Reporting dates on N-400 for daily commute between USA and Canada

I

immi3

Registered Users (C)
I asked this question in an older thread but I guess it did not get noticed.

I am just about to complete my application. Answers will be greatly appreciated. If anybody has a knowledge on this subject, I would really appreciate.

This is a question regarding my daily commutes between US and Canada.
I have daily commutes for about 8 weeks. So, I was commuting Mon-Fri daily to work for a job in USA, and lived in Canada on weekday nights, and used to stay in the weekend in Canada. So, lets say I went to USA on 15th August 2005(monday), and continued daily back and forth between USA and Canada till Friday evening when I returned to Canada;and then I went to USA on 22nd August(Monday). I was having a canadian work permit at the time.

a. Would it be ok to say on my N-400 application that I stayed in USA from 15th August(Monday) and left USA on 19th August(Friday) and returned back to USA on 22nd August(Monday)? This would mean I was staying out of the country for 2 days each week

b. Other question is if I make some mistake regarding dates while crossing the border by car, is there a way they can verify the records of my arrival-departure across the road border. In other words, do they keep records of border crossings by land ?

-immi3
 
Only trips of more than 24 hours outside US need to be reported. Daily commutes under 24 hrs need not to be disclosed on N-400. More importantly, what was your permanent address at the time? It sounds like you had a Canadian address at the time..if so, that is the address that must be disclosed. In your case the time spent outside US would be from the time you moved to Canada until you moved back to US permanently.
 
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Your post is a bit confusing, but it sounds as though you live/reside in Canada and cross in to the US each morning to work in the US and return to Canada each night. Is that correct?

If that is the case, I don't see how you can claim to reside in the US for 5 days of each week.

Also, you mentioned this was for 8 weeks. Does that mean that outside of this 8 weeks you are living and working in Canada?
 
Bobsmyth,
I used to reside in Canada during those 8 weeks, but actually I had a US residence (apartment lease and mailing address) in the US city I worked as well. At the same time, I did have a lease in a Canadian apartment where I actually lived during these 8 weeks. So, do you think that specifying this time as staying abroad in Canada would be the better option?

DereckleeWoo,
Yes that is correct. I used to live/reside in Canada and work in the USA. Outside these 8 weeks ---- I lived/worked in Canada for 2 months before this period, and for a long uninterrupted time in USA after this period.

From you guys replies, it seems I can't claim these 8 weeks as stay in USA. It seems a grey area, because I read in a post regarding Canadian immigration that even you stay in Canada for 5 mins, you can count that day towards your Canadian citizenship.

Also, there is no record in my passport about these border crossings since I crossed by land and I am not sure to how much detail the records are kept regarding border crossings by land.

I have 36 months of physical presence in USA including this period, and 34 months excluding this period, and I do satisfy the continuous residence for 5 years.

Hope you guys could help me on this.

Thanks
-Soumen
 
I would disclose the entire 8 weeks as travel outside the US since you commuted daily from Canada at the time.
 
Jackolantern,
In my 5 years(60 months) as LPR, I have 36 months of physical presence in USA including this 8 weeks, and 34 months excluding this 8 weeks.

Bobsmith,
Thanks for your answer. BTW, I had valid US employment during this 8 weeks, with paychecks which I can show.

-immi3
 
My mistake, for some strange reason I was thinking 24 months (60 - 36 = 24).

Anyway, the particular 8 weeks you are asking about is not the only issue. How much time outside of this 8 weeks, in particular the time during the 6 months right before and after the 8 weeks, were you spending in Canada? And how many months of the 24 months outside the US were you in Canada? You are not giving us the full picture. That 8 weeks needs to be considered as part of the entire pattern of travel, not just in isolation. What matters is whether your travels are building a pattern of actually residing in Canada, rather than just a set of sporadic visits.
 
The question then becomes what have your travel dates been outside the US to account for the months in order to determine if you meet continuous residence requirement.
 
Jackolantern and Bobsmyth,
Prior to these 8 weeks, I lived/worked for about 3 months in Canada, and 1 month in India. My 1 month in India occurs while I was residing in Canada. This means I was in Canada for 1.5 months, then 1 month in India, and then agian 1.5 month in Canada, after which my 8 weeks of daily commute began.

After this 6 months i.e. 4 months + 8 weeks of daily commute, I never stayed in Canada. Even during this 6 months, I maintained an apartment lease in USA. After this 6months, I stayed in US uninterrupted for about 5 months.

Of the 24 months out of USA, 16 of them were in India, with each trip approx 3 months. I timed my India trips so that each calendar year, I stayed more than 6 months in USA. All the time, I was having US employment.

I think I do meet continuous residence requirements.

So, can I put this 8 weeks as US stay or Canada stay?

I know my case is complicated. Guys, your comments are welcome.

Thanks
-immi3
 
I would agree that you meet the continuous residence requirements. But you need to stop talking and thinking about "residing" in Canada. If at the interview you ever say you "resided" in Canada you will have problems.
 
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