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I might be in a dilemma here, I'm looking for some advice as to my best path forward.
I'm a Canadian citizen married to an American citizen, we've been living in the US for around 10 years now, I have had a permanent resident card for most of those 10 years. We are planning on moving to Canada to be closer to a family member with Alzheimer's disease. My wife has her Canadian permanent resident stuff now, we are clear on the Canadian side, but I'm realizing that I may have made a mistake in not seeking my US citizenship. It's mostly been laziness on my part since I haven't been interested enough the benefits of citizenship in comparison to permanent residency (i.e. voting, running for office, family sponsorship, etc.), but since we will likely be in Canada long enough for my permanent resident card to be up for renewal where we won't be fulfilling US residency requirements, I certainly don't want to have to give up my legal status in the US.
I found the following info:
I have read that the N400 can take up to a year until the oath ceremony, we were hoping in moving to Canada late summer. What sorts of things can I do to retain my eligibility while this is being processed, short of postponing our move? I have contract work in the US which I'll keep, and of course we will file this year's taxes. We won't sell our US home immediately either. Will this be enough? If not, can I take "temporary visits" to Canada without creating red flags?
Any advice here? It should *suck* to be back at square one should we ever decide to move back to the US.
I'm a Canadian citizen married to an American citizen, we've been living in the US for around 10 years now, I have had a permanent resident card for most of those 10 years. We are planning on moving to Canada to be closer to a family member with Alzheimer's disease. My wife has her Canadian permanent resident stuff now, we are clear on the Canadian side, but I'm realizing that I may have made a mistake in not seeking my US citizenship. It's mostly been laziness on my part since I haven't been interested enough the benefits of citizenship in comparison to permanent residency (i.e. voting, running for office, family sponsorship, etc.), but since we will likely be in Canada long enough for my permanent resident card to be up for renewal where we won't be fulfilling US residency requirements, I certainly don't want to have to give up my legal status in the US.
I found the following info:
Requirement No. 3: Continuous Residence After Submitting N400 Application
The applicant must continuously reside in the U.S. from the date of filing the N400 naturalization application until the oath ceremony. INA § 316 (a)(2).
Continuous residence does not mean that the naturalization applicant must remain in the U.S. during the entire period while he is waiting for his N400 application to be processed. Generally, it means that he cannot reside or move to another country while waiting for the USCIS to decide about his N400 application. Thus, an applicant can make temporary visits while the N400 is pending, as long as he has evidence such as proof that he maintained his home in the U.S., filed U.S. tax returns, retained his employment in the U.S., etc.
The applicant must continuously reside in the U.S. from the date of filing the N400 naturalization application until the oath ceremony. INA § 316 (a)(2).
Continuous residence does not mean that the naturalization applicant must remain in the U.S. during the entire period while he is waiting for his N400 application to be processed. Generally, it means that he cannot reside or move to another country while waiting for the USCIS to decide about his N400 application. Thus, an applicant can make temporary visits while the N400 is pending, as long as he has evidence such as proof that he maintained his home in the U.S., filed U.S. tax returns, retained his employment in the U.S., etc.
Any advice here? It should *suck* to be back at square one should we ever decide to move back to the US.
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