Gaining Canadian Citizenship after becoming a US LPR - Success!

[Ontarkie 13,915]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:03 AM, waterlooengineer said:

 

Hey there. I just recently got my Canadian Citizenship so I can help with a few of the questions:

 

Questions:

- To ensure that I can get my Canadian Citizenship AND my US Greencard, what are the ideal timelines for everything to happen/fall in place? Ideally you would get your Canadian Citizenship prior to moving to the US as a PR. If that is not the case, you can easily just come to Canada when you get the oath date. Since your language, physical presence and prohibitions are still in process, I would expect you would get the US PR earlier than the oath for your Canadian Citizenship. 

- Do I need to declare to Canada that I am applying for US PR? No need. 

- Should I wait to travel to the US until after my Canadian Oath Ceremony? If you do get your Canadian citizenship application approved before your interview, then yes. Wait until the oath ceremony. 

- Do they really ask you to "cut" your Canadian PR card at your Canadian Oath Ceremony? Yes, they do. You have to cut it infront of a clerk since you are no longer a Canadian PR.

- Once I enter the US on an immigrant visa/stamp, I don't think I will be able to return to Canada until I get my US PR card (~100 days after landing in the US); I have a permanent residence with my Fiancé in Canada - Do you think it will be OK? Yes, you will have a visa stamped on your passport. This visa acts as your Green Card until you get the actual Green card a few months later. You should have no issues coming to Canada to attend the oath. 

- Did you apply for Expedited Processing of your Canadian Passport after your Canadian Oath Ceremony? Is this an option for me if I have my Canadian Oath ceremony after my US Immigration interview (which I hope will be the case)? Yes you can do that. Once you get your Citizenship certificate (that can take 2-4 weeks to be delivered to your address), you can walk in to any Passport Canada office. Ideally, with an appointment but they are hard to find. You can line up early (5-6 am) and get a passport made within 2 days even with a flight ticket booked. (comes with an extra charge of $110) Or 3-45 days with a flight ticket or proof of travel (comes with an extra charge of $50).

 

Just to give you an idea. I had my oath ceremony on June 15th, 2022. I requested for an expedite delivery of my certificate. Received my certificate on June 17th. I kept looking for appointments on e-Service Canada and was lucky to find one for June 20th, 2022. Went to my appointment and showed them a flight ticket for June 25th, 2022. My passport was ready to be picked up today (June 23rd 2022). I paid $50 for express processing. 

Sounds like this is a K1 entry so no leaving the US. No GC will be arriving, they will still need to AOS and apply for AP and that can take up to 8 months. 

[jpfashizzle 9]

46 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

You said fiancé. That means you are getting a K1 visa. You cannot leave the US after entry on a K1, the other quoting you above have said you can leave with the stamp. That only applies if you are married an getting a spousal visa. If you are indeed getting a K1 visa you cannot leave until advance parole this is taking up to 8 months to get. Do not enter the US until you do your Oath is that is so close to your Visa interview. You will have 6 months from the medical to enter on your K1. 

@Ontarkie - Sorry I may not have been clear, thus causing your misunderstanding. My fiancé does not have anything to do with this; she's a Canadian citizen. I was just highlighting that I have a residence in Canada for mails/contact from  IRCC. 

 

My US Visa is under the F2B category.

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

On 6/22/2022 at 2:11 PM, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

I'm planning to rock up with my British Passport and Green card, and claim Canadian Citizenship at the land border. Per Section 6 of the Charter, Canadian citizens have the right to enter Canada.

Btw, I had no issues doing this today. Went up in the Nexus lane to Canada with my Nexus and Green Card, regular questions, no dramas. Good thing too as the regular lineup was maaaaassive!

[Ontarkie 13,915]

3 hours ago, jpfashizzle said:

@Ontarkie - Sorry I may not have been clear, thus causing your misunderstanding. My fiancé does not have anything to do with this; she's a Canadian citizen. I was just highlighting that I have a residence in Canada for mails/contact from  IRCC. 

 

My US Visa is under the F2B category.

Ya it wasn't clear. Then you are good to go. 

[Maverick_TO 2]

On 6/23/2022 at 1:52 PM, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

At the Oath Ceremony, no. They just do an ID check, so will just want to see the Bio Page. You don't need to use your passport. Your PR card plus ANY other government issued ID (foreign or domestic but must be in English or French) is acceptable.

 

However, if you get called for a Program Integrity Interview (they used to do this for everyone, but now only select applicants) then they may check your passport pages. They absolutely will if you are called for an interview where they have questions over your physical presence. That being said, having a US immigrant visa in your passport is not a negative factor if you are otherwise in compliance with the physical presence required for citizenship. But as I said before, your active LPR status must be disclosed to IRCC.

 

Back in 2017 they removed the intent to live in Canada requirement for Citizenship. So IRCC cannot refuse your application because of your intent to live in the US or already happen to be living in the US. I am officially a nonresident of Canada, I have WA Driver's License, and non-resident as far as the CRA is concerned, but they still swore me in as a Canadian citizen thanks to those changes in 2017.

 

For the sake of transparency, I would also suggest notifying USCIS of your citizenship change too, and underline that Canada permits nonresidents to become citizens, and that your residency in the US has not changed.

 

Hi @Kai G. Llewellyn

 

Much like you, I have established LPR status in the US upon being granted a CR1 VISA. Per your post, you recommend that IRCC be informed of US LPR status once it's established - how do I go about doing it?

 

Considering that I submitted my online application after the CR1 VISA foil was pasted on my passport, I included it on my application. I have a citizenship application that is pending with the IRCC and wasn't sure what was the right channel to inform the IRCC about my US LPR status. Also, did you inform the CRA in the same year that you moved, or updated your status with the tax filing in the following year?

 

My timeline follows-

• US CR1 VISA issued in December 2021 (early December)
• Applied for Canadian citizenship in December 2021 (end of December) and included the CR1 VISA foil on my application
• Crossed into the US with the CR1 in May 2022
• US GC mailed and received in June 2022

Many thanks!

NK

 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,097]

On 7/1/2022 at 3:39 PM, Maverick_TO said:

Much like you, I have established LPR status in the US upon being granted a CR1 VISA. Per your post, you recommend that IRCC be informed of US LPR status once it's established - how do I go about doing it?

I am in the same boat as you and informed IRCC of US LPR using webform. 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,097]

On 6/22/2022 at 5:11 PM, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

Flying into Canada...yeah, you can't do that without a Canadian Passport if you're a citizen, unless you get a special authorization. Land border, you have a lot more flexibility because you arrive for inspection on Canadian soil.

Curious, can't you fly to the US, using your home country passport (in your case, UK)  and your green card? Or does becoming a Canadian citizen take away that privilege and you have to have a Canadian passport to fly in?

 

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1053&top=16

Edited July 4, 2022 by From_CAN_2_US

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:53 AM, From_CAN_2_US said:

Curious, can't you fly to the US, using your home country passport (in your case, UK)  and your green card? Or does becoming a Canadian citizen take away that privilege and you have to have a Canadian passport to fly in?

 

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1053&top=16

It's kinda interesting to be honest. Ordinarily once you become a Canadian citizen, the only way to fly into Canada is with a valid Canadian passport, or a US Passport if you're also an American.

 

HOWEVER, recently Canada removed the eTA requirement for anyone with a valid LPR card, so theoretically a Canadian citizen could be boarded with their non-Canadian passport and LPR card. Truth be told, I haven't tried it. For me, I don't have any need to fly into Canada as I live 15 minutes from the border and they let me in with my UK Passport and Green Card. International flights I usually take from SeaTac, and would probably use YVR for any Canadian domestic flights that I'd need.

 

I think the wait for me to get a Canadian passport will be quite lengthy given the mess of ServiceCanada right now. 😕

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

On 7/1/2022 at 12:39 PM, Maverick_TO said:

 

Hi @Kai G. Llewellyn

 

Much like you, I have established LPR status in the US upon being granted a CR1 VISA. Per your post, you recommend that IRCC be informed of US LPR status once it's established - how do I go about doing it?

 

Considering that I submitted my online application after the CR1 VISA foil was pasted on my passport, I included it on my application. I have a citizenship application that is pending with the IRCC and wasn't sure what was the right channel to inform the IRCC about my US LPR status. Also, did you inform the CRA in the same year that you moved, or updated your status with the tax filing in the following year?

 

My timeline follows-

• US CR1 VISA issued in December 2021 (early December)
• Applied for Canadian citizenship in December 2021 (end of December) and included the CR1 VISA foil on my application
• Crossed into the US with the CR1 in May 2022
• US GC mailed and received in June 2022

Many thanks!

NK

 

@From_CAN_2_US is right. You inform them via the IRCC Webform under 'give new information about an application'. https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp

[waterlooengineer 30]

1 hour ago, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

It's kinda interesting to be honest. Ordinarily once you become a Canadian citizen, the only way to fly into Canada is with a valid Canadian passport, or a US Passport if you're also an American.

 

HOWEVER, recently Canada removed the eTA requirement for anyone with a valid LPR card, so theoretically a Canadian citizen could be boarded with their non-Canadian passport and LPR card. Truth be told, I haven't tried it. For me, I don't have any need to fly into Canada as I live 15 minutes from the border and they let me in with my UK Passport and Green Card. International flights I usually take from SeaTac, and would probably use YVR for any Canadian domestic flights that I'd need.

 

I think the wait for me to get a Canadian passport will be quite lengthy given the mess of ServiceCanada right now. 😕

 

You can get a passport expedited if you have an urgent travel coming up. I got mine in 2 days. This was mid June. 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

5 minutes ago, waterlooengineer said:

 

You can get a passport expedited if you have an urgent travel coming up. I got mine in 2 days. This was mid June. 

Oh you absolutely can, but be prepared to camp out outside of ServiceCanada if you live in one of Canada's main cities. Not sure if you've seen the news, but it's pretty bad right now.

 

I have no urgent need to get one as I have existing travel documents that are letting me cross by land without issue.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[jpfashizzle 9]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:03 AM, waterlooengineer said:

Just to give you an idea. I had my oath ceremony on June 15th, 2022. I requested for an expedite delivery of my certificate. Received my certificate on June 17th. I kept looking for appointments on e-Service Canada and was lucky to find one for June 20th, 2022. Went to my appointment and showed them a flight ticket for June 25th, 2022. My passport was ready to be picked up today (June 23rd 2022). I paid $50 for express processing. 

@Kai G. Llewellyn @waterlooengineer Sorry to keep re-hashing this but I just wanted to be sure:

 

I have applied for my Canadian Citizenship and am still awaiting my Language Skills, Physical Presence, Prohibitions and Oath Ceremony to be marked as 'Complete'. So, my question is, when EXACTLY should I "requested for an expedite delivery of my certificate"?

 

Is it NOW, or AFTER I my application for Citizenship is granted and I receive my Oath Ceremony date?

 

Thank You!!!

 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

1 hour ago, jpfashizzle said:

@Kai G. Llewellyn @waterlooengineer Sorry to keep re-hashing this but I just wanted to be sure:

 

I have applied for my Canadian Citizenship and am still awaiting my Language Skills, Physical Presence, Prohibitions and Oath Ceremony to be marked as 'Complete'. So, my question is, when EXACTLY should I "requested for an expedite delivery of my certificate"?

 

Is it NOW, or AFTER I my application for Citizenship is granted and I receive my Oath Ceremony date?

 

Thank You!!!

 

When did you apply? Language Skills, Prohibitions and Physical Presence usually are marked as complete together and that's effectively your 'Decision Made'. If you have extensive travel history, Physical Presence may take 1 or 2 months more to complete once Lang and Prohibs are done.

 

You can request for expedited processing of your application, if you can demonstrate an emergent need for it to IRCC (and no, living outside of Canada doesn't count).

 

Once your application is approved, you will be invited to an Oath Ceremony. There you will also sign a paper Oath of Citizenship (as well as verbally taking the oath), you send a scan of the paper oath to an IRCC mailbox. When emailing that mailbox, you you can request that they expedite the dispatch of your citizenship certificate. FYI it took about 2.5 weeks for my certificate to be delivered after my ceremony.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:53 AM, From_CAN_2_US said:

Curious, can't you fly to the US, using your home country passport (in your case, UK)  and your green card? Or does becoming a Canadian citizen take away that privilege and you have to have a Canadian passport to fly in?

 

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1053&top=16

Oh I misread your message here. Technically a Green Card alone is good enough to fly to the US. But either a Canadian or UK passport wouldn't be treated differently here no matter which one you presented.

[Maverick_TO 2]

On 7/4/2022 at 8:15 AM, From_CAN_2_US said:

I am in the same boat as you and informed IRCC of US LPR using webform. 

Did you update your address with the IRCC to when you informed them of your US LPR status? Considering that we're LPRs of the US, I'd think having a non-US address on file would be questioned?

 

@Kai G. Llewellyn  Please feel free to chime in on this