Relocating to Canada while trying to maintain a US green card
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I'm a US green card holder since Oct'04 and I got married after I received my green card. I was able to bring my wife to US on a visitor visa and then convert it to H1-B. So far so good. I just became a father and my wife is on maternity leave. She does not want to go back to work and wants to stay at home looking after the kid till the kid is like 1 year or so. Now since she is on H1-B and must maintain her status to stay in the US she cannot take leave of absence for a long period and would be considered out of status if she quits the job and stays at home. Yes the US immigration rules are crazy especially when you get married after you get your GC. Anyways we were thinking of moving to Canada for a short period like close to 1 year and then come back to US so that I get to keep my US Green card status alive and possibly even keep my US citizenship clock ticking.
Does this sound like a good idea ?
Please advice.
Location: Somewhere in dreamland
Posted on: 20-11-07 21:52:58
I think you are taking a risk.
Post 9/11, Uncle Sam tracks a lot of things , so if they find out you are lying regarding your presence in the US, that can create problems for your citizenship/green card.
You should go for V-Visa which is for people like your wife
http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/visa_v.html
V-Visa is ruled out as its only for people that applied I-130 before 1999. I applied only in 2005.
Actually a US green card holder can stay outside the country for upto 6 months without any issues.
Quote:
Originally posted by desidude74
I'm a US green card holder since Oct'04 and I got married after I received my green card. I was able to bring my wife to US on a visitor visa and then convert it to H1-B. So far so good. I just became a father and my wife is on maternity leave. She does not want to go back to work and wants to stay at home looking after the kid till the kid is like 1 year or so. Now since she is on H1-B and must maintain her status to stay in the US she cannot take leave of absence for a long period and would be considered out of status if she quits the job and stays at home. Yes the US immigration rules are crazy especially when you get married after you get your GC. Anyways we were thinking of moving to Canada for a short period like close to 1 year and then come back to US so that I get to keep my US Green card status alive and possibly even keep my US citizenship clock ticking.
Does this sound like a good idea ?
Please advice.
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Now that you are a Green Card Holder and on your way to the US Citizenship, open up an incorporated company and make your wife the secretary. That way you are hiring her yourself. Do some consulting on the side.
If the company you work for has provisions to pay you as a contractor, then , use this facility to charge them and that will permit you to hire anyone and pay for their services too.
Alternately, with your incorporated company, look for other services that you can provide in your off hours, if your employment contract does not restrict the same, to anyone who is free to pay you for such services. Now you also have a secondary income and your spouse is the one that handles the calls on that line for you.
Another suggestion is to look for jobs that permit home based work from an employer who is flexible in his operations. Again it depends upon what your spouse is qualified to do and advice from home or a remote location. May be your spouse can work in the evenings and your off days and hours, to fill in the required number of hours, to hang in there in the United States.
Just for asking, aren't there any maternity benefits in the USA? and if so how long can your spouse avail the same from her employment? Also, can you avail the same too, at your work? If so for how long? Will you be prepared to do this and be Mr MOM?
As a last resort, she may have to go back after a few months and re Visit, then when she comes back, stay for good. That seems really attractive. You can take a break and visit her there.
If you can stay at a border city and get a job in Canada, with your qualifications then, after you get the job and immigrate to a city close by the border and commute back and forth each day like some of the Canadians are doing, then you can still qualify for the US Citizenship, as you already have a Green Card. I am sure all they want is your presence there to qualify for the remaining period of two years. You can have dual citizenship. Now you have to figure out the costs and tax implications to see if you are coming ahead in that game. This is a long shot and it also takes time for the immigration and landing a job. It is not for the near future and by that time you will be a US Citizen anyway.!
You have different scenarios in front of you. I know you have dome some of the analysis by yourself. See if any of the ones that I have provided here are good and to your liking and if so, are they feasible?
Put your thinking cap on.
Good luck.
Freddie.
Yes there are maternity benefits and she can be on maternity leave till Feb 04, 2008. Maybe we can push the leave further for a couple of months. Meanwhile I can apply for her permanent residence in Canada which would take about 7-8 months.
I'm an IT pro and so is my wife and its difficult to find a part time job in the IT fields.
Opening and incorporated company and hiring her seems like a good idea. I need to explore further on this.
Maybe I'm missing something here.How would living in US and working in Canada would work as my wife would not have a US legal status when she stays at home in the US ?
If Opening an Incorporated company is a sound proposition, then go for it. There are a lot of accountants in the USA who will chime in and help you too,
As regards immigrating to Canada, if you both immigrate then, you can either live in Canada and work in the USA, just like some of the Canadians are currently doing. You wife can do what it is that you want. i.e. she is here in Canada. Your next two years will give the required time there to get the Citizenship. You will be here in Canada from Friday Evening to Monday morning. Besides all of this you can cross into Canada any time for a period of six months. No sweat.
Since you are a Green Card Holder after immigrating to Canada, you can work in Canada for sure. AH.... now at the end of the day, go there into the USA and live (Spend the night). But for this you got to be working close to the border. Split your day half and half. In addition to all of this all I said is check the costs and the taxes to see if you will come up winning?!!
You got to have a clear day with a clear concept and four different colour pencils and big large pad of paper and play with a few Mexican Jumping Beans.
Now you have more options than you started with.
Freddie.
Opening an incorporated company to achieve the goal you want is not easy as it sounds. Because to hire a foreign national (and to sponsor her for US H1 status by your company) is next to imposible. Because they assess your company's structure, the tax returns (which you will not have) and the need to hire a foreign national. If these things are not satisfactory, your company cannot hire your wife (a foregn national) and therefore the whole purpose of starting the company is defeated.
You can apply for a US returning resident permit (it is for an year) and stay with your wife (outside the US). That way, you are legal and you will still be okay to apply for the US citizenship. (FYI: There could be some questions regarding this permit during the citizenship interview, but as long as you have convincing answers, it should be okay).
