Canadian citizenship for US wife

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bigcityblue
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:41 pm

Canadian citizenship for US wife

Post by bigcityblue »

Hi there,

I am Canadian. My wife is American. What happens if we move back to Canada? Does she immediately become a landed immigrant or is this a complicated process that takes a while to resolve? Also wondering the same thing about our baby (born in US).

Thanks,
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

It's not automatic for your spouse, but as a Cdn citizen, you should have little problem getting her admitted to canada as a Landed Immigrant. A few years will apss before she is eligible for Cdn citizenship , of course.

Others can advise whether it is better to begin this process before or after moving to canada.

Your child is ALREADY a Cdn citizen, by virtue of your Cdn citizenship. His birth certificate with your name on it should be sufficient for starting the process of getting his citizenship card. But the card is merely PROOF of his already existing Cdn citizenship. Go to the CIC website

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/certif2.html

Don't forget that it is very wise for YOU to take out US citizenship if/when you are eligible before returning to Canada, thus avoiding problems later on if you should decide to want to return to US after living in Canada. It is very difficult to maintain one's Green card when living outside US for long periods. A green-card holder married for 3 years to a US citizen is eligible for US citizenship. This has no impact on your Cdn citizenship.

just as a for instance, if you divorce your wife, and she decides to go back to US with your child (they both can of course being US citizens) , you would have no legal status (not a US citizen and no Green card) to be admitted back to live in US without a US employer sponsoring you.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
bigcityblue
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:41 pm

Post by bigcityblue »

nelsona wrote:Don't forget that it is very wise for YOU to take out US citizenship if/when you are eligible before returning to Canada, thus avoiding problems later on if you should decide to want to return to US after living in Canada. It is very difficult to maintain one's Green card when living outside US for long periods. A green-card holder married for 3 years to a US citizen is eligible for US citizenship. This has no impact on your Cdn citizenship.
But if I take US citizenship, doesn't that mean that when I go back to Canada, I will have to keep submitting US tax returns for the rest of my life?
nelsona
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Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Yes, but your wife and your son will also have to do this anyway, so what is the big deal? 100,000's of americans do so every year from canada, it's not unusual, and usually doesn't yield any extra US tax -- in fact most americans are now getting a free $1000 for each american kid that they have, even if they don't owe a penny to IRS.

Small inconvenience for free pass throughout North America - plus you get a bonus!

If the rest of your family wasn't already american, I might suggest you think twice, but you are already inexorably tied to IRS through them, so there is no advantage to not getting citizenship.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
bigcityblue
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:41 pm

Post by bigcityblue »

Since my wife is American, how difficult would it be for me to get a green card later if I decide to move back to the united states from canada?
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Sorry for leaving you hanging... it should be no problem at all, only take a few weeks to move to US even before getting GC.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
flames9
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:00 am

Post by flames9 »

Yes, there are different types of USA visa's but if your doing one via marriage (not work) (cr-1 -married under 2 yrs, or IR-1 married over 2 yrs) will take longer than just a few weeks!! Good site regarding the K3, cr-1/ir-1 is http://www.visajourney.com In your case since your wife wil be residing in Canada, you wil be able to DCF (explained in visa journey) Which is much faster than the normal route--which can take over a yr!! I'm a Cdn now residing in the USA, went the cr-1 route. Best of luck
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Please re-read what I said:

"only take a few weeks to move to US even before getting GC."

Cdns married to a do not need to wait to get green card to enter US once she decides to enter US, and thus can enter on K3 after no more than 6-8 weeks, with the right to live and work in US days after entry.

The GC process can take as long as it takes afterwards, it is a mere formality at that point.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
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