going to university in canada while having green card

[smurfette71 0]

I am wanting to know if my son decides to attend university in canada next year, which he will have a green card in usa, will that do any harm or can it be done? will he have to revoke the USA green card,

any ideas on this or links that explains this,

thank you

[sheeshkabelle 153]

He would probably have to apply for a re-entry permit if he plans on being out of the US for more than 12 months at a time, but still intends to reside permanently in the U.S.

"A permanent resident or conditional permanent resident in possession of a valid re-entry permit who is otherwise admissible shall not be deemed to have abandoned status based solely on the duration of an absence or absences while the permit is valid."

[Ontarkie 14,218]

It can be done, Gary and Alla's son is/was doing just that. I think you can probably look up some post or send him a PM and find all the answers you need to make it work.

[GB55 11]

I am wanting to know if my son decides to attend university in canada next year, which he will have a green card in usa, will that do any harm or can it be done? will he have to revoke the USA green card,

any ideas on this or links that explains this,

thank you

My parents moved us from Canada to the US in 2004 and we received our green card in 2006. I decided I would receive a better education in Ottawa, Canada and thus went to University there for 3 years without losing my green card. I made sure I came back to the US every summer to work and to enter the US at least once every 5 1/2 months. I was working in Canada throughout my entire University stay and that didn't cause a problem.

If your son wants to proceed with a US naturalization after graduating, the important thing to remember is that:

A. He needs to enter the US at least once every 6 months or apply for a re-entry visa before he leaves

B. Maintain his permanent residence in the US for all official documents

C. File his US taxes (even if he only worked in Canada) as a US permanent resident (this is very important. If he files as "non-resident" he risks losing his green card)

D. Maintain accurate records of every EXACT DATE of his entry/exits to the US and every country he visits during the 5 years before his naturalization application. (I wish someone had told me this because this information is very difficult to gather after the fact since they do not stamp your passport between Canada and the US)

I hope this helps! Like I said, I spent 3 years in Canada while in University, coming back to the US every summer, and I recently became a US citizen after my graduation.

Good luck!

[warlord 73]

A. He needs to enter the US at least once every 6 months or apply for a re-entry visa before he leaves

Actually simply coming back for a visit to the US every 6 months does nothing to preserve your GC. All the 6 months thing means is that before 6 months, the INS just has to prove you abandoned your CG, after 6 months, you have to prove you didn't abandon the GC.

People have lost their GC just being out a few months if found they have violated the GC by living and residing outside of the US and just came back for a "short visit".

Now will they check everyone? No, and this is more of an issue when applying for citizenship, but at the border, they can check and if so, they can take further action or make you prove you haven't been breaking your residency.

However the re-entry is the best thing to do...

[GB55 11]

Actually simply coming back for a visit to the US every 6 months does nothing to preserve your GC. All the 6 months thing means is that before 6 months, the INS just has to prove you abandoned your CG, after 6 months, you have to prove you didn't abandon the GC.

People have lost their GC just being out a few months if found they have violated the GC by living and residing outside of the US and just came back for a "short visit".

I think the most important part of this is to prove you did not intend to give up your GC. So things like maintaining permanent residency officially in the US, filing your taxes as permanent resident, and returning to the US immediately after graduation will help. Since this is for education purposes, it should not cause any issues. It would be a different matter entirely if he decided to move to Canada to work full time while not being in school since he would essentially be forfeiting his right to work in the US.

Maybe I was lucky in that they approved my petition for citizenship. But at the same time, I made sure there was no question about having given up my GC during my studies in Canada.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

A child attending university wherever is still usually considered to be using their parent's address as their permanent place of residence. I don't know if this applies when they're GC holders or not but I don't see why it wouldn't. He/she would be attending 8-9 months a year, returning home during that time I would suppose for periods like a month when exams are done etc and vacations ....

I'm curious as well since my daughter may be in this position eventually.