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  • Maintaining US greencard and Canadian PR

    Dear Sir or Madam

    I am a permanent resident of Canada (not citizen), I should be there 2 years ( in any way) out of 5 years in order to maintain my permanent resident card, and I am in the US on H-1 visa, if I apply for greencard;

    Is it possible to get Greencard in point of view of US immigration organization while having permanent resident card of Canada????

    Thanks,
    Immihelp Support
    No legal advice. Use at your own risk.

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  • #2
    Yes.

    But it would be difficult for you to maintain both. Read https://www.immihelp.com/retain-greencard-useful-tips/
    Immihelp Support
    No legal advice. Use at your own risk.

    Visa and Greencard Tracker

    Visitor Medical Insurance for your visiting relatives.

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    • #3
      UK and US Green Card maintaining

      Originally posted by immihelp View Post
      Yes.

      But it would be difficult for you to maintain both. Read https://www.immihelp.com/retain-greencard-useful-tips/
      I have same problem i am in UK and my UK PR due Aug 2011 end. I got Immigration visa and travel to US in July 2011. At present I am in UK and family in USA.

      Can I apply for UK - PR and Return withn 6 months to US is there any problem. I dont want my family UK PR. So in future if one family member has UK PR we can return to UK.

      Is there any problem if I apply for UK PR and return to US within 6 months.

      thanks

      suresh

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      • #4
        Maintaining US GV and Canadian PR

        My parents are in same boat.
        My parents are US GC holder since last 14 years. and in US since last 5 years. now they got Canadian PR and they are in Canada on PR status as we applied for their PR in Canada. before coming to Canada on PR they applied for US Citizenship. they have to go back to US for fingerprints and interview/test for citizenship.

        does any one have experience on crossing border with both PR and what problem may arise? and best way to cross border ?

        appriciate your time in sharing experiences.

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        • #5
          Yes it is possible. People do it all the time. You wil have to decide soon which one you want to keep unless you're really lucky and can figure out a way to keep both AND get citizenship in both countries.

          Comment


          • #6
            How to maintain US green card while working abroad...!

            I have been a US permanent resident since mid 2008. In May 2008 since I could not find a job which suits my experience in US, I went back to my home country (i.e. Vietnam) and was employed by a Vietnam company.

            My employment term in Vietnam is definite at one year and has been renewed every year up to now. I only received salaries in Vietnam (about 70K a year) and paid my Vietnam income tax during this employment period (i.e. from May 2008 up to now).

            During my employment in Vietnam, I make two overseas travels to Vietnam in a year and each travel last about 5.5 months. This means that I only spent relevantly short vacation (less than 2 weeks) in the US during these travels.

            I understand that to maintain my US permanent residence status, I need to file my US tax returns as a tax resident. This is not a problem to me as my Vietnam tax credits (at the higher rate of 35%) can be offset against my US tax.

            I also understand that a US permanent resident can be deemed to abandon his/her permanent residence status if:

            - The permanent resident takes up an employment in a foreign country; and/or
            - The permanent resident does not file his US tax returns.

            Therefore, I have a dilemma and concern if I decide to fully comply with the above requirement by filing my US tax returns as a tax resident, I will not have US tax payable, but my overseas assignment can be visible to the immigration authorities (via my US tax returns), and I can be deemed to abandon my US permanent residence status (i.e. taking up an overseas employment).

            To facilitate your analysis, my mother and my older brother are US citizens and are living in the US.
            In addition, I also have my single aunt who is about 82 years old and is living in Vietnam. I got married to my Vietnamese wife in Dec 2011.

            I have been maintaining my two US check accounts and few credit cards since 2008. I bought a condo in Chicago in mid of 2010 and paid property taxes since then. I have obtained US driver’s licence, US library card, etc. since 2008.

            I plan to return to Chicago to live permanently there in end of this year or when my wife and my newborn son can come to the US together with me (approximately in end of 2014).

            I am writing to seek your kind advice on what option should be safe to me for both immigration and tax purposes:

            + Option 1: I should file my US tax returns to comply with both tax and immigration laws, and accept the potential risk that my overseas employment can be visible to the immigration authorities and my permanent residence status can be challenged accordingly? Will taking up an overseas employment (alone) pose any risk to my permanent residence status?

            + Option 2: I should NOT file my US tax returns to avoid the disclosure of my overseas employment to US authorities (including the immigration authorities) and accept the risk that if either the US tax authorities (very less likely as I will not have any US tax payable even when I file my US tax returns as a US tax resident) or the US immigration authorities can discover my overseas assignment, and the US immigration authorities can base on my non-compliance in US tax filing and remove my permanent residence status. How likely is this risk compared the risk under Option 1 (i.e. my overseas employment is disclosed to the US immigration authorities and they can remove my permanent residence status)?

            + Option 3: I should NOT file my US tax returns NOW to avoid the disclosure of my overseas employment to US authorities (including the immigration authorities) and accept the risk that if either the US tax authorities (very less likely as I will not have any US tax payable even when I file my US tax returns as a US tax resident) or the US immigration authorities can discover my overseas assignment, and the US immigration authorities can base on my non-compliance in US tax filing and remove my permanent residence status. I will back-file my US tax returns when I return to Chicago to live permanently in end of 2013. Is this option better than Option 2 as I fully comply with US tax laws? Is there any risk that the immigration authorities can base on my back-filing of US taxes (i.e. I used to take up an employment in overseas) and challenge my permanent residence status.

            My question is what option I should take to comply with US laws without posing any risk to my permanent resident status? Please explain pros and cons of each option.

            Thanks.

            Comment


            • #7
              Yes, it is possible to navigate both US and Canadian PR simultaneously. I've done it. On the other hand, it's probably not a good idea. The whole ordeal was a severe stress at the time and I've probably spent all told about $30k on costs related to the complexities of the situation.

              The best analogy I've heard is from one of my friends. He described the situation as akin to dating two women at the same time. There's nothing illegal about it, but you really really don't want either side to find out.

              Our timeline (as best as I can remember):

              - 2008-02 Applied for Canadian PR (FSW program)
              - 2008-03 Applied for US green card via marriage (consular processing)
              - 2008-10 Green card interview in Montreal & immigrant visa received
              - 2009-01 Entered USA briefly to get I-551 stamp
              - 2009-05 Obtained Canadian PR
              - 2010-01 Moved to USA
              - 2010-07 Moved back to Canada
              - 2010-10 Petitioned to remove conditions on residence (I-751)
              - 2010-12 Biometrics appointment for I-751 (stayed in USA thereafter until 2011-02)
              - 2011-03 Received 10-year green card
              - 2012-01 Moved back to USA
              - 2012-11 Applied for naturalization in USA (N-400)
              - 2012-12 Biometrics appointment for N-400
              - 2013-02 N-400 interview (decision deferred)
              - 2013-04 Oath ceremony
              - 2013-05 Moved back to Canada permanently

              The $30k costs were mainly due to maintaining multiple residences, moving back and forth, plane tickets, and having to file US state income taxes in some years to maintain the green card. It becomes a major juggling act and a huge stress to bounce between the two countries just enough to convince government officials in both countries that you really do live in their country. We were careful not to stay out of the USA for more than six months at a time. Not one cent was spent on lawyers.

              No immigration officer ever asked us about our status in the other country, and we never volunteered this information. Once, a CBP officer asked at the border, and I answered truthfully, and nothing came of it.

              Right now, we live in Canada as Canadian permanent residents, with US citizenship. It will be another two years before we qualify for Canadian citizenship, and the current backlog for Canadian citizenship applications is another two years on top of that. However, since we intend to stay here a while, there's no hurry to apply for Canadian citizenship.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Norlan View Post
                I am writing to seek your kind advice on what option should be safe to me for both immigration and tax purposes:

                + Option 1: I should file my US tax returns to comply with both tax and immigration laws, and accept the potential risk that my overseas employment can be visible to the immigration authorities and my permanent residence status can be challenged accordingly? Will taking up an overseas employment (alone) pose any risk to my permanent residence status?
                I know this was posted last year, but in case anyone else reads this: Option 1 is the only option. As I explain my previous reply, I spent lots of time in Canada with green card issues. In two of those years, I filed from a foreign (Canadian) address. In all of those years, I had Canadian-sourced income listed in my return. It was never really a problem.

                The most important thing, by far, is you must never claim the foreign earned income exclusion on your federal tax return. Even if you are eligible for this exclusion, you are not required to claim it, and you should never ever claim it. There are only two ways to be eligible for the exclusion: bona-fide residence in a foreign country, or 330 days of physical presence in a foreign country in a year. Either one is very very bad for your green card, and if it pops up on your tax return, it's a huge red flag. The only exception is if you have a reentry permit, in which case it might be safe (but I never tried it). Do not confuse the foreign earned income exclusion with the foreign tax credit. The foreign tax credit is perfectly safe to claim, and in fact I claimed it every year.

                The IRS does not provide any of your tax return information to USCIS, CBP, or DHS. None. I am fairly confident of this. In the course of my USCIS interviews, it was completely clear that they knew no information about my tax returns beyond what I provided to them.

                Some USCIS forms do ask for your tax return information. For example, I-751 (Petition to remove conditions on residence) asks for copies of your prior year's tax returns. Providing this information is optional; you're free to submit other evidence of joint financial records instead. In my case, I elected to submit copies of my tax returns, which had a US address that year, but substantial Canadian employment income. It must have worked: the petition was approved without an interview. Note however that the primary purpose of I-751 is to prove that your marriage is a bona fide marriage, not to prove that you maintained the residency requirements for your green card. Since the I-751 adjudicators are looking for marriage fraud, not residence fraud, I think a foreign tax return would not raise much of a red flag for this purpose.

                The other major form that requires tax return information is the N-400 (Application for naturalization). For this form, one of the options (in fact, the preferred option) is to send in three years worth of tax transcripts. For people with foreign income, tax transcripts actually work to your advantage, since they do not contain copies of your tax slips showing your foreign employer(s). Tax transcripts simply show the amount of income declared in each box. However, the tax transcripts do show your filing address, so if this address is abroad, be prepared to do some explaining. In our case one return was from a foreign address, but the interviewer never asked about that. As I stated above, we were very careful to avoid the foreign earned income exclusion -- that would show up on a tax transcript.

                One thing we did get into trouble for is that we once filed a state income tax return as a non-resident. The N-400 specifically asks whether you ever have filed a return as a non-resident, and we chose not to lie. We thought it wouldn't be a problem since the return was filed prior to the 3-year period on which our N-400 was based. But the interviewer kept harping on this point. Eventually, we discovered the ***** words to make this problem go away: "The tax return in question lies outside of the 3-year statutory period on which this N-400 application is based." Bingo, oath ceremony within two months.

                TL;DR summary: If you're not a conditional resident and you don't intend to apply for naturalization then they'll never check your tax returns. If you do apply for naturalization, get your ducks in order by never filing any return as a non-resident, never claiming the foreign earned income exclusion, and ideally having three years worth of returns from a US address before applying for naturalization.
                Last edited by Harry Callahan; 04-19-2014, 11:46 PM.

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