Canadian wanting to live in the US but still work in Canada

georgeparillo
New Member



Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 2
Location: MOntreal

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:21 am

 

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Hello , I am new to this site hoping that this will answer all my questions. I am a Canadian and my girfriend in American living in Buffalo. I want to know if it is possible and what do I need to do if I want to live with my girlfriend in Buffalo and commute to work in Niagara Falls everyday on the canadian side.Please help

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1582
Location: Calgary

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:46 am

 

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Get engaged, K-1 visa. www.visajourney.com is a good resource for this.

You can get a "commuter" green card, it is a bit of an unusual situation but it can be done. I'm not sure if it's all that terribly big of a deal if you return home across the border every day because your principal residence would be in the US rather than Canada.

Tax situation might get complicated though.

You'd have to file a non-resident T1 every year to pay tax on your Canadian source income and claim a foreign tax credit in the US. The snag there is that the tax credit in the US maxes out at around $86,000 so over that amount you would be subject to dual taxation.
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Steve.

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1448
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:34 pm

 

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however, with the K1 visa, he will be stuck in the US unable to leave until he's successfully rec'd his adjustment of status, (up to 1 year, maybe more) after they marry. He could get an Advance Parole document, but this is not for multiple entries, it is generally for a single use, so commuting with an AP wouldn't be advised.

You could get married first, petition/apply for CR1 spousal visa (green card basically) which has travel and work authorization. The caveat to this visa however is that it takes about a year to process after you get married (in either US or Canada), and going back and forth from Canada to the US during the time frame will be limited to short visits, daily commutes would not be advised, nor would you likely be allowed.

Visa Journey (linked above by Steven) has info on all types of marriage based visas to the US.
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georgeparillo
New Member



Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 2
Location: MOntreal

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:07 am

 

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Thanks so much for your Ideas.

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alero
New Member



Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 1
Location: Florida

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:36 am

 

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I have a similar question.
I already have a greencard but am considering moving close to the canadian border so that I can work in law enforcement in canada but live in the us. the reason is that citizenship is a requirement to work in law enforcement in the us and I am still a few years away from that point so I figure I can put three years in canada police and gain experience.

the question is, other than taxation, how would this affect my citizenship application and of course my greencard?

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1582
Location: Calgary

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:35 am

 

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Rather than trusting our opinion and experience this is quite specific, check with USCIS. Working a foreign Govt. job is a different situation, I think there are more implications for permanent resident status if you do that.

One of my relatives was in a situation where he worked for a foreign govt. while in the US and he did mention he gave it up partly for immigration reasons but I can't remember the specifics exactly. Might just have been the time outside the US.
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Steve.

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