Domicile - should we accept an U.S. job offer before I-130 approval?

[darth vader 131]

My U.S.C. spouse is also a Canadian PR has received an U.S. job offer. The employer has agreed to let my spouse work remotely from Canada for several months due to the coronavirus. My spouse still needs ~60 days of Canadian residency to satisfy the Canadian PR's 2 out of 5 years residency obligations. As such, we feel like this is a great opportunity to satisfy the Canadian PR requirements by being physically in Canada, at the same time also being able to satisfy NVC as she will have a U.S. job.

 

I have been wrecking my brain on this and can use some advice on the below:

 

1. Since our I-130 is not approved yet (we expect to be approved in Jan-Apr), would it be too early to accept an U.S. job offer, in case there are more delays?

2. The best I can tell the U.S. employer will withhold U.S. taxes and when we file with CRA we just pay the difference (Canadian tax rate minus what we already paid to the U.S.) to avoid paying double tax as per the tax treaty . Any ideas on this?

3. Since my spouse will still be residing in Canada and paying taxes to Canada, she can still use OHIP?

4. Would NVC have any issues because my spouse will be living in Canada although she'll have a U.S. based job. Not sure if it'll put us in "domiciled" or "intent to reestablish domicile" category.

 

Inviting @Lemonslice, @Ontarkie, @NikLR to advise.

Edited December 27, 2020 by darth vader

[Lemonslice 4,570]

1. Your guess is as good as anyone's...

2. Taxes are more complicated than immigration, I strongly suggest you reach out to a fiscalist.

3.  As long as she's an Ontario resident, most probably.  Contact OHIP if you're in doubt.

4. As far as I know, NVC doesn't verify domicile, at all.

 

 

Best of luck.

[darth vader 131]

20 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

4. As far as I know, NVC doesn't verify domicile, at all.

Thanks! By above comment you mean if you have U.S. job they won't verify if you actually "live" in the U.S.?

[SalishSea 16,836]

27 minutes ago, darth vader said:

Thanks! By above comment you mean if you have U.S. job they won't verify if you actually "live" in the U.S.?

The point is that domicile is verified and discretionary to the consulate, not NVC.  Expect scrutiny from Montreal on the issue.

[darth vader 131]

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

The point is that domicile is verified and discretionary to the consulate, not NVC.  Expect scrutiny from Montreal on the issue.

I have seen quite a few posts here where NVC has asked for more documents regarding domicile. So certainly it is not that you can just provide a letter at NVC stage and all is good? Some thought needs to go in to it at NVC stage as well?

[SalishSea 16,836]

1 minute ago, darth vader said:

I have seen quite a few posts here where NVC has asked for more documents regarding domicile. So certainly it is not that you can just provide a letter at NVC stage and all is good? Some thought needs to go in to it at NVC stage as well?

Sure.  What I meant was that satisfying the domicile burden of proof at the NVC level does not necessarily mean the consulate itself will be happy with it.

 

Montreal is the only US consulate that is like this about domicile, so probably worth doing your research in the archival posts here on VJ.

[darth vader 131]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

Sure.  What I meant was that satisfying the domicile burden of proof at the NVC level does not necessarily mean the consulate itself will be happy with it.

 

Montreal is the only US consulate that is like this about domicile, so probably worth doing your research in the archival posts here on VJ.

We have plenty of cash in the bank to qualify for the AOS just using the assets. However, in your experience how likely is it that they would want to see a joint-sponsor? The only people we know who would agree to be joint-sponsors are my in-laws who are retired and have social security income. Would co-sponsor's assets be counted, if a co-sponsor is required?

[SalishSea 16,836]

38 minutes ago, darth vader said:

We have plenty of cash in the bank to qualify for the AOS just using the assets. However, in your experience how likely is it that they would want to see a joint-sponsor? The only people we know who would agree to be joint-sponsors are my in-laws who are retired and have social security income. Would co-sponsor's assets be counted, if a co-sponsor is required?

I really don't know.  The Canadian members you tagged will have a better idea about that.

 

I will say that with Montreal's emphasis on domicile, the joint sponsor issue is often not a part of the equation, as the USC often returns to the US to establish domicile, which most of the time includes employment.   This is all anecdotal from trends I've noticed reading VJ for several years.

[T&S_MTL 113]

You can rely on assets only to qualify. This is what we did and NVC was fine with it, just make sure you show you have more than necessary. We did not have any co-sponsor.

Edited December 27, 2020 by T&S_MTL

[darth vader 131]

6 minutes ago, T&S_MTL said:

You can rely on assets only to qualify. This is what we did and NVC was fine with it, just make sure you show you have more than necessary. We did not have any co-sponsor.

How long was the U.S.C. in Canada in your case? I saw someone on VJ today who has a lot of assets but NVC wasn't convinced until they found someone who was domiciled in the U.S. to be their co-sponsor.

[T&S_MTL 113]

Just now, darth vader said:

How long was the U.S.C. in Canada in your case? I saw someone on VJ today who has a lot of assets but NVC wasn't convinced until they found someone who was domiciled in the U.S. to be their co-sponsor.

It's been 7 years, but I would not stress out too much about this.

And the assets amount / proof of domicile are totally unrelated topics IMHO.

[darth vader 131]

21 minutes ago, T&S_MTL said:

It's been 7 years, but I would not stress out too much about this.

And the assets amount / proof of domicile are totally unrelated topics IMHO.

Does the asset need to be in U.S.? In our case we have 10% in petitioner's U.S. account and 90% in petitioner and beneficiary's joint Canadian account.

[T&S_MTL 113]

No, assets do not need to be in the US or in USD. We only used assets that we have here in Canada, and converted the total value in USD to show we meet the financial requirements.

[AstroCanada 206]

Just to be clear on domicile, it is only the USC that has to be domiciled in the US.  Your spouse's job is irrelevant there.  I took a job in the US after the I-130 was approved but before the NVC process.  We ended up living apart for about 3 months.  That being said, that was a different situation, I made it through the NVC incredibly fast and got an interview scheduled in no time.  These days, the Canadian process seems a lot slower, so I would bet on 6-12 months minimum from I-130 approval to the spouse immigrating.

[darth vader 131]

On 1/1/2021 at 1:37 PM, AstroCanada said:

Just to be clear on domicile, it is only the USC that has to be domiciled in the US.  Your spouse's job is irrelevant there.  I took a job in the US after the I-130 was approved but before the NVC process.  We ended up living apart for about 3 months.  That being said, that was a different situation, I made it through the NVC incredibly fast and got an interview scheduled in no time.  These days, the Canadian process seems a lot slower, so I would bet on 6-12 months minimum from I-130 approval to the spouse immigrating.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, the U.S.C. has obtained a remote U.S. job offer. We were thinking this would help with domicile/intent to reestablish domicile?