Hopeful

What I've found out is that it's not necessarily against the law, but the broker has to be registered to trade in the state you live in, among other things. It's possible that TD Waterhouse might have this arrangement...here is the link to a discussion that talks about it:

http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/view...045a4e618020e0f

I ended up leaving my RRSP's in Canada, but learned a big lesson after the fact. Once you are in the U.S., many financial institutions in Canada will no longer trade on your account. That means that if you want to make changes to the mutual funds you're in, you may be stuck, which is my case. With the market in the tank, I wanted to make some substantial changes to the funds I invest in, and my investment company flat out refuses to do it, as I am a non-resident of Canada. This is not the same as adding new $ to your RRSP's, because once you leave, you won't be earning CDN. income in order to make new contributions. This is only dealing with the funds you already have there.

So, if you decide to leave them there, you should confirm that they will continue to allow you to make changes to your portfolio once you leave. Get it in writing. And if they won't, you should move them to a company that will before you move to the U.S.

As flames said, it's also very important to file an 8891 form every year you are in the U.S.

After such an incredibly long wait, you must be sooo relieved! Congratulations!!

Great news, congrats!!

As Haole mentioned, the only receipt number that works is the one you'll be receiving for biometrics soon. I have no idea why they do it that way.

Hi Ant - good suggestion, but I'm really not sure what the answer is, other than to hire more staff and to try and modernize their systems so that the processing doesn't take so long.

I think they also wait far too long to shift resources between the service centers to try and eliminate the growing backlogs. They stop processing a certain type of application at one center and move everything to another and seem to completely overwhelm the system. Instead of reacting, they seem to just let go on and on and on.....

There was the hope that the big spike in application fees would help them hire more staff and reduce waiting times, but so far...not so much ; - )

I honestly think you've got it covered. The only thing I can think of is including a notarized letter from your wife's parents that says that you lived with them during that period of time (but I don't think it's necessary).

Best of luck with this stage, and welcome to VJ! It is an amazing source of info.

Add me to the list of very relieved that Vermont is moving again! After almost a year of waiting, I just received the email notification that my card has been ordered. It kind of makes me wish I hadn't spent half a day on Friday down at Homeland Security in NYC getting my passport stamped ; ) I was getting nervous that I hadn't received my card yet, and have a lot of travel coming up, so I felt like I needed to.

Sorry that I didn't include my information here. I had been updating the other list of those who received the Conditional Greencard without an interview.

If you wouldn't mind adding me to this one, I would appreciate it.

I-751 date: 12/21/07 NOA date: 1/3/08 Biometrics: 2/15/08 Approved: 12/3/08

Hang in there everyone, it will happen!

Sorry...I forgot to mention my biometrics information. Could you please add it when you get a chance? I tried, but the formatting got all screwed up!

2/15/08

Thanks.

Hi Kryisa,

I'm so glad you posted this! I also received one of these notices today and have no idea what it means. It's dated April 9th, and my original notice was from January. It mentions going for fingerprints again (which I did in February), so I sure hope that it's just a mistake. My case status online is unchanged from February 22.

I guess all we can do is try to call and get more information.

Hi,

Could you please add me?

Hopeful...........VSC........12/21/07......1/3/08/.....__/__/__......__/__/__.......__/__/__

Thanks and congratulations on the recent approvals!

I was successful in Manhattan asking to speak with a supervisor and providing a copy of my marriage certificate, NOA for AOS, passport, canadian driver's license and SSN. They took my Canadian license and issued me a drivers license valid for one year.

Good luck!

Another thing, I don't think the DMV on 34th street near the Blimpie's will do an out of state (Canada) license transfer. Check the NY state DMV website for more details.

I tried the one at Herald Square, and it had a huge line, so I went to the one near Battery park, and it worked out great (remember to ask for the supervisor).

person

Hearing about all of these Canadian goodies is making drool! I always try to bring 3-4 cans of Tim's, assorted chocolate bars like coffee crisp and crispy crunch (I'll never get used to calling them "candy bars!), and my new obsession - j-cloths!

They were a must in my kitchen back in Canada, and they can't be found south of the border! Am I the only one who loves these things?

I am so glad that this stage has finally come to an end for you Anastasia!

Congratulations on becoming a PR and being USCIS free for almost two years!

Enjoy!

Thanks for the advice. Mine is pretty simple too, but, in addition to the RRSP's back home, I still have a small company pension that I don't know what to do with. I would really like to get an expert to help, at least with this year. I found three other firms that say they specialize in Canada/U.S. returns and I have emailed them all to find out their fees.

I may also check out the Hewitt Jackson service, so thanks for the tip!

Thanks again.

I guess I should get my butt down there in the next few months to get the new card!

My timeline:

Case disapeared from system, two days later I received the welcome email, the next day I received the welcome letter and the day after that I received the green card.

It was an exciting week!

Congratulations to you both...enjoy!

That's wonderful news, congratulations!

As always, thanks for sharing your wealth of SSN knowledge : )

Just a couple of additional questions...if you are just a CPR, are you still eligible to receive a non-restricted SSN card?

What is the advantage of having this card? Is this something that "must" be done? The thought of going down to that office again here in NYC is somewhat depressing

Thanks!

Hi all,

A couple of things...first to let everyone waiting for their T4 E know, I received mine on Thursday, so if you haven't received it already, you should be soon.

I also wanted to know if anyone has used/considered using one of these "cross-border" tax specialists? I have given up trying to figure this stuff out on my own. I did get that book "The Border Guide" by Robert Keats, and although it had a ton of information, it ended up confusing the hell out of me!

I contacted Serbinski (thanks flames!), and he sounds extremely competent, but we just couldn't afford him (almost a thousand dollars for one Canadian return and one U.S. married/jointly return).

So, I'm trying to find someone else....does anyone have any suggestions?!

Thanks!