About to move to the US - how much time do I have to spend there to become a citizen?

[Buckyball 22]

Working in a foreign country will bring you in deep trouble. This is considered a strong factor that you have abandoned
your residenct in the U.S.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Buckyball

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Others stay Monday to Friday, or a couple of weeks/months at a time (teachers I know) ... Each situation is unique.

The person will have to file taxes as a resident, buy health insurance in the US and not use the Canadian health care system ( that requires that they be a resident of Canada and invalidates their residence here ) Many people may be doing things that will cause issues withtheir status and won't know it until caught.

[Teddy B 17,251]

I have been fortunate enough to be granted a green card and will be moving to the USA from Canada sometime in the next five weeks. Ideally, I would like to become a US citizen five years after entering the country, as I believe that would be the minimum time to apply for it, provided I don't get married to an American in the meantime.

How many months per year do I have to spend in the USA to "maintain" or "make the days count" towards the citizenship application? The reason I ask is because I would ideally like to be able to come back up to Canada a few times a year to work, as I can make a lot more money up here than I think I'll be able to in the USA. Will they give me a hard time coming back and forth across the border if I were to come to Canada to work for say, two months out of the year every year for the next five years?

I am getting a bit confused reading through some of the topics here. Do I just need to show that I've been present in the USA for 30 out of the next 60 months in order to apply for citizenship? Does this mean I could theoretically cross the border, have the green card mailed to my US address, then come back to Canada, work for six months less a day, go back to the USA for six months plus a day, and then back to Canada for six months and so on for the next five years?

Would love to live here in Canada from April 1-September 30 each year and then head somewhere warm like California, Hawaii or Florida for the rest of the year, all while having that time count towards the US citizenship requirements.

What was the purpose of getting a greencard if you don't have a spouse here and weren't planning on moving here permanently and working here? Sounds like you just want to visit the US, being a Canadian citizen that should be fairly easy for you to do.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Teddy B

[Ms Hogan 295]

I'm still in shock that a Canadian even got a green card without being married to an American or it being solely due to work. How on earth did you get it? I thought Canada wasn't even included in the lottery anymore. I'm guessing you didn't get a green card based on the investment of $500,000 to a million either if you're worried about going back to Canada to try to make money.

You are getting a lot of messages from a lot of people. And there are a lot of people here from countries other than Canada who may not be aware of how common it is for us to work on either side of the border. I think this becomes a Canada specific thread pretty quickly because there are A LOT of us Canadians who wind up with work opportunities on both sides of the border. Doing a gig that lasts a couple of months back in Canada is not that big of a deal in my opinion. It happens all the time depending on your line of work.

With that said, you'll need to do as some other posters suggested and maintain all your ties here in America. You'll need to be able to properly explain why you're spending more than just a couple weeks out of the country along the way.

I just read your post again and must have missed some of it at first. What I said above still applies BUT there's no way you can split the year 50/50. THAT won't work. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. You need to make a choice.

I'm still very curious about how you got a green card. Share the details if you don't mind!

Edited February 23, 2015 by Ms Hogan

[Teddy B 17,251]

I'm still in shock that a Canadian even got a green card without being married to an American or it being solely due to work. How on earth did you get it? I thought Canada wasn't even included in the lottery anymore. I'm guessing you didn't get a green card based on the investment of $500,000 to a million either if you're worried about going back to Canada to try to make money.

You are getting a lot of messages from a lot of people. And there are a lot of people here from countries other than Canada who may not be aware of how common it is for us to work on either side of the border. I think this becomes a Canada specific thread pretty quickly because there are A LOT of us Canadians who wind up with work opportunities on both sides of the border. Doing a gig that lasts a couple of months back in Canada is not that big of a deal in my opinion. It happens all the time depending on your line of work.

With that said, you'll need to do as some other posters suggested and maintain all your ties here in America. You'll need to be able to properly explain why you're spending more than just a couple weeks out of the country along the way.

I just read your post again and must have missed some of it at first. What I said above still applies BUT there's no way you can split the year 50/50. THAT won't work. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. You need to make a choice.

I'm still very curious about how you got a green card. Share the details if you don't mind!

His Timeline says it's an F2B family visa. He did mention his Father has a gc so I would imagine he petitioned for him.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Teddy B

[vicks5721 18]

I am British so I am unsure how it works the relations between America and Canada, but I am sure that staying out of America to keep going to Canada to live and work is a risky thing to do. From what I have seen on tv and generally have learnt, I am certain both countries are strict about POE and visas, greencards and the such. It would be suspious to the US border why you would be travelling to Canada so often, they could take away your Greencard definitely when they would see your not there enough to live, work and pay taxes. I would never take the risk at all, I know when I will visit my Family in England it will be very short trips like once or twice a year and only for visits of 1 or 2 weeks each time, specially when I am doing my AOS and later GC.

[moemac59 192]

I work in Toronto Tuesday-Thursday (leave for Canada Tuesday mornings and come back into the US Thursday nights) as I work for a Canadian company. When I am in Toronto, I stay in hotels for the 2 nights while there or stay with a girlfriend. The majority of my time that is spent in Canada per week is 72 hrs and I keep track of what time and date that I cross at the border going and coming back. My residence is in the US and I make sure that I carry ties to the US every week when I cross.

I haven't had any issues with US Customs yet...fingers crossed. I consulted a US immigration attorney about this and was informed that working in Canada while residing in the US could be done as long as I was only there for a specific number of days per year. USCIS wants to know that you reside in the US and that you lay your head down there. I will be filing income tax returns for both countries on the advice of my attorney as the US as my residence.

When it comes time to file for citizenship in October I will be using the same attorney.