Dual Citizenship and working in the USA?

[KJJ]

OK i'm very new to all this so i'm hoping I can get some more insight on some questions I had. Currently I am a Canadian citizen living in Canada. Myself and my wife want to move to the US for approximately a year for a "working holiday".
My particular situation is a little different because I am also First Nation (or American Indian). From what i've heard, I am eligible to work or go to school freely in the US. More information here:
consular.canada.usembassy.gov/first_nations_canada.asp
I am told that this qualifys me for dual citizenship and should have no problem becoming a PR (once I show proof of native status and have a US address).
If anyone has any experience with this please fill me in on the details.

My next question is in regards to my wife, how likely is it she will also be able to live and work for the year once I have PR status? what needs to be done to make this all happen?

I know my questions might be a little vague but thanks for any help!

[Fatbrit]

Your unique and uncommon status allows you to obtain permanent residency, also known as a green card. With a green card, you could live and work in the US. After 5 years living in the US, you could naturalize as a US citizen and thus become a dual citizen of both Canada and the US.

That's the easy part. Now the hard part....

A permanent resident can sponsor their spouse to become a permanent US resident in the US. However, the category is numerically limited and the wait in line is currently 5 or more years. A US citizen can also sponsor their spouse and here there is no wait beyond the paper pushing time.

So, you will need some way of allowing your wife to stay here in non-immigrant status until you become a citizen. She cannot live here as a tourist. You haven't given any clues but, as a Canadian, obtaining TN status is often the easiest....provided she is a professional with a job on the TN list. Failing that, give me some clues. The other ways of getting her here while awaiting your citizen sponsorship are employment skills, internship, education, opening a business to name but a few.

[KJJ]

Brit,
Thanks for the quick reply. To give you a bit more information, I don't believe my wife would qualify for a TN status as she currently works as a legal assistant. We don't plan on staying in the states longer than a year so waiting 5 years wouldn't work. Could you explain employment skills and opening a business a little more? We hope to attain casual work and consider our time down there more of a holiday.

Thanks again for the help!

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by KJJ

Brit,
Thanks for the quick reply. To give you a bit more information, I don't believe my wife would qualify for a TN status as she currently works as a legal assistant. We don't plan on staying in the states longer than a year so waiting 5 years wouldn't work. Could you explain employment skills and opening a business a little more? We hope to attain casual work and consider our time down there more of a holiday.

Thanks again for the help!

If you're not planning on staying in the US more than a year, there's little point in looking at any of the long-term statuses, including your green card.

To be blunt, by far the easiest thing to do would be for you to save and work in Canada, and have long vacations in the US -- Canadians get 6 month vacations without needing any visa.

Beyond that for one-year stays, you're in the J internship-type arena or the seasonal H2 workers. No reason either or both of you could apply for these visas.

[KJJ]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

If you're not planning on staying in the US more than a year, there's little point in looking at any of the long-term statuses, including your green card.

To be blunt, by far the easiest thing to do would be for you to save and work in Canada, and have long vacations in the US -- Canadians get 6 month vacations without needing any visa.

Beyond that for one-year stays, you're in the J internship-type arena or the seasonal H2 workers. No reason either or both of you could apply for these visas.

Thanks again for the info, Brit. I have another question regarding "following to join benefits" (immihelp. com/greencard/familybasedimmigration/following-to-join-benefits.html)

Does his apply to my situation? If anyone can clarify this I would greatly appreciate it.

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by KJJ

Thanks again for the info, Brit. I have another question regarding "following to join benefits" (immihelp. com/greencard/familybasedimmigration/following-to-join-benefits.html)

Does his apply to my situation? If anyone can clarify this I would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry but I never did understand "following to join benefits" possibly because I have seen few examples where they are used. Think you're going to need to run this by a lawyer.

Also, as your case is pretty unique (I've seen it mentioned only once before on a newsgroup), it might be a good idea to see what resources the tribal elders have gathered.