Canadian citizen dating US citizen with plans to move to US

[Lights 56]

Hi Lights!

Oh wow.. you're bringing up new points that I definitely need to figure out.

I also own a home here in Canada and had thought to keep it and rent it out... what are your thoughts on this? What made you decide to sell?

As to taxation, I definitely need to talk to my accountant. I'm self employed (I own a wedding photography business) which makes this even trickier. If I go the K1 route, and let's say I have that by April or May next year.. I would have to wait until all of my summer weddings are done before I could come to the US to get married --otherwise I would be stuck in the US waiting for AP and may have weddings to shoot. Boo! I'm so tired of being away from Riccis My plan has been all along to shoot weddings in the summer in Canada from June-Aug then shoot the rest of the year in Miami --though I have no idea how this will work tax-wise. It scares me to think of it. I will talk to my accountant this week about it.

So, to K1 or not to K1.. that is the question

For me, it wasn't worth it to rent it out. I would be paying income tax in Canada and then US because it's consider global income. Then, when I decide to sell, because it's not considered your primary residence anymore, you are subject to claim capital gains. In the end, it didn't make sense financially. When you factor in cost of maintenance, taxes, renters insurance etc to be a landlord, you may very well be at a loss each month. The only way I would consider keeping it is if I had a very nice percentage of cash flow positive each month; where even after taxes, potential of things going wrong (washer and dryer dying for example), that I would still be in the positive (which is very hard to do in Vancouver and I had a lot of equity in my home). Also, depending on where you are, it is sometimes required for a non-resident owner to hire a property management company. With all the cost associated to being a non-resident owner and the inability to come back to fix any problems or issues at a drop of a hat, it didnt't make logical or financial sense for me.

If you have your interview in April or May next year and are approved, you'll have 6 months to move to the US (from your medical exam date). In Vancouver, that will usually happen within the same week or a week prior. Dr. Cheema did my medical exam in Vancouver and I scheduled it about a week and a half away from my interview because of work obligations etc. You do not need to leave right away and an expiration date will be in your visa/passport.

Putting taxes aside: You CANNOT work in the US unless you have proper authorization to do so. If you are pending K1, you are not allowed. If you have been approved and have your visa and have moved to the US, you are still NOT allowed until you file AOS (EAD) and is approved, which usually takes an estimate of 90 days or so.

I would still ask your accountant for the breakdown each year if you spend part of it in Canada working and part of it in the US working. It does get a bit complicated if you're making income on both sides of the border, so make sure you have a good Canadian AND US accountant. Not every accountant understands US taxation and what's required.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Lights

[NikLR 13,231]

You don't pay the taxes twice, Canada and the US have a tax treaty, but you have to declare and then deduct the income made in the foreign country. It's really difficult because there are some residency issues involved in it.

http://www.serbinski.com/ deals specifically with Can/US tax issues that your accountant may not be aware of. They're expensive, but they have a free forum to ask questions.

Lights is correct that you cannot work for about 90 days after filing the AOS for your K1. (So you move, get married, file the AOS, get the EAD and AP, then do biometrics and finally with or without an interview are granted a green card.) You need a document called employment authorization document (EAD) that allows you to work. If you were working for a Canadian company that is a grey area, however with a self employed business that means you could be taking work away from a US citizen or LPR so you're not allowed.

CR1 means you have to get married first but it also means you're a permanent resident (and your son would be as well) from POE with your visa. The process is much longer, but it's cheaper (generally). However you have to be married first.

[Thanes1 0]

If you are considering spousal sponsorship, this information was very useful to me (http://www.myvisasource.com/services/permanent-residence/canadian-spousal-sponsorship/) It comes from a immigration lawyer from toronto, and basically outlines factors that can be challenges with the spousal sponsor approach to immigration - things like age, employability, criminal record etc.