Canadian Permanent Resident Travel Document Stamp in Passport


trom

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Hi- I am a US Green card holder residing in the US for 20 years and going to apply for US Citizenship. I am also a Canadian permanent resident and need a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) stamped in my passport to visit Canada for a 5 day holiday. Will that Canadian stamp be problematic for me during the US citizenship interview? I am concerned what the officer may determine if they see the Canadian Residency new stamp in my passport, although I have been continuously residing in the US for past 20 years and have no intent on going back to Canada other than for short holidays. Please advise. Thanks.

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You can't have US Permanent Residency and Permanent Residency of another country. The US considers this as abandoning US Permanent Residency. That very likely will come up in the citizenship interview, and you may be looking at denial of the citizenship application and revocation of the US Green card. It would probably be best to give up Canadian residency. And discuss your situation with a good immigration lawyer before the interview.

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You are a learned member of the forum, but I am surprised with your response.  US green card requires you to maintain your residence in the US and does not ask about any other residency. In fact a citizen of any other country, India or UK have the right of permanent residence in their country of citizenship. Are you suggesting they too had to give up that right when they applied for their green cards?  Even when you apply for US citizenship you can hold dual citizenship. They don't care what passport you use to travel to other countries, as long as you enter the US only with your US passport. The fact that I need a travel document to visit Canada indicates I have not maintained residency there. In fact I Have never gone back in 20 years . I understand the option to renounce Canadian residency, but only if that is absolutely required. Open to further discussion on this.

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Why is a Canadian permanent resident visiting Canada?  I'm not familiar with Canadian laws, but do they not insist their PRs to live in Canada full-time, as does the US?

By law, a US permanent resident cannot be permanently residing in another country. Just like an individual cannot be at two places at one time. The residency requirements do not apply to US citizens, so your logic is flawed. 

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On 7/1/2018 at 6:37 PM, trom said:

You are a learned member of the forum, but I am surprised with your response.  US green card requires you to maintain your residence in the US and does not ask about any other residency. In fact a citizen of any other country, India or UK have the right of permanent residence in their country of citizenship. Are you suggesting they too had to give up that right when they applied for their green cards?  Even when you apply for US citizenship you can hold dual citizenship. They don't care what passport you use to travel to other countries, as long as you enter the US only with your US passport. The fact that I need a travel document to visit Canada indicates I have not maintained residency there. In fact I Have never gone back in 20 years . I understand the option to renounce Canadian residency, but only if that is absolutely required. Open to further discussion on this.

My response is grounded in reality.

I don't care if you like it or not, but people who have been both US and Canadian Permanent Residents have gotten into trouble when entering the US, with the US border people canceling the US GC on grounds that the people don't reside permanently in the US because they reside in another country. As A US LPR, you absolutely have to PERMANENTLY reside in the US. If you reside somewhere else, like with a Canadian Permanent Residency, that means to US authorities that you don't reside in the US. The US authorities don't care about what Canada requires to keep their residency, they care about residency, and residency somewhere else means you are not residing in the US, i.e., you abandoned the US GC.

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