Entering US with different citizenship from you received you Immigrant Visa?

[budjas 0]

I recently got my approved for my EB3 and got the immigrant visa on my Indian passport while I was a permanent resident of Canada. However, I recently got my Canadian citizenship and passport because I applied for Canadian citizenship while waiting for the green card. Is there any implication to this because  I got new citizenship after I got the Immigrant visa when I cross the border to migrate?

 

[arken 4,197]

I don’t think US cares about multiple citizenship but you have to use the passport with the immigrant visa on it to be able to enter US.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

You are no longer an Indian citizen, and that Indian passport became invalid the moment you took oath to become a Canadian citizen. India does not allow dual citizenship and requires you to renounce Indian citizenship upon obtaining a different one. You may want to contact the Montreal consulate whether you need to transfer the visa to a Canadian passport. 

[budjas 0]

6 hours ago, arken said:

I don’t think US cares about multiple citizenship but you have to use the passport with the immigrant visa on it to be able to enter US.

Thanks for your insight. So I probably could just explain it to immigration officer regarding the additional passport.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 minute ago, budjas said:

Thanks for your insight. So I probably could just explain it to immigration officer regarding the additional passport.

To help future posters, please come back and update this thread with the actual experience when you cross the border?

[budjas 0]

6 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

You are no longer an Indian citizen, and that Indian passport became invalid the moment you took oath to become a Canadian citizen. India does not allow dual citizenship and requires you to renounce Indian citizenship upon obtaining a different one. You may want to contact the Montreal consulate whether you need to transfer the visa to a Canadian passport. 

Thanks for raising that topic. I know that when your passport expires with a 10 year multiple entry visitor visa you can still use that visitor visa as long as you bring it with your new passport. But I'm not sure if it will be the same for the immigrant visa so I should probably contact someone from Immigration or if someone here already had the similar situation before.

[budjas 0]

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

To help future posters, please come back and update this thread with the actual experience when you cross the border?

I definitely will. I never would have thought I would be in this rare situation.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Once Indian citizenship ended, the passport validity ended and along with that the visa.  Go get a new visa in your Canadian passport which is your only valid passport.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

6 minutes ago, budjas said:

Thanks for raising that topic. I know that when your passport expires with a 10 year multiple entry visitor visa you can still use that visitor visa as long as you bring it with your new passport. But I'm not sure if it will be the same for the immigrant visa so I should probably contact someone from Immigration or if someone here already had the similar situation before.

Both passports have to be from the same country in that instance. (See the first answer under “visa validity” in this official FAQ  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/frequently-asked-questions/about-basics.html

 

 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 hour ago, budjas said:

Thanks for raising that topic. I know that when your passport expires with a 10 year multiple entry visitor visa you can still use that visitor visa as long as you bring it with your new passport. But I'm not sure if it will be the same for the immigrant visa so I should probably contact someone from Immigration or if someone here already had the similar situation before.

The difference in your scenario is.. your Indian passport ceased to be invalid as of your Canadian citizenship oath. It's not the same as a passport expiring, because you're no longer entitled to hold the Indian passport, and any benefits thereof. As a newly minted Canadian, you cannot claim use of the Indian passport, and any visas in it become invalid. Use of an Indian passport by foreign nationals, ie you, is a punishable offence. 

 

You may want to review this wrt surrender of your Indian nationality. https://www.blsindia-canada.com/renunciation_ppt.php

[budjas 0]

45 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

The difference in your scenario is.. your Indian passport ceased to be invalid as of your Canadian citizenship oath. It's not the same as a passport expiring, because you're no longer entitled to hold the Indian passport, and any benefits thereof. As a newly minted Canadian, you cannot claim use of the Indian passport, and any visas in it become invalid. Use of an Indian passport by foreign nationals, ie you, is a punishable offence. 

 

You may want to review this wrt surrender of your Indian nationality. https://www.blsindia-canada.com/renunciation_ppt.php

I see. So would it have been better if I just entered the US first with the indian passport before getting Canadian citizenship?

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 hour ago, budjas said:

I see. So would it have been better if I just entered the US first with the indian passport before getting Canadian citizenship?

That's water under the bridge now. Why apply for Canadian citizenship when you have no intention of living in Canada?

 

You need to contact the Montreal consulate to get a new visa in a Canadian passport which is your only valid passport. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, budjas said:

I see. So would it have been better if I just entered the US first with the indian passport before getting Canadian citizenship?

Actually no because (afaik) actively acquiring the citizenship of another country while you have a green card is considered abandonment of your US residence and therefore of the green card.

[aaron2020 11,651]

On 4/4/2019 at 5:01 PM, budjas said:

I see. So would it have been better if I just entered the US first with the indian passport before getting Canadian citizenship?

Do you have a time machine?  You said you recently got your Canadian citizenship and passport.  So how are you planning on entering the US first with your Indian passport before getting Canadian citizenship?  The only way is to go back in time before you became a Canadian citizen.

Edited April 6, 2019 by aaron2020

[Russel1995 163]

Why did you get a Canadian citizenship if you planned to go to the US on a immigrant Visa? O.O