USC Wife & Permanent Resident of Canada moving back to the States

[mtlguy 59]

Hi everyone,

My wife is a USC who became a Canadian Permanent Resident a few months ago. We've been married just under 2 years. Before becoming a PR in Canada, my wife used to fly back and forth to visit me and spend about 50% of the year with me here in Canada.

The reason she keeps going back to the US is mainly to be able to see her kids (teenagers) and experience life with them as they grow. Now that she's a PR in Canada, we assumed she'll keep doing the 50/50 between the US and Canada. Unfortunately, this setup has been taking quite a toll on everyone; especially the kids!

Long story short, we decided it's best if I move with my wife and kids to the States. We started looking into the process, and I guess I would be needing to file for IR1 Visa.

As I understand it, the first step is for my wife to file the I-130 petitions for me and my kids.

What we got confused about is the definition of her "residence" while filling out the G-325A form. Where was her residence? Well, We got married back in 2011. She spent 50% of the time in Canada AND maintained her house in the States as well. Recently she became a PR of Canada, but STILL maintains her house in the States as well. So what on earth should we write down for her residence?

We don't want to misrepresent a fact as to avoid any complications. (not that it's not complicated already!!)

any thoughts from the community?

Cheers.

[CM11 5]

Declaring as to which country is her "primary residence" will be based on where more of her ties lie. Having the home is one aspect to consider, along wih where her main bank account is, if she has credit card here or there, where she holds her driver license from, where most of her friends reside (social ties). The fact that she has permanent resident card though, I would be swaying towards listing her as primary resident of Canada.

Declaring so is not really a big deal...it just means you'll have to provide proof of her US domicile (when you get to the I-864 form), which will be easy for her given her house there and I'm assuming voting records, bank accounts, driver license, and US-insured vehicle.

Good luck! And since you're just starting the process, I highly recommend you spend a lot of time reading on here...you'll learn a lot and will make the process a lot easier!

[mtlguy 59]

Thanks for your input. Fact is she holds 2 of each items you listed. She has bank accounts & credit cards in both Canada and the US (she started sharing mine when we got married here).

She's insured in both countries. Again, I added her on my insurance the day we got tied the knot.

As for social ties, I'd say 50/50 as well. She's got ties in both countries.

We were planning to file the I-130 claiming her current residence to be Canada, though in reality, she's still going back and forth.

I wish the US immigration process is as easy as the Canadian one. Canada's immigration granted her permanent residency a mere 5 months after we applied.

It was one application, and as straight forward as it can get. Why is the American immigration so complicated ?!

Declaring as to which country is her "primary residence" will be based on where more of her ties lie. Having the home is one aspect to consider, along wih where her main bank account is, if she has credit card here or there, where she holds her driver license from, where most of her friends reside (social ties). The fact that she has permanent resident card though, I would be swaying towards listing her as primary resident of Canada.

Declaring so is not really a big deal...it just means you'll have to provide proof of her US domicile (when you get to the I-864 form), which will be easy for her given her house there and I'm assuming voting records, bank accounts, driver license, and US-insured vehicle.

Good luck! And since you're just starting the process, I highly recommend you spend a lot of time reading on here...you'll learn a lot and will make the process a lot easier!

[NikLR 13,227]

By the time you get to the NVC stage it will be easy to prove domicile because she has a home and residence in the USA.

The US immigration is so complicated because everyone believes the hype that it's better in the USA. (I kid but only a little bit... as I listen to my husband say "this is "AMURICA" in his southern accent )