Filing US Citizenship and PR in Canada at the same time?

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Guest168

Registered Users (C)
In 2008 Nov, I am eligible to apply for US citizenship. I am expecting to receive my citizenship in 2009 if there is no problem. My questions are:

1) Before I can get my citizenship, can I apply for permanent residency in Canada during the waiting period in US?

The reason is that my girlfriend is in Canada and we have been dating for a year now. We would like to spend our life together in one place. Coming to US is not her choice because she needs to take care of her family over there.

2) Will any sort of audits or background check that can find out I am also applying for PR in Canada and deny my citizenship eventually?

I have been living in US for over a decade with legal status and make a good contribution to this country. I may return to the US one day and therefore I would like to apply for citizenship instead of remaining as a Green Card holder here.

Thanks a lot for reading my message and hopefully receive some responses soon.
 
Quite frankly I'm surprised someone would ask a question like this?!! :mad:

As you probably know, applying for US citizenship requires you to have 5 years continuous US residency, so how do you reconcile this with a simultaneous application for Canadian permanent residency?

Decide where you want to live and stop messing around.
 
I can understand why you are mad; however, there are many people possess dual citizenship. Sometimes it's not because we don't like to settle down in one place or don't know where we want to love. It's due to family issue, economical factor, employment opportunity, political issue, and other factors. Being apart from your significant half & family is not easy to deal with especially I am talking about at least 5 years from now.

Like I say I have been living in the states continuously for over a decade, that 5 years presence is not a problem at all when it's time to apply.

Canada allows spousal sponsorship based on spouse, common law partner, conjugal partner, or thru skilled labour program.
 
Well, we sometimes get a bit worked up with the whole being true to the spirit of naturalization, forgive us ;) On a practical note I don't think you should have any problem. I am assuming you'll apply for residency and wait for your U.S. naturalization before you move. Depending on your local office you will most likely receive your citizenship probably before your permanent resident visa gets approved in Canada. Even if they found out I don't think it should have any bearing on your application, it is like anyone else getting citizenship and then applying for a job in France, or Indonesia, or anywhere else. However, keep in mind you'll have to file U.S. tax returns from Canada. Also keep in mind that this is my personal opinion I don't have any prior experience with cases like yours. I am just trying to apply commonsense.

Good luck.
 
I am not sure how Permanent Resident application would affect the US Naturalization process as they are mutually exclusive with no bearing on each other. However, by having an 'active' Canadian PR application process (which also asks for FBI fingerprints) at the time of an 'active' N-400 process - wouldn't that raise a question of anyone's true 'intent' to acquire US Citizenship during the Citizenship process?

USCIS may never find out about the Canadian PR Status, but they very well may (and can) find out because of FP process. Would you be able to take that chance? How about waiting for US Citizenship and then applying for Canadian PR?
 
Do not get canadian PR before getting US citizenship

The moment you get Canadian PR, USCIS considers that abandoning you Green Card - I-407.
We have been told this by a lawyer and immigration agent at the border.
Because the moment you get PR, you have decided that your intent is to live there and USCIS considers this is abandoment of green card.
 
On second thought it is probably not worth risking it. Get the U.S. citizenship first, then apply for the Canadian permanent residency. In most local offices you can be done in as little as three or four months if your case doesn't get any complications.
 
Thank you very much for all your advices. Just trying to see if there is any way to speed up the processs so that I can re-union my honey with less amount of time.

I preceive that getting PR in Canada will take much longer time than getting my US citizenship. Yes, I can finish my US citizenship first and then consider PR in Canada. The reason I ask is due to the fact that I cannot work in Canada while I am being sponsored in Canada (if I enter as a US Citizen). We can't get married immediately until 1 year of staying together as a proof. Then another 9 months to process the application. So I will be jobless for almost 2 years. This will put burden on my honey and quite frankly, most companies will not want to see or hire anyone being jobless for 2 years whether it's in US or Canada.

I guess it's safe to be patient and just wait 2 years to apply for US citizenship and another 2 years of being unemployed just to be with my honey. :)
 
I apologize for being mad earlier - not such a good day for me yesterday.

The clearest path to obtain USC and Canadian PR would be to secure the US citizenship first. If you apply for both simultaneously, or start living in Canada before your USC is finalized, you not only risk having your N-400 denied, but you potentially put your US GC in jeopardy.

While I don't think anyone can authoritatively say how much information sharing goes on between the US and Canada, I do think its not worth the risk to find out the hard way.
 
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