TD visa for wife who is a new PR in Canada?

Thanks for the quick response! Do you know anything about 3rd country TD visa holders and travel outside of North America? I'm planning to travel from the US to China, via Vancouver. I do not have a connecting flight, so I actually will enter Canada and spend a day there before going on to China. Same route back. I did this because as a Chinese citizen, I was told I would have to get a new visa (at the US consulate in China) if I wanted to return directly from China, regardless of whether my TD Visa was multiple entry or not. Do you know if this is true?

The reason I don't want to apply in China is because the process is so difficult and time consuming, and I don't want to get stuck in China with my 3-yr old Canadian son, and because my husband is too busy at work in the US to join us in China so he can't be there to help me with the forms (he is writing this for me because my English is very limited).

Another question: Do you know if there is there a limitation on how long a 3rd country TD visa holder can stay outside the US or North America, without losing their TD status?

No you won't lose your Canadian PR status if you file taxes in the US. The only way you'd lose it if you and your husband divorced and you continued to live in the US.

Time spent living outside of Canada does not count toward eligibility to naturalization. This is true of any LPR. It is cumulative however, so if you've lived in Canada for 1 year, and then you spend 2 years in the US and come back to Canada, 2 years after that you're eligible to apply.

-- Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:25 am --

Anybody know anything about 3rd country TD visa holders and travel outside of North America?

My wife (Chinese citizen and PR of Canada) is planning to travel from the US to China, via Vancouver. She does not have connecting flights, and will actually enter Canada and spend a day there before going on to China. Same route back. This is because as a Chinese citizen, she was told she would have to get a new visa (at the US consulate in China) if she wanted to return directly from China, regardless of whether her TD Visa was multiple entry or not. Anyone know if this is accurate?

The reason she doesn't want to apply in China is because the process is difficult for her, I'm too busy at work in the US to join her in China to help her with the process, and I don't want her to be stranded in China with our 3-yr old (Canadian) son.

Another question: Anyone know if there is there a limitation on how long a 3rd country TD visa holder can stay outside the US or North America, without losing their TD status?

Thanks, Jim in Texas

Is this really true?!

You have to be physically present in Canada for three out of the last four years to be able to apply for citizenship. I don't quite get your comment about not be able to work in either country, you can work in Canada as a permanent resident. You keep that status as long as you're married to a Canadian citizen and you renew your card every five years.

Taxes can get complicated though. If you file as non-resident in the US and resident in Canada it's pretty straightforward, however it costs more to do it that way as the Canadian rates are usually higher.

-- Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:26 pm --

Time spent living outside of Canada does not count toward eligibility to naturalization. This is true of any LPR. It is cumulative however, so if you've lived in Canada for 1 year, and then you spend 2 years in the US and come back to Canada, 2 years after that you're eligible to apply.

Afraid not, it's three out of the last four years, which means to qualify for citizenship you can't spend more than a year outside of Canada in any four year period. Canada is tougher than the US in this regard.

-- Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:29 pm --

I was told I would have to get a new visa (at the US consulate in China) if I wanted to return directly from China, regardless of whether my TD Visa was multiple entry or not. Do you know if this is true?

Sounds wrong to me, if she has a valid TD visa she can enter from anywhere. I doubt the US consulate in China has much experience with TD visas, they are pretty obscure even in Canada because only non-Canadian citizen dependents of a Canadian citizen in TN-1 status or dependents of a Mexican citizen in TN-2 status are issued them.

Canada is tougher than the US in this regard.

Not really. For US LPRs, if you leave the country to reside elsewhere, even with your USC spouse, you lose your green card. Even if you only leave for half a year, they can deem you've abandoned your status and revoke your card if they feel like it. And if you apply for a re-entry permit before you go, any time spent out of the country is not time accrued to eligibility to naturalization.

But you can leave the US for a substantial period each year as a US LPR and apply for citizenship after three years if you got LPR status through marriage. You can't do that in Canada, you have to be physically present for 1096 days out of the last 1460. Plus it takes much longer to get citizenship in Canada, last I read on the CIC website it was a minimum of 13 months, in the US they're trying to do it in 5 months.

The only advantage of the Canadian way is that you can keep LPR status if you leave. Because oddly Canada wants to allow people to come back and pay taxes, whereas the US doesn't for some strange reason.