Divorce - Sponsored Spouse Returning to USA

[jacr]

Hi all,

If anyone can provide any insight or advice on next steps considering our situation, we would be most appreciative.

I am a Canadian citizen, and in 2012, my partner and I were married in NY state. He then moved to Canada and was eventually approved as a permanent resident.
We have decided mutually to split up, and he intends to return to the USA. We have no mutual assets, or children, and will not have anything to "fight" about during the split. A few questions that we are trying to find answers to right now are:

1. How do we go about getting a simple, easy, legal divorce, and does that need to be done through the state in which we were married?

2. Will he be required to resign his permanent resident status if he returns to the States to live, even if it is temporary in the end?

3. Aside from Revenue Canada and Immigration Services, who are we required to advise of our circumstance?

4. Can Immigration Canada penalize us in any way?

Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated. We cannot afford a lawyer, and would prefer to do things on our terms and time, while making it as simple for one another as possible.

 

[steerpike]

Look on his COPR: if it has condition 51 on it then he will probably lose his PR. If he is not under condition 51 then he will not lose his PR until he has been outside of Canada for more than 3 years out of 5. If he abides by the residency requirement he can keep his PR indefinately. There are no other "penalties" from immigration as far as I know.

 

[truesmile]

1). Yes it would probably be easiest to do so in the state you were married.
2). That's correct about condition 51. But his PR will otherwise remain valid until his PR card expires. The residency obligation is only measured when he attempts to renew his PR.
3). No one. Not even Immigration Services will care if there is no condition 51 as mentioned above.
4). No. Only they "may" revoke his PR if you are under condition 51, AND they find out that you are not together.