Stay in US or Canada

J

jemilianl

Registered Users (C)
hi, everyone, I have my GC for almost 2 years, my wife is studying in Canada, I am thinking to move to Canada for a while to be with her and also work there. If I sponsor her to be here, it will take forever, What is my option? Should I just apply the canadian PR first or temporary working visa(since you need the job first)? What else can I do? It is so tough to seperate with my wife. Please help, thanks a lot. :confused:
 
hey jemilianl

if you find a job in canada then i think you just need a visa( issued in the airport i guess - for US GC holders) and can work in canada. no problem on that. you have to renew the visa each year (for 1 year term obviously)

For US resideny purposes- the straightforward way to do would be to apply the 2 year reenty permit and go to canada.

- iam not sure how many times you can apply this 2-year renentry permit

otherwise - if u dont intend to do so or if ur not sure whether it will take 2 years or may be less to come back to US, - you can travel between US and canada many times - definetly once every 6 months.

there are two potential problems with the second approach
1. you could be questioned in the border and get into - whether you are establishing a true permanent residency in US stuff
2. your tax returns for the years you stay in canada - the one u file in US - will say about foreign earned income- this may come into play when u apply for Citizen ship

- I am not sure though if you wait for another five years- that is after u come back to US and stay another 5 years -before applying US citizenship ,whether they will see ur tax returns all the way - may be somebody else in the forum may answer

all in all - u have to decide whether taking this risk with GC outweighs your family needs ( to be withur wife)
 
Thanks, It is a tough decision! Well, I guess I have to find a job over there first, so that I can get the temporary working visa, and for the love, I will sacrifice for my wife, and be with her. I am just looking at the my option, hope one day we will united. I hope someone in the board will give me some idea. And for whoever has this kind of sutitation, hang in there.
 
I am in the same boat. My boyfriend is working in Canada. I am looking for a job now over there and planning to move to Canada early of next year. Also face the situation that how to keep the US permanent resident status.

I will apply for 2 year reentry permit before I leave. The ideal way is that I get back to US after two years and he will come with me and find a job in US. As being discussed many times in this forum, holding a reentry permit doesn't gurantee readmission to US. But I just want to give a try, do whatever I can do to keep the green card.

Jemilianl, good luck to you. Wish you have family reunion as soon as you expect. Totally agree with you, being with loved one is most important.
 
jemilianl,

First, thank yourslef that your wife is in Canada and not in India. This makes a big difference. You could,


1. Work in US for >180 days and then live rest of the time in Canada. While you are in US, you could visit your wife every month or every two weeks. Depending on the geogrophic location of your wife in Canada, you could take up a job in US within 1 hour flying distance from her. You may have to limit your US opportunities in a specific geogrophic location for your wife.

2. You could open a business and travel back and forth. This could be any small business. You could stay on and off between Canada and US. You could operate your US business by utilizing office in Canada out of your wife's apartment. All you need is a phone line and internet connection. Canada is just extension of US.

3. If I were you, I would work on 1099 and take up small consultancy projects in US. I would commute frequently to Canada to meet wife. When I do not have projects, I would simply stay with wife.

Remember the amount of time that you spend with family matters but amount of quality time that is spent matters MOST. This is just my opinion, is there anyone to argue this, please feel free. I would simply stay home, stress free helping my wife when I am not in US.

But this needs to be done only until you get US citizenship or wife's education is completed whichever is earlier.

There may be more options but I have to think... Meanwhile, I would like people on this board to see anything wrong in my assumption.
 
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Thanks, AJD. It is very helpful. My wife study in Toronto and I work in Washington, DC, flying over there isn't that bad, just an hour and half. I did try to drive up there, take me 9 straight painful hours, but at least it is worth it and save a little of money but waste alot of time. I am looking for a job over there now, so far no good news. I am thinking they might see me that I am from US, and I need a working permit, so they prefer to hire someone local. Keep my finger cross, hope I will hear some good news soon. And Luk12, hang in there, and good luck to you too.
 
If I were you, I would take up a job close to Toronto but in US within 4 hours of driving distance from Toronto. An hour of lfight is still equivalent to 4 hours of drive when you add up all extra time of check in, boarding etc. This way, you can be with your wife every week ends.
 
I have US GC, and my wife study in canada, should I go ahead to put in the I-130 application for her? Is it going to be trouble for her to travel to US?
 
It is going to cause travel problems. Most non-immigrant visas do not allow immigration intent, which the I-130 shows.
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JoeF
How the prior GC holders are trated in this case? I mean what if a former GC holder who lived abroad for many years and lost GC. Will such person be treated as immigrant or intended to immigrate if he/she applies for a non-immigrant visa such as visitor or F1?
 
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