How to get a green card as a Canadian?
Published on September 26, 2024
Updated on October 31, 2024
by Deborshi Choudhury, EA
Deborshi Choudhury, an IRS Enrolled Agent with 17 years of expat tax experience, specializes in U.S. tax preparation, tax planning, and tax advice for U.S. citizens and Green Card holders living and working in the UAE and Canada.
Table of Contents
How do I get a Green Card as a Canadian?
The most common way of getting a Green Card is through family sponsorship or employment, but there are also special circumstances that let you obtain one, such as marrying a US citizen or adjusting your status.
There is a difference between citizenship and permanent residency in the US. As a Green Card holder, you become a permanent resident of the US and enjoy the right to work and live there.
What is a Green Card?
A Green Card is a permanent visa that grants unlimited access to live and work within the US, giving you almost all of the same rights as a US citizen. It is also known as a permanent resident card.
Why do Canadians want to obtain a US Green Card?
Here are some of the reasons that Canadians might want to consider getting a Green Card:
- Work opportunities: Having access to higher-paying jobs and better prospects for long-term career growth
- Education opportunities: Access to more affordable US universities and colleges than international students.
- Travel opportunities: More accessible cross-border travel and the freedom to travel internationally.
- Business and investment opportunities: These are for easier business start-ups, operations, and investments within the US.
- Living closer to their family: Allows closer proximity to family and makes it easier to visit, live with, or care for relatives.
- Ease of marriage: Canadians married to US citizens can avoid the complications of maintaining cross-border relationships.
- Tax and financial benefits: Gaining access to US financial systems like opening a bank account, applying for credit cards, or taking out US mortgages.
- Quality of life: To improve the overall quality of life for some Canadians and gives them the opportunity of US citizenship.
Canadians can acquire a Green Card for different reasons, which can help determine the categories for getting a Green Card.
What are the categories for becoming a Green Card holder?
Here is a list of categories that are eligible for the Green Card status:
- Family-based Green Card: This is for Canadians with close family relationships with US citizens or permanent residents, such as spouses, parents, children, and siblings.
- Employment-based Green Card: This is offered to professionals, skilled workers, and investors who are required to live continuously within the US.
- Longtime-resident Green Card: To allow certain non-citizens living in the US for a long time to apply for a Green Card or permanent residency.
- Investment-based Green Card: To allow foreign investors to attain permanent US residency by investing significant capital in US companies.
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What is the application process for getting a Green Card?
Depending on your application category, here is the general process you can follow:
- Determine eligibility: Check which category you can apply for, such as family-based, employee-based, or other special categories.
- File an immigrant petition: You, a family member, or an employer must sponsor your Green Card by filing a petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The form is I-130 for an alien Relative or I-140 for an alien worker.
- Wait for a visa number: After USCIS approves the petition, you must wait for a visa number to become available. The wait time varies based on the visa category and your country of origin. However, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens do not have to wait for a visa number.
- Apply for a Green Card: Canadians inside the US can apply for a Green Card through Adjustment of Status (Form I-485). If you are outside the US, you can apply through consular processing at a US embassy or consulate in Canada.
- Submit supporting documentation: such as proof of eligibility (relationship or job offer), birth and marriage certificates, medical examination reports, passport photos and biographical information, and financial documents.
- Attend an appointment and interview: You need to attend a biometrics appointment at a USCIS office and a Green Card interview to review your case and verify the information in your application.
Am I eligible for a family-based Green Card?
Here are the eligibility criteria to get family-sponsored Green Cards as a Canadian citizen:
- You must have an immigrant visa to the US on a family-sponsored visa.
- Unmarried children under 21 are eligible to get Green Cards.
- You must be present in the US after being ‘inspected and admitted’ or ‘inspected and paroled’ by the immigration officer.
- Your eligibility to receive an immigrant visa is valid
- The person who filed Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) with USCIS for you is still alive
A US permanent resident can sponsor an immediate relative who is 21 or older, and US citizens can apply for immigrant visas for their children, spouses, parents, and siblings.
How can I obtain an employment-based Green Card?
There are different categories for employment-based immigration to the US for you to obtain a Green Card:
- EB-1 Green Card (Exceptional Ability): This is for aliens with extraordinary expertise and abilities in science, business, athletics, education, arts, etc. It also includes professors, researchers, and multinational executives of exceptional repute.
- EB-2 Green Card: This category caters to professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities.
- EB-3 Green Card: This is for skilled workers, professionals, and others.
How can I get an investment-based Green Card?
You can qualify for an investment-based Green Card if:
- You have been investing at least US$1,050,000 in a new commercial enterprise in the US that was established after November 29, 1990. (The enterprise must create full-time positions for at least ten employees)
- Or you must have invested US$800,000 in specific employment areas or infrastructure projects.
Are there other alternatives to getting a Green Card?
Yes, another way to acquire a Green Card is to marry a US citizen or adjust your status from a non-immigrant visa.
Marriage to a US citizen
Once a Canadian is married and has registered the marriage in the US, they can apply for permanent residency based on the immediate relative category of immigrant visas. Documentation is required to prove marriage to a US citizen.
Adjusting status from a non-immigrant visa
As a Canadian looking to convert a temporary work visa into a Green Card, the non-immigrant visa must be valid, and you must not have violated any rules or laws in the US to be able to apply for a change in status from nonimmigrant to a resident of the US.
How do I maintain my Green Card?
Once you have permanent residence in the US as a Canadian citizen, here are a few things you should be careful about to maintain your status:
- You stay in the land of the US for a long period and do not leave for any other country for permanent residence.
- You must file federal, state, and local income tax returns as a permanent resident.
- You must register for selective service if you’re between 18 and 25 years old.
- You should inform Homeland Security whenever you move from the US.
If you abandon your permanent residency, there can be consequences. Although your ability to apply for new immigration is not affected, you will have to follow a new USCIS application, visa application, and petition to get a new Green Card in the US.
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