Green card and the need for address

[Vancouverdude]

Hi everyone and thank you for taking the time and read my case.

Long story short:

I am a Canadian citizen who used to live in the states for couple of years before coming back to canada after loosing my job to recession. While I was there I applied for GC and my file recently got approved. I am currently in Canada and have a good job.Anyways I do want to follow the steps for maintaining the GC and I have been looking for a job in the states with no success.

My Question:

I don't want to quit my job and move to states with no job there at a time but the 6 month time I was given to move to states is almost over. Would it be OK if I rent a mailbox address and drive through the border and come back to canada and get the GC for now?

I am looking for a job everyday and hopefully it will work out in the next couple of month but I am afraid to pass the border and tell the border officer that I have no address to go to. Do any of you guys have any suggestions or had a similar problem?

Thank you.

 

[sanjoseaug20]

#1. Renting a mailbox is not going to work. You need to live in US. You can rent a mailbox for communication in the absence of a permanent address, but during border crossings you might be, and during naturalization you will be asked about your stays in US, and if the numbers do not work out, you will get a real hard time, including denial of entry or denial of naturalization.

#2. If you are a permanent residence, but temporarily without an address, it is not a unique situation. Many people arriving on DV lottery have the same scenario. I guess you need to book a motel and use that address.

Seeing from a non-legal perspective, if you want the green card, it implies residence. Poor economy or job loss has nothing to do with it. The max you can do is to comply with the minimum part of the law, but at least that ... you must.

 

[parnit]

Mine case is similar to this. I am canadian PR and has been in canada since 2009. Now I have received US immigration and I have time to enter USA till April 2011. MY problem is that both my son and my wife are going to school and I do not want to disturb their studies. Their schooling will be over in 2012. I have a good job here and I am not sure whether I will be able to get any gud job in USA the way the economy is. I live in Vancouver and US border is just 30 minutes drive drom my residence.

Kindly guide me how can I maintain both the residencies in Canada and in USA under these circumstances

 

[sanjoseaug20]

You can enter USA, and then apply a re-entry permit for 2 years. These 2 years will give you the time for the family to finish schooling.
Best bet will be to apply saying you need to be in your home country and once approved ... it is your decision where you spend your time, it could be Canada.

However, I am not sure what reason will you give, and if they ask you about Canada residency, what you will say. If you tell them you are doing this to maintain PR in Canada, it will not look good.

Also, do not tell them that you are delaying coming to US because the economy is bad. The counter point will be "yes, but what are the citizens supposed to do under bad economy"? Residency means residency.

 

[parnit]

I agree with your views that after entering USA, I should apply for re entry permit for 2 years. US immigration knows that presently, I am living in Canada and iimmigrant visa interview was also held in canada as my immigration case was transferred to Canada when I moved in here. So I have to apply for resdency permit on the basis of my stay in canada and kindly let me know whether it is possible to cite the reason that my wife and mu son are doing schooling there.

Secondly, how much time is required before one receive the residency permit and is it possible to leave USA before this permit arrives which can be mailed to me .
Thirdly, is it possible that after entering USA and staying there for 4-5 days , I can come back without Green card and later someone in USA can bring these cards to me when they come to visit me. or can I reenter USA without Green Card

Since, I am very near to US canada border, I have no problem in entering USA from Canada to satisfy six months limit to maintain green card. Therefore, kindly advise me the best course in this situation

 

[CalGreenCard]

Therefore, kindly advise me the best course in this situation

Sometimes the emperor has no clothes but someone needs to speak up and say so.

In your case it is so obvious what the right course of action is that it seems you haven't noticed it. The best course for you is to stay in Canada and give up on any plans to come to the USA.

You have a good job in Canada. You have a good family in Canada. You have good educational opportunities for your family in Canada. You have established residency status in Canada.

You have none of those things in the USA and, by your own admission, it is doubtful you'd get those things any time soon in the USA.

The decision is a no-brainer: stay in Canada.

I'm supportive of those who have good reason and the legal opportunity to emigrate to the USA, but I'm seeing a lot of messages on here lately that say some version of "the economy in the USA sucks; how do I get my green card?" Well, the traditional reason for moving to the USA has been for better economic opportunities. If someone no longer feels the USA offers such opportunities, I'm somewhat mystified why they'd want to jump through all the hoops needed to become USA legal residents.

Sorry but I must be missing something here.

 

[JAEMM]

So when your immigrant visa is approved, you must move to the U.S. within 6 months? Is that standard for everyone?

When you arrive, how long does it take to get the physical green card?

I have a similar situation to you both, we intend to maintain dual-residences for 2-3 years before moving to the U.S. full-time (so as to transition jobs, schools, etc).

 

[JAEMM]

I have time to enter USA till April 2011. MY problem is that both my son and my wife are going to school and I do not want to disturb their studies. Their schooling will be over in 2012.

It was my presumption you can enter before April 2011 and then leave, and re-enter at least every six months (without needing a re-entry permit).

That was our plan. Have you found information to the contrary? I didn't consider any additional requirements they may have to give you the actual green card!?

Additional thoughts would be to buy a condo in Seattle, buy a car, get a Washington State driver's license, and get auto and health insurance. I should think that sufficient to prove you residency intent despite spending most your time in Canada wrapping things up. (We're also moving to Seattle)

I'll may have the same problem with my son. His eligibility expires in May 2014, he wouldn't graduate University until Dec 2015 (should he decide to do that here, which I'm encouraging against).

 

[sanjoseaug20]

So when your immigrant visa is approved, you must move to the U.S. within 6 months? Is that standard for everyone?

They will give you a date, usually 6 months away.

 

[Jackolantern]

It was my presumption you can enter before April 2011 and then leave, and re-enter at least every six months (without needing a re-entry permit).

Not really. After a 2-3 years of traveling like that, the officer at the port of entry is likely to notice the pattern and give you a warning, or take away your green card and tell you to see an immigration judge to plead your case to get it back. If you can't convince the judge that you are really a US resident, your green card will be canceled and you'll have to leave the US.

 

[CalGreenCard]

It was my presumption you can enter before April 2011 and then leave, and re-enter at least every six months (without needing a re-entry permit).

That was our plan. Have you found information to the contrary? I didn't consider any additional requirements they may have to give you the actual green card!?

Additional thoughts would be to buy a condo in Seattle, buy a car, get a Washington State driver's license, and get auto and health insurance. I should think that sufficient to prove you residency intent despite spending most your time in Canada wrapping things up. (We're also moving to Seattle)

I'll may have the same problem with my son. His eligibility expires in May 2014, he wouldn't graduate University until Dec 2015 (should he decide to do that here, which I'm encouraging against).

I believe you are only supposed to have one North American driver's license at a time. Getting the Washington state driver's license would void the British Columbia one, especially given that Washington state has a reciprocal agreement specifically with BC. This would be a problem if you are still de facto living in BC. Also I believe that making a perfunctory entry every five-and-a-half months for the sole purpose of keeping a green card active may work for awhile, but eventually it may be questioned. Of course it might work for long enough for you to be able to actually move here.

Your plan may work, but it sounds horrendously expensive especially if--like parnit--you have no actual job to come to in the USA. Your decision to buy a condo in Seattle before actually moving here should be based on a position that you expect housing prices in Seattle to rise before you actually move here. I actually live and work in Seattle and I'm probably going to hold off on buying for awhile because I don't think the bottom has been reached yet in terms of home prices. Seattle tends to lag the rest of the country so even if housing begins to recover elsewhere in the USA it may take awhile before it happens in Seattle.

In any event buying a home for the sole reason that it helps you jump through green card hoops strikes me as a massive waste of money unless you are a multimillionaire (and, in that case, you can always get an entrepreneur green card at any time).

Can't your son just study a field (in Canada or the USA) that will leave him eligible for a TN in his own right? I can appreciate the desire to help open some doors for him if the US economy eventually improves but there are other options besides jumping through horrendously expensive hoops to get green cards for the whole family. He is young enough that he can be taking some steps on his own to keep USA options open--and at far lower cost than the plan you are proposing--if that is his interest.

 

[JAEMM]

Getting the Washington state driver's license would void the British Columbia one, especially given that Washington state has a reciprocal agreement specifically with BC.

If you use the reciprocal agreement, the Washington State DMV will likely punch a hole through the BC license. I don't believe however the have the capability of voiding the BC license; you will need to obtain a replacement in BC. Or the safer option is to *not* use the reciprocal agreement and take the exams.

You are required by law to have a local driver's license to drive longer than 90 days in any State or Country in the world (with slight variations, but that's pretty much standard).

While I don't doubt they also claim and/or legislate you may not have a Driver's license in multiple States or Countries at the same time; that is in direct conflict with the above, so you must work around it.

Also I believe that making a perfunctory entry every five-and-a-half months for the sole purpose of keeping a green card active may work for awhile, but eventually it may be questioned.

Oh, absolutely it will. The question is when.... how many times before they won't take the excuse you are wrapping up things at (old) home (selling house, letting children graduate school, etc).

And of course that 5.5 month visit ought to be for several weeks...you are house hunting.

Your plan may work, but it sounds horrendously expensive

Yeah, moving a family to a foreign country isn't ever cheap.

Although I have another problem... I must re-establish residency first in order to sponsor. What kind of BS is that?! Obviously that residency needs to be very well documented (ergo condo/car/insurance/license/job/company) but still superficial, I'm not living apart from my wife and children for months/years.

There's another idea I didn't mention, form a Business in Washington State, and do a nominal amount of consulting business, pay some taxes B&O. That's not very expensive.

I actually live and work in Seattle and I'm probably going to hold off on buying for awhile because I don't think the bottom has been reached yet in terms of home prices.

No, it hasn't reached bottom. Although mortgage rates probably bottomed last month. But it will never be economical to own/rent two houses. Not in this market.

Can't your son just study a field (in Canada or the USA) that will leave him eligible for a TN in his own right?

Honestly, what type of visa would that be?

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1326.html

An IR2 (Family First Preference) visa has no wait time, will lead to citizenship in 5 years (i.e. before finishing graduate school).

Any other type of Visa has very substantial wait times. Am I wrong?

I've seen wait time calculators for U.S. and Canadian immigrant visas, they were very depressing. I'll have to Google them up, or does anyone have links? Family Second Preference 2B after 21st birthday would be a big drop.

Obviously the best solution is to go to University in the U.S.

So if you have an exact date you wish to enter the U.S. (July 2012), when should you apply for a Family First Preference IR2 visa? Getting it to early would mean the trouble of entering/leaving the county until high school graduation, getting it too late will delay entering University courses.

Would getting a student visa first help mitigate that risk? Can a student visa be used for multiple entries and multiple courses (not previously planned except the first) over a period of a few years?

 

[JAEMM]

"adult unmarried children of a United States citizen can expect to wait five years."

That will vary by country of origin, but still...

The worst part about any wait time is the complete inability to plan your life and your affairs.

IMHO he comes to the U.S. before 21st birthday and can decide to go back later. The reverse is much much harder (staying behind and then deciding after 21st b-day to come to the U.S.). Of course it's hard telling an "adult" minor child (18-21) what they must do, especially then said child has girlfriend... I'll have to be very persuasive.

 

[CalGreenCard]

...Or the safer option is to *not* use the reciprocal agreement and take the exams...

Although I have another problem... I must re-establish residency first in order to sponsor...


Honestly, what type of visa would that be?...

I'm not sure if it is possible to avoid the reciprocal agreement especially with two neighboring North American jurisdictions like Washington and BC both of which issue enhanced drivers' licenses. Otherwise it would be easy for someone to escape multiple drunk driving convictions just by starting from scratch in a neighboring jurisdiction. I have to assume in today's world they'd be all over that.

I'm concerned here that we may have different people in this thread talking about very different situations and thinking they are talking about the same thing--and very dangerous misinformation may be circulated as a result.

Some people, eg parnit, appear to be neither Canadian nor US citizens. parnit is, along with his family, a permanent resident of Canada with a chance for permanent residency in the USA. If parnit were to get his green card, either parnit or his wife would come as the principal green card recipient with the rest of the family entering as derivatives. I'm advising parnit against pursuing large sums of money to pursue such a plan largely because he doesn't seem to have anything tangible to come to in the USA for him or his family. At best he'll spend large sums of money and at worst the family might be deemed to have abandoned residency in both countries, which would be a pretty bad outcome.

I'm advising parnit to wait until the family at least has Canadian citizenship, giving a firm foothold in North America, before trying to move to the USA. This may mean they give up the immigrant visa opportunity that expires in April but once they have Cdn citizenship there will be other opportunities--eg TN visas or easy L-1 visas, etc. My advice to parnit is based on the fact that he seems to have a good situation for his family in Canada whereas he has absolutely no prospects in the USA at all except an immigrant visa.

If parnit could come up with something more solid in the USA--eg a job offer in the USA and perhaps a willingness to work in the USA during the week and commute to Canada on weekends to see his family--I might think differently.

Your situation is very different. It sounds like you are already a US citizen yourself, but your son wasn't born in the USA, and you are trying to get status (citizenship or a green card) for your son. I'm a little unclear because in earlier posts you were wanting to file N-600K for your son, but now you want to sponsor him as an immediate relative. In any event you are probably already at least a Canadian permanent resident and perhaps a dual citizen. You need to maintain US residency only for the sake of sponsoring your son. Your own US citizenship is not in jeopardy. You are not at risk--as parnit would be--of having your green card taken away at the border by an over-zealous CBP agent.

I don't know much about the details of the N-600K or immediate relative processes so cannot advise as to how much of a US presence may be required. But I do think it needs to be noted that your situation is very different legally from parnit's even if there are elements--such as a need to maintain a US residence--that are similar, and we shouldn't assume that "one size fits all".

The TN visa is a commonly used visa for Canadian citizens (not permanent residents) to work in the USA. It allows Canadians--usually university graduates--in a fairly wide range of fields to get a three year USA work visa, renewable somewhat indefinitely, in an hour or so at the border provided their paperwork is in order. Once firmly ensconced in the USA with the US employer the Canadian can then go for a green card and eventual US citizenship.

 

[parnit]

Kindly clarify my following queries.
1. Can I enter USA by road .
2. At the entry point,my papers will be checked and passport will be stamped, Kindly let me know whether I will be getting Social Security No at the point of entry? If not, what is the procedure and how much time is required to get that one.( When I sent my complete application, I have given my consent for Social Security No to be issued.
3.Do I have to provide my address in USA at the point of entry and If I enter USA from Vancouver by road, Can I provide address of Newyork
4. I understand that Green card will be issued to me in 30 days or more, but can I come back to Canada the same day( Assuming I enter USA from Vancouver by Road) and is it possible to re enter USA without the Green card( on the basis of entry on my passport at the poisnt of entry to USA)
5. Can I enter frequently to USA by road so that I satisfy the 6 month condition , I want to do it as it will take me some months in canada before I finally move to USA by the end of 2011
6. Mine is family based immigration with my wife as the Principal applicant. Is it necessary for all of us to enter into US together or I can enter now and my wife at later date

 

[CalGreenCard]

Kindly clarify my following queries.
1. Can I enter USA by road .

Yes

2. At the entry point,my papers will be checked and passport will be stamped, Kindly let me know whether I will be getting Social Security No at the point of entry? If not, what is the procedure and how much time is required to get that one.( When I sent my complete application, I have given my consent for Social Security No to be issued.

I believe you need to apply at a Social Security office and should wait a couple of weeks after entering so that your entry is available in the database that Social Security uses.

3.Do I have to provide my address in USA at the point of entry and If I enter USA from Vancouver by road, Can I provide address of Newyork.

Yes an address in NY should not be a problem.

4. I understand that Green card will be issued to me in 30 days or more, but can I come back to Canada the same day( Assuming I enter USA from Vancouver by Road) and is it possible to re enter USA without the Green card( on the basis of entry on my passport at the poisnt of entry to USA)

Yes and yes.

5. Can I enter frequently to USA by road so that I satisfy the 6 month condition , I want to do it as it will take me some months in canada before I finally move to USA by the end of 2011

You can enter the USA any way you want but it is important to realize that the border guards aren't stupid. If they see that you are making only occasional day trips into the USA between Vancouver and Seattle, while claiming to live in NY, eventually they are going to notice and question it. That being said, if you are truly settled in the USA by the end of 2011--everyone actually living and working/studying here in the USA, not just pretending to do so--I think it is unlikely you would have any problems. That is well within the time frames that are allowed. Time to start getting resumes out.

Remember, though, that if you come to the USA permanently by the end of 2011, you will be abandoning Canada and the chance at Canadian citizenship, since you won't have lived in Canada long enough to qualify for Canadian citizenship. So I'd advise you to "look before you leap". If you've built a strong life in Canada, which it sounds like you have, don't throw that away until you know for sure that you have something even stronger to come to in the USA. Just because you can come to the USA it doesn't necessarily follow that you should unless you have something tangible to come to.

Another thought is that if you have clear plans to move to the USA by the end of 2011, but will definitely remain in Canada until then, you might want to wait until near the end of your window of opportunity in Apr 2011 to use your immigrant visas. That way the time period for which you will need to "wing it" a bit and pretend to be living here while not quite here yet will be a bit shorter and the chance of a problem is less.

6. Mine is family based immigration with my wife as the Principal applicant. Is it necessary for all of us to enter into US together or I can enter now and my wife at later date

By this you mean that someone in your wife's family sponsored her and the rest of the family are derivative applicants? I'm sure there would not be a problem if she entered first and you followed but I'm not sure about the other way around, because you are only entitled to a green card through your wife. Any reason why she couldn't come with you since you yourself are just planning to do a day trip?

 

[parnit]

Thanks for the update
If We enter US by road and go to Beelingham Social security office, will they accept our application for social security even if we give Newyork or Virginia;s address for the cards to be mailed.
Will US social security office issues this Social security No. immediately on paper as is done in Canada in case of SIN

are there any major formailities required for an immigrant to be completed after entering US other than opening bank account.
The reason why I am asking these questions is that it is not possible for all the members of the family to spend some days in US before May 2011 and I have only up to April 2011 to enter into US. So If possible, I want to go to US and would like to come back the same day... provided if it is feasible and later we all can go to US in May/or JUne 2011 and can spend time over there

 

[CalGreenCard]

Thanks for the update
If We enter US by road and go to Beelingham Social security office, will they accept our application for social security even if we give Newyork or Virginia;s address for the cards to be mailed.
Will US social security office issues this Social security No. immediately on paper as is done in Canada in case of SIN

are there any major formailities required for an immigrant to be completed after entering US other than opening bank account.
The reason why I am asking these questions is that it is not possible for all the members of the family to spend some days in US before May 2011 and I have only up to April 2011 to enter into US. So If possible, I want to go to US and would like to come back the same day... provided if it is feasible and later we all can go to US in May/or JUne 2011 and can spend time over there

AFAIK it should be fine giving an East Coast address for Social Security even if you apply in Bellingham. I don't believe you get the SSN right when you apply, and I believe it may take longer if you apply for the SSN on the same trip since it is harder to verify in that case. OTOH maybe that doesn't matter since you won't really be needing it for awhile.

If the gap between when you first enter and when you enter to stay is less than six months, it is extremely unlikely that you will have any problems. That's why I'm suggesting waiting until closer to April 2011 to "activate" your immigrant visa--it will reduce that time interval and delay starting that clock. Also it will give you more time to research the lay of the land in the USA and see whether this is really the right move for you. I see no reason for you to be in a rush to do this much before April 2011 and waiting will keep your options open for longer.

If you enter before the end of 2010 (which I don't recommend) you would need to file a US tax return for 2010. However I'm not a tax expert and don't have the details on how that would work. The majority of people here come to the USA first in a nonimmigrant status and only gradually transition to the green card. There may be different tax implications if you enter directly with a green card, but I don't know the details.

 

[parnit]

I plan to enter in the second week of Jan 2011 and to my knowledge then there will be no need to file income tax return in 2011

 

[Vancouverdude]

sth to think about

Seems like the discussion is a bit different from what I started. My experience so far: I activated my visa eventually and crossed the border by land and went to Bellingham for couple of hours and then I came back to Canada. You should definitely have an address and I used an address of a friend of mine in California so that they can mail the green card to me. The process at the border for me alone took about 1 hour.
Now that everyone is talking about someone with a Canadian PR getting GC:

*** I am a Canadian citizen so there was no problem when I drove back to the Canadian customs and I entered canada even without an entry stamp in my passport.On the other hand, If you are a permanent resident of canada and get a green card in the states you should know that when you come back the Canadian customs at the border will see your green card stamp and they can legally take your PR card away because by getting the GC in the states you are abandoning Canada as your main residence. If that happens in canada you would be sent to the immigration court in Canada and you can't leave the country unless you attend the court or if u leave u cant entre canada. It is very difficult to handle two PRs at the same time.
Canadian custom also will stamp your passport if you are a PR and they see a GC stamp (or if they think you are leaving canada frequently, or if you are from certain nationalities) and the next time you go back to the states even if u get in no trouble in canada, US border can easily see how many days you spent in Canada ( it means you were out of US) from the Canadian entry stamp and in that case your GC would be taken away from you and there would be court in the states.
This is not happening every time but the chances are high given the sensitivity of borders these days. Especially if you do this for a long period of time

I am going to California for holidays and hopefully I take care of the drivers license, SSN and etc and would let you guys know. Hope that helps.