Exploring the idea of applying for green card (again!)

[MammaLamma 0]

Hi everyone. Long time no see. I used this forum 7-8 years ago and it was extremely helpful. 
Quick story: I’m a Canadian citizen. Moved to the US 8 years ago, got married there and applied and received my green card (via adjustment as I applied inside of the US). I did the paperwork myself and got the green card within 4-5 months.
We lived in the US for about 2 years and then moved to Canada. After we moved, I gave up my green card because I thought that was the right thing to do. 

Fast forward to today and we’re toying with the idea of moving back to the US. My husband is American citizen and about to receive his Canadian citizenship (just waiting for the ceremony). Both kids have dual citizenships. The problem is that I’d have to apply for green card again (sigh!). How long is the processing time at the Montreal centre these days? Would I have any issues given the fact that I gave up my green card previously? Would we have problems since we both live and work here in terms of showing financials? As for assets, after we sell our house here and pay off mortgage, we’d probably have 900k CAD. I could possibly keep my Canadian job which pays 90K (though I’m not 100% sure but I’ve been working remotely for years). I guess we could also ask for my in- laws assistance, if absolutely necessary, as they’re both US citizens. Any insight would be much appreciated. 

[JacobP 185]

Your adjustment was probably a lot faster than it takes to go through consular processing these days. You can look through the timelines, but it's taking around 2 years from the I-130 submission to interview now, thanks in part to COVID and Montreal just being a slow consulate in general.

 

You wouldn't be the only person to surrender their green card and apply for one again, there's other on this forum that have done it. Your guy's Canadian income won't count for sponsorship, not sure for assets. It's a good idea to keep joint sponsors in mind. Your American citizen spouse would have to prove domicile in the US by the time of the interview, so keep that in mind too.

[MammaLamma 0]

Just now, JacobP said:

Your adjustment was probably a lot faster than it takes to go through consular processing these days. You can look through the timelines, but it's taking around 2 years from the I-130 submission to interview now, thanks in part to COVID and Montreal just being a slow consulate in general.

 

You wouldn't be the only person to surrender their green card and apply for one again, there's other on this forum that have done it. Your guy's Canadian income won't count for sponsorship, not sure for assets. It's a good idea to keep joint sponsors in mind. Your American citizen spouse would have to prove domicile in the US by the time of the interview, so keep that in mind too.

Thank you so much for your response! I have no idea what domicile means or how to prove it. I’ll look it up right away. 
I’m  guessing we can’t simply decide to move our entire family back to the US.

In my mind, I thought we’ll wait for my green card, sell our house, buy a house in the US and get jobs and/or open a business. Looks like I underestimated this adventure lol

[Boiler 45,561]

Generally the Canadian consulate likes to see US presence, job etc from the US Citizen.

 

And that would meet the sponsorship requirements so simplifies matters.

 

2 years is as good a guess as any so you have plenty of time to sort things out.

[mam521 2,063]

Did you actually rescind your greencard or just let it lapse? Very different kettle of fish. 

[MammaLamma 0]

16 minutes ago, mam521 said:

Did you actually rescind your greencard or just let it lapse? Very different kettle of fish. 

Yes, I rescinded it. I think I still have the email exchange with the consulate about confirming this.

is it better or worse than letting it expire?

From what I knew at the time (5 years ago or so), I was supposed to give it up after moving back to Canada to avoid any issues at the US border in the future. 

[aurmorr 270]

SORRY WRONG THREAD

Edited June 16, 2021 by aurmorr

[Lil bear 4,228]

19 minutes ago, MammaLamma said:

Yes, I rescinded it. I think I still have the email exchange with the consulate about confirming this.

is it better or worse than letting it expire?

From what I knew at the time (5 years ago or so), I was supposed to give it up after moving back to Canada to avoid any issues at the US border in the future. 

We voluntarily relinquished our GC when we moved back to Australia .. no problems applying for new visas .. IR5 this time.. 5 years ago 

[mam521 2,063]

36 minutes ago, MammaLamma said:

Yes, I rescinded it. I think I still have the email exchange with the consulate about confirming this.

is it better or worse than letting it expire?

From what I knew at the time (5 years ago or so), I was supposed to give it up after moving back to Canada to avoid any issues at the US border in the future. 

Many people don’t realize that letting it simply expire isn’t actually rescinding it and that they are still on the hook for taxes, etc. On that note, has your husband been filing, despite being in Canada?

[MammaLamma 0]

12 minutes ago, mam521 said:

Many people don’t realize that letting it simply expire isn’t actually rescinding it and that they are still on the hook for taxes, etc. On that note, has your husband been filing, despite being in Canada?

No, he didn’t. 
I guess he better file now for the past years? I wonder what the implications might be?

[aaron2020 11,651]

16 minutes ago, MammaLamma said:

No, he didn’t. 
I guess he better file now for the past years? I wonder what the implications might be?

In order for you to get an immigrant visa, your husband would need to file an I-864.  On the I-864, he will need to attest that he filed US tax returns for the last 3 years or has a valid excuse to why he was not required to file.  If he has worked but not filed US tax returns as required, then the US Consulate will not be able to issue you an immigrant visa.

US citizens are required to filed a US tax returns on their worldwide income even if nothing is earned in the US.  There is a Foreign Earned Income Exemption if he qualifies.  Furthermore, when you sell your house, he will need to report the profits on his US tax return.  You may want to retain a US accountant who is qualified to advise and help him file.  

Edited June 17, 2021 by aaron2020

[MammaLamma 0]

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

In order for you to get an immigrant visa, your husband would need to file an I-864.  On the I-864, he will need to attest that he filed US tax returns for the last 3 years or has a valid excuse to why he was not required to file.  If he has worked but not filed US tax returns as required, then the US Consulate will not be able to issue you an immigrant visa.

US citizens are required to filed a US tax returns on their worldwide income even if nothing is earned in the US.  There is a Foreign Earned Income Exemption if he qualifies.  Furthermore, when you sell your house, he will need to report the profits on his US tax return.  You may want to retain a US accountant who is qualified to advise and help him file.  

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Does this mean that we would have to pay taxes/capital gains in the US on our Canadian home when sold? 

[HeatDeath 430]

On 6/16/2021 at 8:12 PM, MammaLamma said:

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Does this mean that we would have to pay taxes/capital gains in the US on our Canadian home when sold? 

Maybe, kinda, but possibly not really, and it's complicated. [Yes, I know. not really a helpful answer.  ]

 

The US and Canada have a tax treaty that, in theory, should relieve you from paying taxes to both Canada and the US.

When you fill out your US tax return, there is a special separate form where you document any and all income earned in Canada for which you paid Canadian taxes, and the amount of Canadian taxes you paid.

That amount comes right off the top of your taxable income, so even though you have to report the income earned in Canada, you should, in theory, not have to pay US taxes on it in over and above the Canadian taxes.

 

At least that holds true for income. Capital gains, as always, is significantly more complicated, I haven't had to deal with cross-border taxes in over a decade, and I was never an expert.

The advice given above holds - get a good cross-border accountant to figure this stuff out. It's not for the non-specialist.