can I have two permanent resident cards both canada and america ?

[yofeihong]

Hi Folks:
I have questions please help me.
I am a green card holder in USA and I am being offered to continue processing my canadian PR.
Is there any problem to have 2 PRs? or any problems to apply for a US citizen later on ?

I heard that to get a US citizen I have to stay here for 5 years and maintain 6 month/ year. How do I commute from US to canada and back again?
Thanks
Y

 

[steaky]

Many people commute between Windsor (Canada) and Detroit (USA) across a river:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t54150.0.html;msg438466#msg438466

 

[Alabaman]

See this link:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=3f443a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3f443a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Also a quote from one of the forum post:

It is possible to hold PR of both countries simultaneously but they have different residency rules. US immigration can take away your green card as soon as they believe that you have permanently moved to another country. In former years some people kept their green cards for years by coming to the US every 6 months but now they watch it more closely how long you are staying. For Canada PR, you need to be in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years. If you stayed 6 months a year in each country, you could probably keep both.

 

[YorkFactory]

It's essentially impossible for you to keep status in both countries indefinitely, unless you have a way to meet the 730-day requirement in Canada without being physically present in Canada (working for a Canadian company in the U.S. that meets the requirements for Canadianness, living with a Canadian-citizen spouse in the U.S., etc.). Otherwise, if you spend enough time in the U.S. to get citizenship, you would have lost your Canadian PR by then.

Also, they do occasionally ask about your immigration status in the other country when you're crossing the border. This could lead to them discovering that you are attempting to be a permanent resident of two countries simultaneously.