moving back to canada

[thegordons2009 1]

Hi all!!

so i have been living in the USA for alnost a year now and the marriage just hasnt been great. I just moved back to Canada and need to notify Uscis......but im running into issues. Iv been told to file form AR-11. Great! But it only has address change for USA addresses. So im getting frustrated about what to do. Anyone been through this situation?

[Inky 1,111]

Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) Status (I-407): Please download I-407 [PDF 624Kb] (and complete only those items that are highlighted in yellow). You may submit via mail or come in person to abandon your LPR status. To mail in, include your signed I-407 form, your I-551 (Green Card), and a cover letter explaining your intent to abandon your LPR status. Mail all of these items to Visa Unit, U.S. Consulate General Toronto, 360 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1S4. If abandoning in person, please come to 225 Simcoe Street, Toronto, with all family members who wish to abandon LPR status, Monday-Friday, 830-11 am, holidays excluded. Please be prepared for a 2 or more hour wait. Bring for each person:

The rest can be found on this link its a lot to copy paste lol - http://toronto.usconsulate.gov/content/content.asp?section=visas&document=dhs_document_processing

[Harsh_77 718]

R u looking to surrender your GC, in that case there is a form you need to fill out and then send your GC and the form to the nearest consulate.

[thegordons2009 1]

Well my gc is still good for another year...i would like to have it to visit USA without any border crossing issues. However i want to do everything legit.

[nickbits 43]

A GC is not a free pass to the USA. If you try to cross with it and tell them you live in Canada they will probably confiscate it anwyay.

[thegordons2009 1]

The border guard told me i if i call uscis and tell them i moved back then it can be extended. The border already saw me cross with all my belongs. So im not trying to do anything illegal hense the reason why i came here and posted my question. So if anyone who has experience or real knowledge in this area could please respond. I already called uscis today and spoke to 2 agents who have no clue

[SapphireDreams 71]

The border guard told me i if i call uscis and tell them i moved back then it can be extended. The border already saw me cross with all my belongs. So im not trying to do anything illegal hense the reason why i came here and posted my question. So if anyone who has experience or real knowledge in this area could please respond. I already called uscis today and spoke to 2 agents who have no clue

You need to get permission to keep your greencard and not retain residence for at least 180 days/year, that's probably what they meant about it being extended. You absolutely cannot hold on to a greencard and live in Canada permanantly. If you are a resident of Canada, you cannot be a resident of another country. A greencard gives you permmanent resident status in the US. If you're not a resident, you give up the right to a greencard.

At some point when you are crossing, you will rnu into issues and you will be forced to prove that you live and maintain residence in the US, or will be forced to give up your greencard.

If you are a resident of Canada and are just crossing into the US for leisurely travel, you shouldn't even need a Green card. You'll probably run into more trouble using a Green Card when you aren't technically a resident then just using your Canadian passport and being a visitor.

[thetreble 19]

Once you move back to Canada, you are giving up your US residency which means you are giving up your residency card. Unless, as the previous poster said, you are only living there for less than 180 days out of the calender year, you are now back to being a visitor.

There is no other way around that, no matter what some guy told you.

Edited May 31, 2011 by thetreble