Can Canadian citizen live and work freely in the US with a GC spouse?

C

cindywang16

Registered Users (C)
My sister is Canadian resident. (has Canada GC)
Her husband is Canadian citizen with US Green card.

He received his Green card before they were married.
Now, because the restriction of GC, my sister's husband have to live in the US for at least 6 months every year.
But we don't know if she can follow him to US base on his US green card or not.
We are also wondering if she, as a Canadian resident, already legal to come to US work and live freely, or she has to wait when she is a Canadian citizen?

We don't understand this because if a Canadian citizen can live and work freely in US, why they still willing to go through all this hassle to get US GC?

Thank you for any feedback, we are out of place to ask.
Thank you
 
cindywang16 said:
But we don't know if she can follow him to US base on his US green card or not.
Click to expand...

She can, but there's a wait of 5-7 years for a visa.

We are also wondering if she, as a Canadian resident, already legal to come to US work and live freely, or she has to wait when she is a Canadian citizen?
Click to expand...

Neither Canadian citizens nor residents have the right to live or work in the US based on their Canadian status alone.

We don't understand this because if a Canadian citizen can live and work freely in US, why they still willing to go through all this hassle to get US GC?
Click to expand...

Good reasoning. The reason we went through the hassle is because Canadians have no right to live or work in the US. The only special privileges granted to Canadian citizens are visa-free entrance in most cases, and no I-94s if entering as a visitor.
 
cindywang16 said:
We don't understand this because if a Canadian citizen can live and work freely in US,
Click to expand...
Who told you that? Canadians have more options available to live and work in the US than most other non-US citizens, but they still can't live and work "freely" in the US.
 
Canadians can't live and work freely in the US. They still need a job offer to work in the US under the "TN" visa status which is a much easier process than the H1B visa. Maybe this is a reason your bro-in-law accquired GC so he can work and live freely in the US.
 
hi Everyone
thank you for the responses.
The reason why I thought my sister will be able to live and work freely in the US based on her Canadian residency is because she told me "once she has Canadian green card, she will be able to follow her husband to US." :(
hm...strange.

By the way, how long is Canadian's GC process after marrying a Canadian citizen? and how long before you can apply for Citizenship?
 
Canadian process can take from 3 to 12 months.
One can apply for Canadian citizenship after living in Canada for 3 years as a PR.

cindywang16 said:
By the way, how long is Canadian's GC process after marrying a Canadian citizen? and how long before you can apply for Citizenship?
Click to expand...
 
Thank you so much Triple Citizen.
So sounds like Canada have similar timeline as US for GC and citizenship?


I am under the impression that Canada is a lot easier and faster to receive all immigration related matters.
oh...I know why I feel Canada is faster in immigration matters now, if I heard this information correctly, for Canadian worker they can start to apply for their GC at the same time they receive their work visa, am I correct?
And I only take from 3-12 month to receive Canadian GC

Am I right with this one?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
technically, Canada does not have as many as immigrants as the US thus will have a much less backlog. This is one of the main reason that Canada immigration process is a lot faster than the US.
 
bestpal said:
technically, Canada does not have as many as immigrants as the US thus will have a much less backlog. This is one of the main reason that Canada immigration process is a lot faster than the US.
Click to expand...
That's not the reason. Canada has fewer immigrants than the US, but Canada has more immigrants per capita than the US (and thus fewer people to handle the processing). US immigration takes a long time for the plain and simple reason that they are stupidly inefficient.
 
cindywang16 said:
The reason why I thought my sister will be able to live and work freely in the US based on her Canadian residency is because she told me "once she has Canadian green card, she will be able to follow her husband to US." :(
Click to expand...
She is mistaken. Having Canadian permanent residence may make it easier to visit the US, but still doesn't allow her to live and work in the US. And it still may be difficult to visit the US, because her husband having a green card gives her a reason (in the eyes of US Immigration) to overstay her authorized visiting time.
 
Hi People
So if one hold Canadian work visa, the minuet they hold work visa, they can start their Canadian Green card application, correct?
And there is additional 3-12 months wait before they receive work visa.

So their wait from work visa to GC is certain a lot shorter than US?
 
No connection between Canadian work permit and Canadian PR. They are independent of each other.

cindywang16 said:
So if one hold Canadian work visa, the minuet they hold work visa, they can start their Canadian Green card application, correct?
Click to expand...

That also depends on what track they are taking for PR status. Points based, family sponsorship, business based, etc.

cindywang16 said:
So their wait from work visa to GC is certain a lot shorter than US?
Click to expand...
 
oh...I didn't know that.
I heard that in US, one can apply work visa and renewal for twice, than they are eligible to apply GC through work. (so one can use work visa for 6 years, and employer will apply GC for the employee. It might take additional 2-3 years before employee receive their US GC)

Canada have to same thing, but don't need to wait. The GC application can be process immediately after one is granded for work visa. And it only take 1 years to process.
Is that true?
Maybe that is why I thought Canada is so fast and easy on immigration.?
 
If you are comparing processing time between a work permit and a PR visa, of course the former will be quicker. If you are comparing PR processing time for two applicants, one with a Canadian work permit and one withhout, there is no connection and thus no speculation should be entertained.

cindywang16 said:
But is it a long wait?
Or it will be a shorter wait with a work visa?
Click to expand...
 
cindywang16 said:
I heard that in US, one can apply work visa and renewal for twice, than they are eligible to apply GC through work. (so one can use work visa for 6 years, and employer will apply GC for the employee. It might take additional 2-3 years before employee receive their US GC)
Click to expand...

That is not the case. The GC sponsorship can start at any time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top