Parents coming to US from Canada as PR

[Ontarkie 14,215]

3 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

 

Thank you, would the link below apply in their case?

 

https://www.ontario.ca/page/ohip-coverage-while-outside-canada

 

They're from Ontario. It says they can be outside of Canada for 7 months. They're only planning to come over for a few weeks, and go back. They will be keeping Ontario as their primary residency and continue to live in Canada and keep their jobs there at least for next few years. They are not ready to give up their home/lives in Canads yet and their visa expires in June. We just wanted to make sure their visa is validated, then they can go back and come back once ready.

 

I'm slow lol 

That is about sonwbirds, does not apply to them. They cannot keep Ontario as their primary resident once they Endorse their visa. When they endorse those visa they are stating they are going to be living in the US. If they want to stay in Canada they need a reentry permit. This will let them be back in Canada for a few years. As without it they cannot and should not be gone for more then 6 months. 

[Melisandre 5]

9 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

BC is the only one that I am aware of that keeps coverage for the rest of the month after the move to the US. As they do charge a healthcare fee in advance. 

 

Here is a link how they figure out when you stop being a resident of Canada they go by the same rules for taxes - https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/leaving-canada-emigrants.html

 

OHIP is a pain to get straight answer from some members will say they called and they were told that they don't lose it right away. Sadly this is not true and many have ended up with a bill years later. Too many times the person answering the questions is just in a call center reading a screen and they see examples of students, and snow birds and give out that answer. But the things is students and snowbirds do not ever claim to be a US resident, ppl entering on a IR/CR/K visas do  take up permanent residency in the US. They are not tourists and the health care stops at the border once that stamp is in there passports. When your parents do their exit taxes the date they originally crossed/visa endorsed is the date they will use.  If they use the health care after that date someone will eventually put two and two together. What Province are your parents leaving? That is the site you need to really look into as it could be like BC and give them a month. Also if they are selling a house. It is better to do so before they leave. Selling it after they are no longer residents opens a bunch of other tax stuff they can avoid. I'm not sure what all it entails but I was advise to sell before the move and many on here have wished they did so too. Something about paying more taxes maybe because it is no longer the primary residence. 

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. My parents are actually in Ontario. They're not selling their house and keeping everything, they're simply not ready to move yet and their visa expires in June. We wanted to have their visa validated, so that they could go back and come back in 6 months to a year when they're ready. They want to keep Ontario as their primary residence. Should I be looking into snowbird laws in this case? Any point of direction to learn on snowbird regulations?

[Lil bear 4,181]

Agree with @Ontarkie about the tax challenges of selling property after becoming an LPR. It is generally way cleaner to have all assets liquidated and in a bank cash account before entering the US. The IRS treats withdrawals from retirement  accounts,  for example,  as taxable income .. a huge impact if your hone country treats withdrawals as tax free or reduced tax liability. 

[Lil bear 4,181]

4 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. My parents are actually in Ontario. They're not selling their house and keeping everything, they're simply not ready to move yet and their visa expires in June. We wanted to have their visa validated, so that they could go back and come back in 6 months to a year when they're ready. They want to keep Ontario as their primary residence. Should I be looking into snowbird laws in this case? Any point of direction to learn on snowbird regulations?

Entering on their US immigrant visa means they are immigrating .. they cant be visitors or snow birds any more .. it just doesn't work that way. 
 

If its that critical that they do not immigrate now, then let this visa expire .. apply again after it has expired (July) and the new visa process will take 12-18 months. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Lil bear

[Boiler 45,442]

3 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. My parents are actually in Ontario. They're not selling their house and keeping everything, they're simply not ready to move yet and their visa expires in June. We wanted to have their visa validated, so that they could go back and come back in 6 months to a year when they're ready. They want to keep Ontario as their primary residence. Should I be looking into snowbird laws in this case? Any point of direction to learn on snowbird regulations?

Snowbirds are Canadians who spend some of the winter in the southern US.

 

Sounds kike they will American Residents who will spend some of their time in Canada.

 

The Property issue mainly relates to capital gains and how they are treated.

[Melisandre 5]

30 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

I'm slow lol 

That is about sonwbirds, does not apply to them. They cannot keep Ontario as their primary resident once they Endorse their visa. When they endorse those visa they are stating they are going to be living in the US. If they want to stay in Canada they need a reentry permit. This will let them be back in Canada for a few years. As without it they cannot and should not be gone for more then 6 months. 

Thank you for explaining! I need to sit down with them. If they want to stay in Canada and need a re-entry permit - as in, a re-entry permit to enter Canada or a re-entry permit to enter US? May I ask for some direction to learn about re-entry permit? My mom is definitely not ready to wrap it all up in Canada yet..

[Boiler 45,442]

Let us go back to basics, why do they want to immigrate to the US?

[Melisandre 5]

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Let us go back to basics, why do they want to immigrate to the US?

I'm basically forcing them.. I'm an only child and I'd like to have them close to me as they're sick and old. That was the whole intent of going through this long process - in case it became too difficult for them to continue to live in Canada alone, so they could just come and stay with me and eventually become citizens here.

[Lil bear 4,181]

6 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

Thank you for explaining! I need to sit down with them. If they want to stay in Canada and need a re-entry permit - as in, a re-entry permit to enter Canada or a re-entry permit to enter US? May I ask for some direction to learn about re-entry permit? My mom is definitely not ready to wrap it all up in Canada yet..

Search for I 131 on the uscis website. Thats the reentry permit. Its for staying outside the US for up to 2 years without being presumed to have abandoned the US LPR status. Its not specific to staying in Canada 
 

It does not change anything regarding the presumption of being a US lpr .. so it doesn't change the taxation, Canada health care eligibility issues.  They will be required to comply with IRS regulations , reporting of non US financial accounts etc from the day they become LPR 

[Melisandre 5]

49 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

I'm slow lol 

That is about sonwbirds, does not apply to them. They cannot keep Ontario as their primary resident once they Endorse their visa. When they endorse those visa they are stating they are going to be living in the US. If they want to stay in Canada they need a reentry permit. This will let them be back in Canada for a few years. As without it they cannot and should not be gone for more then 6 months. 

Also, ot of curiosity, what happens if they decide to give up their US residency after endorsing the visa and want to reclaim Canadian residency? How long would the reclaiming period require for them to be considered primary residents of Canada again? Thank you!

[Lil bear 4,181]

2 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

I'm basically forcing them.. I'm an only child and I'd like to have them close to me as they're sick and old. That was the whole intent of going through this long process - in case it became too difficult for them to continue to live in Canada alone, so they could just come and stay with me and eventually become citizens here.

Having 94 yr old parents still in Australia, i really know the challenges you're facing    Trouble is, the immigrant visa comes with big consequences and its not really a “ if needed, rainy day” option.  They cant tuck it away until they need or want to use it .. this visa will expire in June .. you need to have really frank discussions about both options ., them coming here.. ready or not .. or them choosing to stay in Canada and the challenges that will bring if they are not able to come when they are “ready”. There are no easy, good or right decisions .. they need to decide and then you all manage the consequences of their decision  knowing its all you can do 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

20 minutes ago, Melisandre said:

I'm basically forcing them.. I'm an only child and I'd like to have them close to me as they're sick and old. That was the whole intent of going through this long process - in case it became too difficult for them to continue to live in Canada alone, so they could just come and stay with me and eventually become citizens here.

 

If they are not ready to immigrate, the cleanest approach is to let the visa expire and not travel to the US until afterwards, as visitors.

 

You then start new petitions for them and get it approved and sent to NVC.  Let it stay there - do not complete the AOS and IV steps.  About 9 months before the date they are actually ready to move for good, complete the NVC steps and let it progress normally to interview.

 

This will avoid the whole US permanent resident - Canadian resident issues:  they will have not US tax liabilities and they can keep their Canadian healthcare.  

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, Melisandre said:

They will be keeping Ontario as their primary residency and continue to live in Canada and keep their jobs there at least for next few years

They risk an NTA and loss’s of their LPR status. 

[SalishSea 17,801]

11 hours ago, Melisandre said:

Good afternoon all,

 

I am a naturalized US citizen. My parents are Canadian citizens, recently granted the family visa to move to the US as permanent residents. They received their visas on their Canadian passport in Montreal earlier this year and the visa expires in June. My parents' first trip since being granted the visa to US will be in April. They are not "moving" this visit, simply coming over for 2 months to stay with me and then go back to their Canadian residence for a couple more months to prepare for the move. 

 

I am kind of confused in regards to what happens next - I have reached out many times to NVC to get clarification but haven't received any. When they fly in from Montreal to US in April, would they just show the visa to the customs officer and that's it? Are they going to be questioned/interviewed at that point at the airport? My parents are sick and elderly so I want to have them aware and prepared for as much as possible and know what to expect. At what point would they receive their PR cards? As I was the petitioner in their application, is it going to be mailed to my home address for them? Or would it be mailed to their Canadian listed address?

 

Once they have arrived to the US, they plan to stay for about 2 months with me and then go back to Canada. and then come back again in a couple of months. I am just not sure what the process will be like from here on to obtain the actual PR card and what would be the next steps in terms of getting their Social Security and everything set up. I will really appreciate some guidance in this.

They won’t be eligible for social security or Medicare.

 

Hopefully you have a plan in place to provide for their healthcare, as the provincial healthcare coverage will not be valid after they immigrate.

[SalishSea 17,801]

1 hour ago, Melisandre said:

I'm basically forcing them.. I'm an only child and I'd like to have them close to me as they're sick and old. That was the whole intent of going through this long process - in case it became too difficult for them to continue to live in Canada alone, so they could just come and stay with me and eventually become citizens here.

Sounds like more research is needed on your part to understand all of the pros and cons of bringing them here.

 

Good luck.