry.

If the USA asks the question "How long were you away" is it possible they may flip through the passport book to verify your answer? When your answer does not produce a match electronically or in the book and they want you to satisfy the answer - what will happen when you show that you traveled on your Canadian passport to Canada, and traveling back to the USA using the USA passport?

[Krikit 1,164]

If you hold both a Canadian passport and a US passport - won't it create problems along the lines of the stamps in your passport? Also for records of entry and exit (I assume they record your history of travel electronically).

If I travel from the USA to Canada and enter Canada on a Canadian passport - then the Canadian passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Then later when I travel back from Canada to the USA and I present a USA passport - the USA passport will have the entry stamp and an electronic record of my entry will be created.

Will this create a problem in general? That is, the USA will not know when exactly I left the country because there will be no record of my having entered into the foreign nation. There will be no electronic record in the foreign country's travel history and no stamp on my USA passport showing entry.

If the USA asks the question "How long were you away" is it possible they may flip through the passport book to verify your answer? When your answer does not produce a match electronically or in the book and they want you to satisfy the answer - what will happen when you show that you traveled on your Canadian passport to Canada, and traveling back to the USA using the USA passport?

The Canadians and Americans do not get entry/reentry stamps due to the WHTI agreement. But even if they did, it does not matter. For example, I travel through Europe with my EU passport. I do not get stamped. However, if I present my Canadian passport, I get stamped. Not quite sure why your answer would not match your stamp, though. Why would your answer not match your stamp?

[warlord 73]

The Canadians and Americans do not get entry/reentry stamps due to the WHTI agreement. But even if they did, it does not matter. For example, I travel through Europe with my EU passport. I do not get stamped. However, if I present my Canadian passport, I get stamped. Not quite sure why your answer would not match your stamp, though. Why would your answer not match your stamp?

I think people stamp passports randomly. I have gotten my US passport stamped in Canada before and other times I haven't. Flew to Mexico and they didn't bother stamping it either. I will see when I go to Europe what happens in a month or so. I had better get one...

[NickD 202]

What do you mean the DOS partially created the problem?

New York and Michigan states came out with an enhance drivers' license permitting the holder travel to Canada and Mexico via land or sea in lieu of a US passport.

As you can note, there is not a place of birth on these drivers' licenses, so you will be treated just like a natural born citizen when visiting Canada. The DOS putting your place of birth as Canada is kind of a dead giveaway, they will insist you maintain a Canadian passport as well. I am surprised the DOS even permits this, this should be their territory.

It far stricter to travel by air where a regular passport is required, this is because terrorists only travel by air. All this started when Bush felt the Canadians were too lax in examining potential terrorists. But so are we, I see guys that look like terrorists walk through inspection far easier than I can, and that is because the guards are afraid of getting slapped by the ALCU for profiling.

Would be nice if one little guy in Washington DC would stand up and ask if the billions of dollars we are now spending has kept out just one terrorist from Canada, all this was done by Bush as congress over the years has given the president more and more executive power. Perhaps without realizing our country is becoming a dictatorship just like the countries we condemn this practice on. But that is okay, we are the good guys. Ironically any terrorist that came into this country that did significant damage to it, came here legally. We really have a bunch of nuts running this country..

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Lol..Thanks NickD for posting the image of a NYS EDL! I have one of those (lol..though I don't look like the gal on the photo)....It's really cool to have one, and I highly recommend it if you are a frequent land border traveller between the USA and Canada.....It's really simple to get....Just prove US Citizenship and go to the local DMV...All done within 1-2 weeks...And it's valid for up to 8 years.....And it costs $85 (which includes the costs of a driver's license renewal too)

And as a bonus, it acts as a '2 for 1' deal...both a driver's license and cross-border document all in one...

Sigh...Wish they had this more states....

Ok...Now the answer regarding passport stamps...(from my experiences)....

Travel between Canada and the USA....There are no passport stamps....

And this is especially true for those who are citizens of both the USA and Canada....

So how can this be proven for citizenship and/or immigration purposes..you ask...

Well, you can't really....

The only way to do this is keep your own records.....calendar, scheduler, list, etc....

Just make a best estimate and write that down....

That's what I had to do for my citizenship application....

Nevertheless, my citizenship application got approved anyways....

And if they want to verify it themselves, they have access to that information...via their own government databases when the documents are scanned in at the border...so let them verify that..

And remember..Always tell the truth about travels and/or when confronted by immigration officials....

Oh and going into Canada...Declare...Canadian and American..

And coming back to the USA....Declare....American....

Hope this helps too.....

Ant

[antda 13]

New York and Michigan states came out with an enhance drivers' license permitting the holder travel to Canada and Mexico via land or sea in lieu of a US passport.

As you can note, there is not a place of birth on these drivers' licenses, so you will be treated just like a natural born citizen when visiting Canada. The DOS putting your place of birth as Canada is kind of a dead giveaway, they will insist you maintain a Canadian passport as well. I am surprised the DOS even permits this, this should be their territory.

Lol...Which is one of the reasons why I prefered the EDL over the US Passport....No place of birth problems...

I do though "insist" on keeping my Canadian passport partly because of that place of birth issue....

So again, indirectly I am forced to keep my Canadian passport becasue I can't get an American one...

Oh well...I can use my EDL regardless to Canada.....Can't complain too much there.....

And yeah, those EDLs are really cool....Gotta love the DMV!

Lol..I have one, my husband has one...And I'm thinking about getting my son one (yes, they issue those to minors too)....

EDL is the way to go!

Ant

P.S. Here's another funny tidbit....It only takes the DMV 1-2 weeks to make a machine-readable card for cross-border travel purposes...Yet it takes the USCIS several months to make a green card with similar information for travel...What's the reasoning behind that...I don't know....Seems kind of inconsistent there.....

Edited July 20, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA