Moving to Canada from US

[ongxabaxa 0]

Hello VN VJers, you guys have been very helpful with questions and I have learn a lot from reading others' posts. I am now in a situation that require some advice. My wife recently immigrated into the US under a CR-1 for three months now. Two weeks ago she received her Social Security card. I would like to move to Canada to live with her aunt because job wise it will be easier for my wife. Don't know if it will be permanent or not, only time will tell. My question is, how will that affect her immigration process? I know within her two years of entering she will have to file a Conditional Permanent Residents (I-751).

[Inky 1,110]

Not sure why this is in Vietnam if it has to do with Canada.

Have a mod move this for you to the correct place.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hello VN VJers, you guys have been very helpful with questions and I have learn a lot from reading others' posts. I am now in a situation that require some advice. My wife recently immigrated into the US under a CR-1 for three months now. Two weeks ago she received her Social Security card. I would like to move to Canada to live with her aunt because job wise it will be easier for my wife. Don't know if it will be permanent or not, only time will tell. My question is, how will that affect her immigration process? I know within her two years of entering she will have to file a Conditional Permanent Residents (I-751).

Permanent residents are required to actually live in the United States. A permanent resident who is determined to have abandoned their US residency will have their immigrant status revoked. A green card holder can leave the US for up to six months without any problems. If they return between six months and one year then the CBP officer may investigate whether they've abandoned their residence. If they're gone more than one year without a reentry permit then they will lose their resident status. If they're gone more than two years, even with a reentry permit, then they will lose their resident status.

Returning to the US for a brief visit every year may be sufficient to keep their resident status until a CBP officer becomes suspicious. I've seen a few VJ members who tried this for a few years and then were denied entry and had their green card seized by CBP. They were told to go to a US consulate and try to get a returning resident visa.

A permanent resident is permitted only "temporary visits" abroad. Other than certain types of temporary transfers outside the US, a permanent resident who takes employment abroad will usually be determined to have abandoned their resident status. If your wife goes to Canada to find work then she'll probably lose her green card.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

***** Moved from Vietnam to Canada forum and duplicate topic without replies there removed *****

[Diem Kieu 2]

Hello VN VJers, you guys have been very helpful with questions and I have learn a lot from reading others' posts. I am now in a situation that require some advice. My wife recently immigrated into the US under a CR-1 for three months now. Two weeks ago she received her Social Security card. I would like to move to Canada to live with her aunt because job wise it will be easier for my wife. Don't know if it will be permanent or not, only time will tell. My question is, how will that affect her immigration process? I know within her two years of entering she will have to file a Conditional Permanent Residents (I-751).

I read your post as followed "my wife's got a relative living in Canada but since it would either take too long for that relative to sponsor her or whatever reason else, she figured it would be a lot easier and probably cheaper as well to leave VN via me. Now she's here in the US, so the final leg of her journey would be a shorter one from US to Canada."

If I were you OP, be VERY CAREFUL. If she flees you in Canada and refuses to come back to the States, you will be deemed by the USCIS as a participant in immigration fraud (please see my brief synopsis of such fraudulent above).

Even if you're a USC, you'll still be prosecuted by the law.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

First, Canada like the US has immigration requirements. You, as a US citizen, are not allowed to just pick up and move to Canada to live. You need to qualify for admissions to Canada as either a temporary or a permanent resident. To work in Canada you require employment authorization and that has to be obtained before you move to Canada. A Canadian employer has to sponsor you first by proving that there is no Canadian available anywhere in the country who can do the job (which means it requires a fairly narrow degree of expertise or is a job that is in short supply of workers in Canada), then you have to prove you meet the job requirements as well. You are not allowed to live or work in Canada without prior permission of the Canadian Government. You, as an American citizen, are allowed to visit for up to a maximum of 6 months but you cannot work while you are there. As a green card holder, your wife is also allowed to visit for up to 6 months without having to get a visitor's visa. Again, she too cannot work and both of you need to leave the US after the 6 months. If you show up at the border and say you are coming to visit for 6 months you will probably be required to show proof of your financial independence that will allow you to live without working for the next 6 months.

If your wife is Canadian, you can accompany her as a visitor back to Canada. If she decides to live in Canada again, then she would lose her US Permanent Resident status. She can sponsor you as her spouse to become a Canadian Permanent resident, however, so if you wish to live in Canada that would be an option.

If your wife is not Canadian, then neither of you have any grounds upon which to live in Canada. Having a relative in Canada is not sufficient, although it will earn you 'points' on the Immigration Point system Canada uses to determine immigration eligibility.

You will need to think things through a lot more than you have so far. Here is a link to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Read over their website to see what requirements are needed to live and work in Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca

I remember the very wise words a US border official told me when I was crossing into the US many years ago and didn't have a document she requested: "Don't ever forget - this is a foreign country". The same thing applies to Canada - it is a foreign country from the US and has a very specific and well defined immigration process. Canada is friendlier to immigrants than the US but you still need to do things legally. You can't just 'move there' in spite of comments to the contrary.

[warlord 73]

Yes if she decides to stay in Canada and no live in the US, she will have abandoned her immigration to the US petition and her temp Green Card. The only way to keep the status and Green Card (regardless if 10 years or the temp) is for her to live in the US with adequate proof she is residing in the US.

If down the road you two want to move back to the US, you would have to start the entire process over again. The only way for you two to live in Canada this way is to wait a good 3+ years till after she becomes a US Citizen. Only then will she be able to live outside of the US without losing and abandoning her status...