Refund for residence aapplication?

[acgv]

Hello,
I've been reading some of the threads regarding having a dual residency- USA and Canada, and that's exactly what we as a family decided to do (we have 2 small children born in the US). Canada has always been plan B, in case things didn't work out in USA... Well we moved to a different state in the US and things have been going much better, we're expecting I-140 and I-485 approval sometime this year, based on the official statistics from USCIS... We have already EAD cards and advance parole documents...

Now, this last week I received Section A for the medical report from the Canadian immigration, and we're hesitating if we should proceed with that, given that living in the US seems more and more like a reality to us, after 10+ years changing status, getting visa stamps in different countries, including Canada, etc., etc., I'm sure many of you can relate to that...

From what I've read, it doesn't seem that we can get away with having 2 residencies, the US and the Canadian...If somebody knows of a way to live 2 years out of 5 in Canada, while working in the US, without working remotely or having to cross the border everyday, please enlighten us and let us all know... I'm assuming we need to report taxes as a way of verifying we have been living and working in Canada, correct? Would having real estate property allow for that, even though we were not to live there?

If we were to proceed with the Canadian residency, and not live in Canada, how soon would we lose the residency? I'm assuming that we can live in the US for 3 years maximum, because there's still the possibility that the last 2 years out the 5 years required, we can still "theoretically" live in Canada, correct? I'm not sure if this is right, we're looking for answers here... That would give us at least 3 years from the moment we get our residency, to maintain residency status in Canada and enjoy some of the benefits of being a resident overthere...After that we lose it... Is this right?

How easy would it be then in the future to reapply for the Canadian residency, were we interested in doing that again?

On the other hand, given that I already received Section A for the medical report, is it still possible at this stage to get partly reimbursed on the fees we paid (2 adults and 2 children)? I read that somewhere when I prepared the application, but I'm unsure if I'm too ahead of the application to resign and get reimbursed...

I've been to Canada several times, one time for tourism, the other times to get my visa stamps in the US Consulate and of course do some additional tourism...And we just love the culture and their open immigration, however, it's hard to say "no" to the US after so many years trying to stabilize our situation here, as "legal persons", no amnisties requested... It breaks our hearts having to close our doors to Canada, but there doesn't seem to be a way to have both residencies... or is there?

Can anyone recommend a good immigration attorney that could advise us as to the best course of action?

We're confused... Any insights, thoughts, ideas, suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[bigboy00]

If somebody knows of a way to live 2 years out of 5 in Canada, while working in the US, without working remotely or having to cross the border everyday, please enlighten us and let us all know...

-- What will you gain by doing this? Will you keep living in Canada for 2 years in every 5 yr period? From your post, it seems you really want to live in the US and your immigration process there is going well. My personal opinion: why bother about Canada then?

I'm assuming we need to report taxes as a way of verifying we have been living and working in Canada, correct? Would having real estate property allow for that, even though we were not to live there?

-- That is incorrect. You have to live in Canada PHYSICALLY to satisfy the PR requirements or citizenship requirements. Mearly owning property or paying taxes does NOT help.

If we were to proceed with the Canadian residency, and not live in Canada, how soon would we lose the residency? I'm assuming that we can live in the US for 3 years maximum, because there's still the possibility that the last 2 years out the 5 years required, we can still "theoretically" live in Canada, correct?

-- Incorrect. No theoretical living. You have to live PHYSICALLY. There is no other or theoretical meaning of PHYSICAL PRESENCE.

I'm not sure if this is right, we're looking for answers here... That would give us at least 3 years from the moment we get our residency, to maintain residency status in Canada and enjoy some of the benefits of being a resident overthere...After that we lose it... Is this right?

-- "Enjoying" cdn PR benefits (like GST credit, CCTB) is illegal when you live outside of Canada. Your "enjoyment" would most likely come back to haunt you.

How easy would it be then in the future to reapply for the Canadian residency, were we interested in doing that again?

-- It would be easy to apply "n" number of times, but by doing so, most likely you will reveal your PLAN B. Cdns do not like if people use them as a PLAN B (as an insurance policy). Your application will be scrutinized more and might get rejected.

 

[acgv]

-- What will you gain by doing this? Will you keep living in Canada for 2 years in every 5 yr period? From your post, it seems you really want to live in the US and your immigration process there is going well. My personal opinion: why bother about Canada then?

That's a good point! That's why I decided to create this thread to hear some dissenting opinions. Keep in mind there was a lot of effort involved in preparing the application spanning several months, and this was done at a time when things were not going well for us from an immigration perspective in the US... Your point is very well taken!

-- That is incorrect. You have to live in Canada PHYSICALLY to satisfy the PR requirements or citizenship requirements. Mearly owning property or paying taxes does NOT help.

I don't mean to incite to "illegality" in my response here, but I'll be the devil's advocate in this case: how would the Canadian authorities know that a person is not physically living in Canada? If a person who has both the Canadian residency and the US residency can roam freely throughout the border (living mostly in the US), and owns a property paying taxes, how can it be determined that he's not physically living in Canada... I'm not an attorney, so I don't see all the angles, nooks and creases on this one...

-- Incorrect. No theoretical living. You have to live PHYSICALLY. There is no other or theoretical meaning of PHYSICAL PRESENCE.

I don't think I clearly made my point here! If given the residency, I have to live 2 out of 5 years in Canada... If I were to continuously live in the US for the first 3 years, then "theoretically" I could still live the final 2 years of the 5 year span in Canada, so my point was that I wouldn't lose the residency just by doing this... I would have a guaranteed residency for a minimum of 3 years before it would be revoked!... That's what I'm trying to figure out...

-- "Enjoying" cdn PR benefits (like GST credit, CCTB) is illegal when you live outside of Canada. Your "enjoyment" would most likely come back to haunt you.

Again, wrong choice of words on my end! What was meant here is the sense of being able to go in and out of Canada and have the perspective of an "insider"... In no sense was it meant to take advantage of the system... In the US, we currently have more credit than we really need, and we are well covered with our medical insurance with our employers...


-- It would be easy to apply "n" number of times, but by doing so, most likely you will reveal your PLAN B. Cdns do not like if people use them as a PLAN B (as an insurance policy). Your application will be scrutinized more and might get rejected.

I totally agree with you, who would want somebody to be considered as PLAN B? As a totally fool example, so you propose to the girl you really love but "just in case" she rejects you, you have another girlfriend to marry? I understand, it's not the right thing to do... The other girlfriend would be always offended and most probably that marriage would end up in ruins...

Final question: Given the stage of the process that we're in (they requested Section A of the medical exam and FBI fingerprints), can we still get partly reimbursed if we decided NOT to continue with our process?

Thanks again for you responses!

 

[bigboy00]

Final question: Given the stage of the process that we're in (they requested Section A of the medical exam and FBI fingerprints), can we still get partly reimbursed if we decided NOT to continue with our process?

-- The application fee is non refundable, but if you have already paid the right of landing fee, you should be able to get it back.