Studying and living in the u.s. while working in canada

Hi,
I've been searching the posts and haven't really found anything that specifically answers the questions I have.
I'm a Canadian citizen currently studying in the US and will be moving to the US soon, but I will still be working in Canada.
My car insurance company says I'm ok to keep my plates and such, as I will be crossing frequently.
Is there anything I should be aware of or should know?
Can I be crossing 4 days a week for work? Will I get hassled from the Canadian side when I say I'm going to work?
Thank you!

You're a Canadian citizen, you shouldn't have a problem with Canadian border crossing unless you're carrying contraband.

HI,

I'm curious as to what the challenges would be if I lived in the US, but worked in Canada. My boyfriend and I have talked about buying property and commuting as both our jobs are just across the border, but we were wondering what we would have to do in order to do this. As well, would there be problems at the border? Filing two tax returns?

I would appreciate any advice.

M

You would have to obtain some sort of permanent status in the US to be able to live there and go back and forth easily.

Are you both Canadian, or is one of you American? Which side of the border are your jobs on now? Its not clear by your post.

Hi,

We are both Canadian and both have Canadian jobs. The reason for us wanting to live just accross the border is because we are wanting a large piece of land and there just isn't any in our current area in BC (that is without paying 1,000,000). Friends of ours down in Washington say that it shouldn't be a problem as they know people that live in the US, but work in Canada. I have looked for info, but just haven't seen any.

Thank you for the help.

M

Wow, I think this is becoming the most frequently asked question on here. "I live in BC and have a job there, can I buy a house in Washington because it's cheaper and commute?"

Not easily because you only qualify for a B-2 in the absence of anything else. And that only allows you to stay in the US for up to six months a year.

Your situation is different because you have an I-20 by the sounds of it so you will be in the F-1 category or similar. This will allow you to stay in the US during the course of study, provided it's a reasonably full-time course. Your boyfriend might qualify for F-2, check the regs. Given that both of you work in BC then the EAD issues aren't relevant.

However once your course of study is over then you're back to B-2.

You would have to file two tax returns but this is fairly trivial, the only additional paperwork is a 1040NR, which you report your income on and Form 8840, which basically says you claim closer association to Canada so you don't pay anything to the IRS (or alternatively, Form 8843 which is used by students). Then you just file all the Canadian paperwork as per usual, with a US address on it.

But the thing is if you reside in Washington and have no address in BC, you have to get a Washington DL, and that creates a whole raft of other problems, car insurance, registration, problems with healthcare coverage, etc.

If you have TWO residences and claim BC as the primary one for legal purposes, then you only file a 1040NR and a 8843 and everything else pretty much stays the same. You just carry on using your Canadian address on your T1 and DL.

Having worked all this out recently for a close friend of mine whose husband is a US citizen, I came to the conclusion it did make more sense to live in Washington and commute, because the taxes are way lower in Washington, no State income tax, no sales tax and they are healthy and the lower taxes mean they can afford the healthcare no problem.

But she can obtain permanent residency easily in the US, you can't.

Yes, this does seem to be a hot topic. Yes, we have thought about having two residences as we are very proud to be Canadian and will continue to have ties there, but as first time home buyers the market is crazy for anyone wanting acreage.
If we do choose to have two residences and continue to work in Canada what kind of issues would we be looking at when crossing the border?