PR card for a spouse in US on a H-4 visa

[khelanphelan]

I am a PR card holder who has been working in the US for the last 5 years on a H-1B visa.  My wife recently came to the USA on a H-4 visa.  Do I have to be physically present in Canada to apply for her PR card? If yes, can I come to Canada for a few weeks, apply for her PR card and then return back to the US?

Secondly, I will have to decide soon whether to stay in US or return to Canada to maintain my PR card.  If I don't return to Canada, will my PR card automatically expire?  If it expires, can I reapply for it?

A third option is for me to let the PR card expire and then have my spouse apply for her PR card based on her own qualifications.  Is this possible?

[Andrei]

You must spend 2 out of 5 years in Canada ro maintain your permanent residense.

If you lose your PR status, you will need to go through the whole immigration process again.

[khelanphelan]

Ok, let me clarify that I had returning resident permit before 2003 and then I got a PR card, so my PR card will be valid.

If my PR card is valid, can I apply for my spouse outside the country?
Can I enter the country for a few days, apply for her card and then leave?

[PMM]

Hi

Ok, let me clarify that I had returning resident permit before 2003 and then I got a PR card, so my PR card will be valid.

If my PR card is valid, can I apply for my spouse outside the country?
Can I enter the country for a few days, apply for her card and then leave?

It is not the validity of the PR card, it is the validity of PR status.  So if you left again sometime in 2003, and not returned, then your PR status is gone sometime in 2006.
To sponsor your wife, you would have to resident in Canada, no you can't stop off for a couple of days and submit your application.

[DancingFeather]

:) It is absolutely true what has been said. Now, why would you want to risk losing your pr status?  You went through all that trouble to get it. You have the opportunity to work in the U.S. and be a resident in Canada, so you have a wining ticket.

Don't forget to be very careful before you decide to remain in the U.S. permanently. Unless you know you will never return and it is a hassel for you to come back to maintain your pr status then by all means do so. But I would advise against it. What if something should happen to you in the U.S. and you would need to come back to Canada and couldn't because your status is no longer valid.

Do you know how many people would give their life to have what you have and you treating it so lightly.  I would truly take a back seat and see that you have a winning ticket that all are dying to have.