Maintaining Residency Status

C

carlabeamelo

New Member
This is complicated. I am literally in between US and Canada. My PR application to Canada has been approved.
I am a Brazilian citizen and US green card holder for 20 something years and (yes, I was dumb enough to never have become a citizen). I am married to a Canadian. All my family in Brazil. Due to the marriage and illness in my family I have spent only 3 to 4 months in the US PER YEAR, since 2011 -- a lot of time both in Brazil and in Canada (but rarely -only once for 9 months-- exceeded the 6 consecutive months out of the US).

Last August, when traveling from Canada (when still a tourist in Canada) I passed by the US to go to Brazil and they threatened to take away my green card; even though I had spent mid January through mid May, teaching at a university. I explained that my mother had been ill in Brazil which forced to take a leave from academic job and then after she passed I took another leave to stay with my husband.
They said that I should apply for a REENTRY PERMIT--which I did, in November of 2013, but have not yet received it.

My husband and I are academics and we are trying to keep our options opened as we do not know which country we will find a job for both in the same city.
Now, here is the issue: In order to get my Canadian green card, I need to cross the US border by car and then return to Canada, so they will process my request for the Canadian PR. I am afraid that once i pass the US Border, they will threaten or take away my green card when they see the huge stamp from Canadian immigration on one of the pages of my passport.
I know that Canada has no problem with dual residency as long as I fulfill the residency requirements. But I am not sure US will. BTW: I never broke the US residency requirements, but an officer can make me surrender it on the bases that he suspects you are abandoning US residency, right? I do not plan that now, or at least not yet, but as I am applying for a new academic job in both sides, we will live wherever I get the job.
SOS!!!!! What to do? ( and no I no longer fulfill the criteria for applying to citizenship in the US)
thanks for your patient attention and advice :)
 
If you're driving into Canada and back, you don't need a passport. So, just show them your GC. You have a Re-Entry permit, and if they give you trouble for travelling so often, show them that.

But, you're just pushing back the inevitable if you continue like this. Eventually, you'll at least have to decide to stay in the US for long enough to get your citizenship. After that, you're scot-free. It's also not easy to know whether or not you broke continuous residence because CIS can interpret your travel history in different ways. List your travel history here (when you started taking long trips) and we can see what your options are.
 
I went to Canada with RTD and I-551 stamp. Canadian immigration did not even look at the I-551. They did NOT EVEN stamp my RTD.
My only evidence of having ever been to Canada is my reentry back to the US.
YMMV but if I was you, I would put in that application for citizenship right away. Then all these headaches simply go away. ANd yes, you can keep both US passport and Canadian green card and eventually passport. Based on Henley Global Visa Restriction Index https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/VISA_Index_2013_Web.pdf US and Canada are respectively 2nd and 4th for ease of international travel.
 
Actually by doing what you plan to do you might be able to get away with it (not all border agents are so meticulous and can often wave you after a casual glance at the passport and a few stupid questions -- yes, as a citizen I have been harassed more with questions about my shopping in Canada -- without actually turning each page) but there is a huge risk. There are reports that US and Canada Immigration share a lot of data on border crossings, and as soon as they scan your passport, or green card, your permanent resident status in Canada will show up. That would be a clear signal to revoke your GC here because basically you have already decided to abandon your US permanent residency by taking on residency in Canada. You are an academic and it is unfortunate that you did not research this critical topic first and applied for Canadian residency without becoming a citizen in America.
 
You said you've had a green card for over 20 years. Does that include when you were under 18? If yes, and one or both parents became a US citizen before you turned 18, you may have already derived US citizenship through them (depending on all the relevant facts and circumstances before you were 18).
 
Don't forget the consequences of being a 'US Person' while living outside of the US as an expat .. in terms of tax filing obligations, FATCA and FBAR's and might not. That's what most people don't even know about...with the USA's unique 'citizenship based taxation' system (where 'citizen' in that context means anyone with the right to reside in the US, so that includes anyone on a green card).
What I am saying is, they are making it hard on anyone seeking to live outside of the US while wanting to hang on to their citizenship or green card, by forcing them to continue to file taxes even though your main residence might be in a different country.
 
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