Could use some advice.....

[Colbert Report 5]

Canadian citizen.

Have been issued a visa but I must make entry to the USA by April 3 or I'll have to apply all over again. It took many years for my turn to come (F2B visa).

I've paid the green card fee, just need to make entry to the USA to have it mailed out to my father's address in the USA.

I have been offered an incredible job here in Canada that will pay far more than what I could expect to make in the USA.

What is the procedure for returning the visa if I were to choose not to use it? Would I get to use my original priority date and just reapply whenever I wanted in the future?

If I make the entry in the USA here before April 3, then come back to Canada and start to work this great job, how far past April 3 can I push it without the USA authorities terminating my green card? Do I just have to make sure I come down over the border every six months for a weekend or must I actually live and work in the USA? If so, how do I prove that I am doing so? What kind of things do they look for? Credit card receipts, phone bills, that kind of thing?

At this point, I'm very much leaning towards moving down and starting a new life in the USA, but I'm quite tempting by the money I'm being offered to stay in Canada. Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

[Ontarkie 13,915]

Any chance you live close enough to the border that you can commute daily for work?

There are some who do just that but it really only works if you are close or don't mind the drive.

[Colbert Report 5]

I live in Calgary, about four hours from the border.

I guess my question is how much leeway they give you after the April 3 drop dead date for using the visa. I will definitely make entry before April 3 so I don't lose it, but can I come and go as I please or do they require me to stay in the USA the whole time? I mean, obviously I'd be allowed to come back up to Canada for friend's weddings and that type of thing, but is there a hard and fast rule about how many days a month or how many days a year I must be physically present in the USA to maintain the green card and not risk losing it? Ideally I would like to apply for US citizenship five years from the date I make entry.

[aaron2020 11,651]

I live in Calgary, about four hours from the border.

I guess my question is how much leeway they give you after the April 3 drop dead date for using the visa. None. The expiration date is firm. I will definitely make entry before April 3 so I don't lose it, but can I come and go as I please or do they require me to stay in the USA the whole time? The law requires you to make the US resident. It does not require to live here the whole time. The law does not allow you to keep it if you are living in Canada. I mean, obviously I'd be allowed to come back up to Canada for friend's weddings and that type of thing, but is there a hard and fast rule about how many days a month or how many days a year I must be physically present in the USA to maintain the green card and not risk losing it? Ideally I would like to apply for US citizenship five years from the date I make entry. How will you meet the physical presence requirement for US citizenship while living abroad?

What are you going to do about healthcare?

How are you going to claim Canadian healthcare services as a legal resident of the US? Claiming Canadian residency to get Canadian healthcare would be grounds to revoke your green card.

How are you going to file US tax returns as an LPR? As an LPR, you are required to file US taxes on your worldwide income. How will your reconcile being an LPR who works and spends most of his time outside the US?

If you do not use this visa, then you will have to start all over with a new petition with a new PD.

IMHO - visas for children over age 21 are limited. For the one given to you, another person had to wait. You should give up the visa so that another person can have it if you intend not use it to immigrate to the US. It would be extremely selfish of you to use it as a visitor visa when people are waiting for them to immigrate to the US to be with their families.

Edited February 22, 2015 by aaron2020

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Health care would be my biggest concern. As a US Permanent Resident you are not able to receive provincial health care benefits. That will void any status you have in the US. what would your plan be for that?

good luck

[Colbert Report 5]

I'm not worried about health care benefits at all. I'm fairly secure financially and have no problem buying private health care insurance in the USA.

Regarding the priority date issue should I choose to return the visa, this is what it says on the piece of paper that it attached the to the manila envelope marked "DO NOT OPEN" that I'm supposed to give to the border agent when I do make entry. While I appreciate the response from aaron2020, I don't believe he's correct when he says that I'll get a new priority date.

"If you are unable to use the visa within its validity period, please contact us to arrange its return. Keeping a visa that you do not intend to use may create an unnecessary delay for another applicant on the waiting list who intends to immigrate and could use the visa number. If after returning your unused visa you decide to reapply for an immigrant visa, every possible consideration will be given to granting you the benefit of your original priority date (the date of the original petition) on the waiting list for visas.

Now keep in mind people, I'm not trying anything shady here. I fully intend on using the visa for the intended purpose - I waiting eleven years and eleven months for it to come. I just want to know how strict there are when it comes to coming in and out of the country. I'm not trying to dodge paying taxes or health care insurance or anything like that. If I was told that I must live and work down in the USA for a period of sixty consecutive months in order to get US citizenship, then that's what I'll do. I just want to know what the rules are for coming and going. I can make more in one year here in Canada than I'd likely be able to make down in the USA in three years. While it would be silly to pass up on the visa I've waited so long for, I just want to know where exactly I stand.