When does one become a US resident in the K-1 visa process?

[telso 16]

This site has been incredibly helpful in our K-1 process; every question I've had has been answered somewhere. But I can't find the answer to this one:

When does the benificiary become a US resident and stop being a resident of their home country? Is it:

• At Port of Entry when activating K-1?
• When marriage is solemnized?
• When Adjustment of Status is filed?
• When Adjustment of Status is approved?
• Some other time?

This affects a number of things (I list these because you may choose different dates for different things):

1. Some Canadian provinces require residents to be a member of a health or drug insurance plan (and, generally, once you enter US at PoE you've already quit your job so are no longer covered, which means you may have to pay for the public plan when you file your taxes (even though you can't get any benefits from it as you can't leave the US during that time due to immigration status!)); also, when do you need to have US health insurance from (especially with new health care mandate from ACA)
2. Taxes are based on a whole number of crazy factors (I don't expect a detailed answer on that here)
3. Driver's licence and insurance are based on residency; when do I get my US driver's licence and give up my Canadian one (and Canadian health care card)
4. Canadians who are non-resident (outside of Canada) can vote in Canadian elections by mail for a certain number of years after they cease to be a resident (5 for federal; differs for provinces; some exceptions can lengthen this (diplomats, UN workers, etc.)) (FYI, this limit is being challenged in court, and will probably be resolved in 3-5 years)

And another wrinkle: presumably you must be resident in precisely one (no more or fewer) place at all times, but I could see one government saying I ceased to be a resident on one day and another saying I became a resident on another day and those two days being different (and different departments of each government saying different things). So I guess I am asking for you to qualify your answer by saying "USCIS considers you a resident on X for Y purpose" or "Canada Revnue Agency deems you no longer a resident on Z for W purpose"

I've looked around and not only can I not find a clear answer, I can't find any answer at all, so I'm asking the experts (i.e. VisaJourney members! ).

Thanks in advance for your help already; it's been so useful!

[feli114 65]

Beneficiary becomes resident after filing adjustment of status. The amount of time it takes can be anywhere from 4 months to a year after getting married on a k1 visa. As far as losing your residency from your home country, I dont think you lose it. As soon as you register your marriage with the courthouse and you obtain a certified copy, you can file AOS. I was able to insure my husband the day we got married. You can get a social security number right away. We waited the 2 weeks recommended by this site and it came in 35 days. Driver's license, my husband applied as soon as he got his social security card. I hope this helps.

[KASH2011 382]

This site has been incredibly helpful in our K-1 process; every question I've had has been answered somewhere. But I can't find the answer to this one:

When does the benificiary become a US resident and stop being a resident of their home country? Is it:

• When Adjustment of Status is approved? ....... Yes

[NikLR 13,227]

For Canadians... when you leave the country and POE on the K1, you have ceased to become a Canadian resident. That is the date in which you have emigrated from Canada and immigrated to the USA even though you are not a US permanent resident yet. You're rather in limbo.

That is why it's so important to get married and file the AOS right away.

[Lainie B 465]

"Resident for tax purposes" is different to "legal permanent resident". I agree with NLR, for the purposes you describe it's the day of POE.

[Pitaya 2,577]

This site has been incredibly helpful in our K-1 process; every question I've had has been answered somewhere. But I can't find the answer to this one:

When does the benificiary become a US resident and stop being a resident of their home country? Is it:

On the "Resident Since" date expressed on the Form I-551 (Green Card)

• At Port of Entry when activating K-1?
• When marriage is solemnized?
• When Adjustment of Status is filed?
• When Adjustment of Status is approved?
• Some other time?

This affects a number of things (I list these because you may choose different dates for different things):

1. Some Canadian provinces require residents to be a member of a health or drug insurance plan (and, generally, once you enter US at PoE you've already quit your job so are no longer covered, which means you may have to pay for the public plan when you file your taxes (even though you can't get any benefits from it as you can't leave the US during that time due to immigration status!)); also, when do you need to have US health insurance from (especially with new health care mandate from ACA)
2. Taxes are based on a whole number of crazy factors (I don't expect a detailed answer on that here)
3. Driver's licence and insurance are based on residency; when do I get my US driver's licence and give up my Canadian one (and Canadian health care card)
4. Canadians who are non-resident (outside of Canada) can vote in Canadian elections by mail for a certain number of years after they cease to be a resident (5 for federal; differs for provinces; some exceptions can lengthen this (diplomats, UN workers, etc.)) (FYI, this limit is being challenged in court, and will probably be resolved in 3-5 years)

And another wrinkle: presumably you must be resident in precisely one (no more or fewer) place at all times, but I could see one government saying I ceased to be a resident on one day and another saying I became a resident on another day and those two days being different (and different departments of each government saying different things). So I guess I am asking for you to qualify your answer by saying "USCIS considers you a resident on X for Y purpose" or "Canada Revnue Agency deems you no longer a resident on Z for W purpose"

I've looked around and not only can I not find a clear answer, I can't find any answer at all, so I'm asking the experts (i.e. VisaJourney members! ).

Thanks in advance for your help already; it's been so useful!

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[NikLR 13,227]

As for your driver's license, for most states you are required to have an SSN and EAD. You will not be able to get a driver's license until then but check with your state DMV. You never actually give up your Canadian license (I still have my AB licence) but they do allow Canadians to get a new one based on an out of state transfer vs having to go through the whole new driver thing like other countries.

Taxes for Canada - the day you POE is the day you emigrated from Canada. You only file Canadian taxes up to that date. Taxes for the USA are more complicated.

Health insurance - when you POE you are no longer covered by provincial health insurance. Once you are married, that is a life changing event and you can be added onto your spouse's health insurance plan if there is one. If not you can do the Obamacare thing (which is complicated in itself) but you likely cannot do that until you have your EAD either but I'm unsure and you'd have to inquire with the company and the insurance company.

[Dave&Roza 748]

This site has been incredibly helpful in our K-1 process; every question I've had has been answered somewhere. But I can't find the answer to this one:

When does the benificiary become a US resident and stop being a resident of their home country? Is it:

• At Port of Entry when activating K-1?
• When marriage is solemnized?
• When Adjustment of Status is filed?
• When Adjustment of Status is approved?
• Some other time?

This affects a number of things (I list these because you may choose different dates for different things):

1. Some Canadian provinces require residents to be a member of a health or drug insurance plan (and, generally, once you enter US at PoE you've already quit your job so are no longer covered, which means you may have to pay for the public plan when you file your taxes (even though you can't get any benefits from it as you can't leave the US during that time due to immigration status!)); also, when do you need to have US health insurance from (especially with new health care mandate from ACA)
2. Taxes are based on a whole number of crazy factors (I don't expect a detailed answer on that here)
3. Driver's licence and insurance are based on residency; when do I get my US driver's licence and give up my Canadian one (and Canadian health care card)
4. Canadians who are non-resident (outside of Canada) can vote in Canadian elections by mail for a certain number of years after they cease to be a resident (5 for federal; differs for provinces; some exceptions can lengthen this (diplomats, UN workers, etc.)) (FYI, this limit is being challenged in court, and will probably be resolved in 3-5 years)

And another wrinkle: presumably you must be resident in precisely one (no more or fewer) place at all times, but I could see one government saying I ceased to be a resident on one day and another saying I became a resident on another day and those two days being different (and different departments of each government saying different things). So I guess I am asking for you to qualify your answer by saying "USCIS considers you a resident on X for Y purpose" or "Canada Revnue Agency deems you no longer a resident on Z for W purpose"

I've looked around and not only can I not find a clear answer, I can't find any answer at all, so I'm asking the experts (i.e. VisaJourney members! ).

Thanks in advance for your help already; it's been so useful!

When one applies for and receives the green card (GC) the immigrant becomes a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the US. Becoming just a resident can depend on several factors. For example, are you a resident of the state you are enrolled in college or your home state? Are you a resident of Canada or the US? Residency is that place that you call home and are planning to return to after a short trip. You can claim residency the day you move to the US or you may delay it for a period of time. A DL is not only based on residency, but immigration status. So you may be a resident of the state, but because you do not have the proper documentation--i.e. GC--you cannot get a DL.

So you could be a Canadian resident if you were only going to spend a few years in the US, but have every intention of returning to Canada. You could be a US resident if you consider the place you are staying at your home and where you expect to return to just like you expected to return to Canada in the previous example. Since you have applied for and been granted a K-1 visa, you are planning to leave Canada as your residence and take up residence in the US. When does that start? Depends on which legal definition is being used. You are moving to the US, so your POE date could be the date you become a resident--this is the one I would use. You could use your marriage date as you have fulfilled the requirements of the K-1 visa and can remain in the US legally. My wife's residency on the Marriage License is listed as where she was living when we applied--i.e. in the US--not her home country.

Good luck,

Dave

[telso 16]

Thanks all for all the quick responses. Unsurprisingly, I'm getting varying responses; in fact, I've gotten every option I suggested, plus more!

Some weird logic: when you PoE you're still a non-immigrant (with immigrant intent!), but non-immigrants can be residents. When you marry you are no longer a K-1 non-immigrant (cancelled), but here on some sort of "approved status" (one reference I found said something like "under authority of the Attorney General"), and then you enter other approved statuses after you file and then receive your AOS. If the green card says "Resident since X day" then that will clear things up, but it'd be nice to know that day before it actually comes (especially for filing other things). (Fortunately we've decided to do everything in a very short time period, but even then AOS approval may take some time, and I'm sure I'm going to be asked at some point "When did you become a US resident?" and I'd like to know the answer to that! )

For emigrating from Canada, PoE seems like most reasonable. However, you usually have to alert the provinicial health and driver's agency for a change of address at the same time; I get that they don't want to give me (Canadian) medicare anymore, but obviously I should be able to still drive until I get my US licence. Further, some provinces have no-fault insurance that covers you worldwide (you still have to get insurance with your car, but I don't own one), so it might be reasonable for that to stop at some point (after which I can get a refund pro-rated for the rest of the year I paid for).

As well, due to the way I have to leave my job, I will be PoEing on a Monday but my last day employed with my Canadian employer will be the Wednesday following the Monday, so I'll be employed in Canada while physically not in Canada (and probably(?) not a resident of Canada and possibly not a resident of the US) for 3 days. I'm sure that will be fun to deal with in April 2015!

Lastly, students are generally a special situation: often when you change to another state/province/country, you may either be a resident of your parents' jurisdiction or of your school's or you may have the choice. I find it hard to believe that even if my future spouse and I decide either now or in the future we want to immigrate to Canada in, say, 5-10 years that for that whole time because I intended to return to Canada I'm not a US resident.

Thanks again for all the thoughts!