Should I get US Citizenship. If I dont will it hinder any future business opportunities I may have

[NikLR 13,231]

Wow there was a lot of misinformation in this thread. It's not a hassle at all to be a green card holder and to travel back and forth. It's not an issue. The purpose of the green card is to allow a person to live and work in the USA. If you present a green card upon entry and tell them you're just visiting they can put you in proceedings to take it away.

Always, ALWAYS, be honest and truthful with the CBP.

Any business ventures the USC may have isn't affected by having a green card or USC spouse. The only time it makes a difference is if one person passes away so having wills in place is a good idea. However the I-864 is in effect until the beneficiary becomes a USC, works 40 work quarters (approx 10 years fulltime), leaves the US permanently or dies.

Beyond that if you both end up moving to Canada at some point, if both are USC then you do have to file US taxes for the rest of the time you're a citizen. It's expensive to renounce US citizenship.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

I agree with the lost above. My mom hadn't been a greencard holder long when my sister was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was traveling back and forth to canada frequently for visits

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Yeah, 75% of this thread is wrong and it's coming from one person.

A green card allows you to freely go to and from in the US. Having a green card is saying "I live here in the US legally!", so saying you're just there to visit, it's as if you think they don't have access to all of your records.


Everytime you come into the US, your info is put into the system, just because you don't get a hard visitor stamp doesn't mean you aren't technically on a visitor visa or they don't keep your information because you're canadian. All of my fiances trips to the US since the issuance of his new passport are found as B2 visitor visas in the electronic I-94 system.

Also, just because you have a canadian passport doesn't mean they aren't going to grill you. It would be someones luck that they follow some of this advice, say they're visiting the US, show the canadian passport, get questioned and then get asked well if you don't live in the US, why do you have a green card in the system, and then lose the green card.

I don't know how much experience CherRy has had entering and leaving the country, but it's ALWAYS entirely up to the officer to let you in. Shoot, there was a person with a valid K-1 visa that wasn't let in in Toronto, she had everything right and was devastated, this was recently. You could have all your documents 100% and it does not matter.

The link you linked says the same thing we're saying, you have your passport, you have your green card, and AS ALWAYS, it's up to the customs officer, and in the link you linked it says " If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status. " Which is funny because you're telling people to say they are just visiting, which means you did NOT intend to make the US your permanent home.

I can't tell if you're trolling or trying to purposely get someone to potentially put themselves in an unneeded awful place, but please read what you link.



As for the OP. Your fiance does not have to wait for her green card to travel. Once ya'll submit your AOS application, you also send in for EAD and AP as well. Once her AP is approved and she has the card in hand, she's free to come and go just as if she had the green card.

Secondly, one thing that I personally like about citizenship is that if anything happens legally, like a crime or anything, when you're not a citizen everything goes through immigration court, where as if you get citizenship everything goes through as normal. While most people go "oh well that would never happen to me I'm a law abiding person!", sometimes good people end up in bad situations.

As for it affecting a job or anything like that, no unless you die and she gets the company as a LPR. If she wants to vote she can become a citizen, if she wants true protection of the law she can become a citizen.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I never found it any more cumbersome to travel with a Green card then I do now as a dual citizen. NOT ONCE was I ever pulled into secondary or questioned for more then about 1 minute while crossing at the border by car or going through US customs at the Toronto Airport - the GC makes returning home to the US easier since you have a legal presence.

Your fiancee and soon to be wife should NEVER lie to any border official, Canadian, US or otherwise.

She can live in the US as permanent resident forever. It makes no differences unless you guys are planning to travel out of the country or you want to vote. Going out of the country as a permanent resident is such a hassle. She can travel as a Canadian as long as she doesn't tell the US CBP that she lives in the US. She will have to enter the US with Canadian passport as visit.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I traveled back a fair bit from DC to Saskatchewan on my greencard......never had an issue..not sure why 1 would.....one has gone the legal route

[ajmess jaon 0]

I never found it any more cumbersome to travel with a Green card then I do now as a dual citizen. NOT ONCE was I ever pulled into secondary or questioned for more then about 1 minute while crossing at the border by car or going through US customs at the Toronto Airport - the GC makes returning home to the US easier since you have a legal presence.

Your fiancee and soon to be wife should NEVER lie to any border official, Canadian, US or otherwise.

Hi, I'm OP. Can you explain to me how you got your dual citizcenship. My fiance is considering getting that when the time comes.

Does she just apply for the US citizenship and thats it? When it gets approved, she'll have both passports, meanings shes a dual citizen?

Thanks!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Its a process , like anything else with immigration - prior to being able to apply for citizenship your K1 fiancée will marry you, apply for Adjustment of status (AOS)...which is the 2 yr GC and then subsequently Removal of conditions 2 years later (which is the 10 yr GC) and then after a minimum of 3 yrs or marriage and 3 yrs of Perm residency (ie: GC)....she can apply to be a US citizen.

If you want to read about it, head over to the US citizenship forum...but that's a few yrs away for you guys right now.

She does NOT automatically gain citizenship through marriage to you or any of the other 1000 misconceptions out there.

Hi, I'm OP. Can you explain to me how you got your dual citizcenship. My fiance is considering getting that when the time comes.

Does she just apply for the US citizenship and thats it? When it gets approved, she'll have both passports, meanings shes a dual citizen?

Thanks!

[moemac59 193]

Well, Canada and US has no visa required policy on travel. So, if she come back in to the US saying it's to visit, they will easily let her in.

The problem with saying she lives in the US and showing them green card raise a lot of flag for CBP. They will take her picture and fingerprint almost every time and they will keep track of her every time she goes out of country. After certain amount of time, they can revoke her green card and take it away.

But traveling as a Canadian to enter the US, she will not have any problem as long as she is visiting since they don't keep any records of it due to visa free travel.

CherRy

This is entirely incorrect. I have just received my 10yr GC and go back and forth each week to Canada. The only thing I use when I come into Canada as a Canadian citizen is my NEXUS card. When I come back into the US, I use my NEXUS card and my GC.

Why on earth would she lie to USCPB? I would never ever advise lying to a customs agent on either side at POE.

[moemac59 193]

The only thing that may hinder US Citizenship is this:

https://bccla.org/2015/06/its-official-second-class-citizenship-goes-into-effect/