Held US green card(gave it up) as a Canadian PR, will it affect PR renewal/citizenship?

[mastersboy]

As title says - I activated my US green card after becoming Canadian PR. I activated my US green card after I already was a Canadian PR for 1 year. I gave up the US green card 4 months after activating it.

1. Will this affect my Canadian PR renewal?
2. Will this affect my Canadian citizenship application?
3. Since this happened when bill C6 was in effect, can a future government which repeals C6, retroactively use my dual PR status for 4 months in the past as an "intent to reside outside Canada" and deny PR renewal or citizenship?

Thank you.

Inviting @keesio @itsmyid @sistemc @2_of_5 @dpenabill to answer.

 

[itsmyid]

As title says - I activated my US green card after becoming Canadian PR. I activated my US green card after I already was a Canadian PR for 1 year. I gave up the US green card 4 months after activating it.

1. Will this affect my Canadian PR renewal?
2. Will this affect my Canadian citizenship application?
3. Since this happened when bill C6 was in effect, can a future government which repeals C6, retroactively use my dual PR status for 4 months in the past as an "intent to reside outside Canada" and deny PR renewal or citizenship?

Thank you.

Inviting @keesio @itsmyid @sistemc @2_of_5 @dpenabill to answer.

I doubt it would have much impact on your citizenship application, but it MAY result in some delay in your processing , since you will have to list GC on your application form as immigration status held in your personal history. My own experience -just a guess, I don’t have concrete evidence to make the connection - that my process took 19 months to complete , much longer than anybody I personally know (not including those who waited even longer on this forum) , is PROBABLY because I had H1B and worked in the US before moving to Canada , which PROBABLY took longer for my background check

 

[itsmyid]

As to whether the election will change anything , nobody knows at this point - although my guess is liberal will be defeated by conservatives in October - whether they will do it and how soon they can do it is anybody’s guess

 

[mastersboy]

As to whether the election will change anything , nobody knows at this point - although my guess is liberal will be defeated by conservatives in October - whether they will do it and how soon they can do it is anybody’s guess

Even if conservatives win and change the law, can a law take effect retroactively?

In my case, the actions that might prove the intent to not reside in Canada i.e. dual PR status lasted while it was legal under the law. If I understand correctly even before C6 dual intent only mattered if you were a dual PR while you applied for citizenship. Do you think I might have any trouble - doesn't the fact that I gave up my green card proves that I want to stay in Canada?

 

[itsmyid]

Even if conservatives win and change the law, can a law take effect retroactively?

In my case, the actions that might prove the intent to not reside in Canada i.e. dual PR status lasted while it was legal under the law. If I understand correctly even before C6 dual intent only mattered if you were a dual PR while you applied for citizenship. Do you think I might have any trouble - doesn't the fact that I gave up my green card proves that I want to stay in Canada?

Even under C-24 the ‘intend to reside’ thing was only applied to the period when waiting for citizenship approval , it’s pointless to worry about things that haven’t happened and may never happen - what can you do if they do change the law? There’s nothing we can do , so the only rational choice is to not to worry till we actually cross that bridge

 

[mastersboy]

Even under C-24 the ‘intend to reside’ thing was only applied to the period when waiting for citizenship approval , it’s pointless to worry about things that haven’t happened and may never happen - what can you do if they do change the law? There’s nothing we can do , so the only rational choice is to not to worry till we actually cross that bridge

I definitely agree with your statement. However, I guess I was wondering if changes to immigration laws can be applied retroactively under Canadian constitution?

 

[itsmyid]

I definitely agree with your statement. However, I guess I was wondering if changes to immigration laws can be applied retroactively under Canadian constitution?

That would be determined by the new law , anybody can guess what it would be like, but none of it would be true until the law is actually established. Take the citizenship act about citizenship by descent as an example - there have been many discussions about it and there according to the discussions, how it applies was specified by the law in terms of time, eligibility, didn’t seem to be directly affected by constitution

 

[mastersboy]

As title says - I activated my US green card after becoming Canadian PR. I activated my US green card after I already was a Canadian PR for 1 year. I gave up the US green card 4 months after activating it.

1. Will this affect my Canadian PR renewal?
2. Will this affect my Canadian citizenship application?
3. Since this happened when bill C6 was in effect, can a future government which repeals C6, retroactively use my dual PR status for 4 months in the past as an "intent to reside outside Canada" and deny PR renewal or citizenship?

Thank you.

Hi @paul2587 can you please share your views?

 

[paul2587]

As title says - I activated my US green card after becoming Canadian PR. I activated my US green card after I already was a Canadian PR for 1 year. I gave up the US green card 4 months after activating it.

1. Will this affect my Canadian PR renewal?
2. Will this affect my Canadian citizenship application?
3. Since this happened when bill C6 was in effect, can a future government which repeals C6, retroactively use my dual PR status for 4 months in the past as an "intent to reside outside Canada" and deny PR renewal or citizenship?

Thank you.

Inviting @keesio @itsmyid @sistemc @2_of_5 @dpenabill to answer.

To answer your first two questions, as long as you meet the residency requirements, you should be ok. Don't be surprised if they flag your PR renewal and citizenship applications for further scrutiny. Your renewal/citizenship application wait times could potentially be longer than the averages and this is to be expected given the nature of your moving around and taking residency elsewhere. For both applications, if I were you I'd make sure there is plenty of buffer (extra/added time in residence beyond the minimum requirements) when submitting the applications. Again, don't be surprised if you get a residency questionnaire and/or added scrutiny.

For your second question, it's possible but the earliest that would happen would be 2020-2021 based on how long it takes to pile drive these kinds of changes into law. When the "intent to reside" requirement did exist during the late Harper and early Trudeau days, it was only applied to citizenship, not to PR renewal. If it is ever brought back again by a future government, I imagine it would also only apply to citizenship. So, even under your circumstances, you should be able to renew your PR either way and then just wait it out and reside in Canada until you have the 1095 days (+ a reasonable buffer - at least a few months in my opinion) to apply for citizenship.

But let's say it's your specific scenario and a future government enacts "intent to reside" requirements for both PR renewal and citizenship. Then, yes, there's a possibility your application(s) could be scrutinized further and yes, there could be RQ's and delays, but even then, as long as you meet all of the legal requirements and you state that you do intend to reside, you should be ok. Your US visa history will raise some eyebrows and get IRCC's attention, but if you meet every requirement and you state your intent to reside, all they can do is delay your application until they're satisfied, but they won't deny your application under these specific circumstances.

 

[mastersboy]

To answer your first two questions, as long as you meet the residency requirements, you should be ok. Don't be surprised if they flag your PR renewal and citizenship applications for further scrutiny. Your renewal/citizenship application wait times could potentially be longer than the averages and this is to be expected given the nature of your moving around and taking residency elsewhere. For both applications, if I were you I'd make sure there is plenty of buffer (extra/added time in residence beyond the minimum requirements) when submitting the applications. Again, don't be surprised if you get a residency questionnaire and/or added scrutiny.

For your second question, it's possible but the earliest that would happen would be 2020-2021 based on how long it takes to pile drive these kinds of changes into law. When the "intent to reside" requirement did exist during the late Harper and early Trudeau days, it was only applied to citizenship, not to PR renewal. If it is ever brought back again by a future government, I imagine it would also only apply to citizenship. So, even under your circumstances, you should be able to renew your PR either way and then just wait it out and reside in Canada until you have the 1095 days (+ a reasonable buffer - at least a few months in my opinion) to apply for citizenship.

But let's say it's your specific scenario and a future government enacts "intent to reside" requirements for both PR renewal and citizenship. Then, yes, there's a possibility your application(s) could be scrutinized further and yes, there could be RQ's and delays, but even then, as long as you meet all of the legal requirements and you state that you do intend to reside, you should be ok. Your US visa history will raise some eyebrows and get IRCC's attention, but if you meet every requirement and you state your intent to reside, all they can do is delay your application until they're satisfied, but they won't deny your application under these specific circumstances.

Thank you so much for your advice. This is pretty complicated - but I wonder if having a "US immigrant visa - IR1 visa" on your passport, which wasn't used(hence not stamped) have the same effect as having had a US green card but giving it up formally?

For context - Once one obtains an IR1 visa (a US immigrant visa issued to spouses of US citizens who have been married for more than two years), they have to "use" it to enter US and get it stamped. At this point, the stamped IR1 visa acts as a placeholder for a 10 year green card until the actual plastic green card comes in the mail in ~30 days. Hence, not "using" an IR1 visa means never having held a US green card.

Having given the above context, I wonder if one would have a stronger case/easier time applying for Canadian PR renewal/Canadian citizenship if they didn't "use" the IR1 visa (will need to argue - Hey IRCC, see my visa wasn't stamped) or if they used the visa and obtained GC and then gave it up (will have i-407 document that proves that GC was formally given up)?

I suspect if they'll understand the not "using" IR1 immigrant visa. Since it's upon the applicant to prove everything, the best argument one would have is to argue there is no stamp on passport, and may be a sworn affidavit claiming they never help US GC. Proving that one gave up a GC on the other hand seems super easy but makes you dual PR for whatever time you had it, hence raising the "intent" question.

I hope I am able to convey what I am trying to ask. Please consider sharing your views. Thanks!

 

[21Goose]

Thank you so much for your advice. This is pretty complicated - but I wonder if having a "US immigrant visa - IR1 visa" on your passport, which wasn't used(hence not stamped) have the same effect as having had a US green card but giving it up formally?

For context - Once one obtains an IR1 visa (a US immigrant visa issued to spouses of US citizens who have been married for more than two years), they have to "use" it to enter US and get it stamped. At this point, the stamped IR1 visa acts as a placeholder for a 10 year green card until the actual plastic green card comes in the mail in ~30 days. Hence, not "using" an IR1 visa means never having held a US green card.

Having given the above context, I wonder if one would have a stronger case/easier time applying for Canadian PR renewal/Canadian citizenship if they didn't "use" the IR1 visa (will need to argue - Hey IRCC, see my visa wasn't stamped) or if they used the visa and obtained GC and then gave it up (will have i-407 document that proves that GC was formally given up)?

I suspect if they'll understand the not "using" IR1 immigrant visa. Since it's upon the applicant to prove everything, the best argument one would have is to argue there is no stamp on passport, and may be a sworn affidavit claiming they never help US GC. Proving that one gave up a GC on the other hand seems super easy but makes you dual PR for whatever time you had it, hence raising the "intent" question.

I hope I am able to convey what I am trying to ask. Please consider sharing your views. Thanks!

The thing is, all this is idle speculation since no one has any idea if the law will change, and if it does change, what the changes will be.

You're trying to extrapolate from the previous bill which defined "intent" in one way. If any change happens in the future, "intent" may very well be defined as something completely different. So why waste time wondering about things that simply do not exist right now.

Your question about retrospective application is a good one and the answer is simple: Yes. Laws - except criminal laws - can be made retrospectively. So yeah, you could get screwed, but so could we all if the government of the day decides to do random things.

Source -
British Columbia v Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd (2005 SCC 49)

The Supreme Court acknowledged that retroactive legislation can overturn settled expectations and may sometimes be perceived as unjust. Nevertheless, it held that - except in the area of criminal law - there is no constitutional impediment to retroactive legislation. This is equally the case where the retroactive legislation is aimed at a particular industry or other group and confers special privileges on the government.

https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Newsletters/Litigation/Canada/Dentons/Supreme-Court-Affirms-Validity-of-Retroactive-Legislation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_v_Imperial_Tobacco_Canada_Ltd

However, Canada has the rule of law, so don't worry too much about arbitrary exercises of legislative authority.