Immigration Bill, unexpected effect

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Hfx_Cdn

Hfx_Cdn

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    As a Canadian, why should I care about a piece of US Legislation that passed the US Senate yesterday.  Well the answer is that as is normal, burred in just a paragraph or so, deep within the 760+ page document, is the long negotiated exemption that allows Canadians an additional 2 months to our tourist entry into the US.  Now, all that needs to happen is for your Congress to rubber stamp the bill, like that likely to happen!
    I guess that I won't sell the stick house just yet.

Ed
 
As I understand it the fight is about 1/3 over on that bill... The House still has to pass it, and a spokesperson for the house as much as said that won't happen.. (What he said is "We will pass our own bill")

Once the house passes something, then the negotation happens. During this phase the pork gets tagged on and amendments that make the bill so onerous nobody in their right mind would  vote for it,,, Then it either gets passed (And we get shafted yet again) or it fails (And we get shafted yet again).  At least that is what History tells us. (Shafted many times).

Alas, I'm sure it's a lot like that on your side of the border too. After all, Politics is Politics, no matter the country.
 
At some point "visit" becomes "immigration", so each country picks some arbitrary time period.

An old saw: "Visitors are like fish - they begin to smell after 3 days."
 
Regardless of the result in the US Senate and/or Congress, our own Medicare rules in most, if not all, Provinces will likely prevent many Canadians from staying  more than the currently allowed 6 months anyway, or at least they will make us think twice before making that decision. 

Since trips of less than 20 days outside the Province don't count in the 6 month Medicare set limits, at least here in Quebec,  perhaps a couple of side trips might work for us in addition to the longer Snowbird visits. I do know of one case of entry to US being denied by US Border Services because the 6 month limit had been or would have been exceeded.

 
    Stu, it is my understanding that NL presently allows 9 months, NB & NS are apparently looking to extend their present 6 month allowance, and both allow extended absences upon request, and NB says once every 3 years.
    As for people being denied entry, one of the RVrs in the park we used to winter was banned for 3 years for having stayed beyond 6 months the previous year.
    Gary, I do shower so that I usually don't smell like a fish, besides unlike house guests, we have our own accommodations and spend lots of money while there, even if we complain about (pronounced ABOOT) our lack of understanding the American fixation to carry guns.

Ed 
 
Hfx_Cdn said:
even if we complain about (pronounced ABOOT) our lack of understanding the American fixation to carry guns.
Ed
Click to expand...

:-X
 
Ed wrote:
Stu, it is my understanding that NL presently allows 9 months, NB & NS are apparently looking to extend their present 6 month allowance, and both allow extended absences upon request, and NB says once every 3 years.
Click to expand...

Ed, you Easterners sure have your priorities mixed up!!!  :eek:

Here in QC, it is more politically expedient to pass more restrictive language legislation, restrict travel through use of Medicare rules and thus try to keep the boys home on the farm. Perhaps that way the dream can be realized, or at least, kept alive...

Did I really say that??? nah,..... my bad !!!!! ;D
 
Our fine government :-[ at work again! Canadians are not and have never been a problem, they are a fine neighbor!!
 
There are (legal) ways to extend the 6 months limit on a single visit to the US. One is to file a Form I-539 - see here. We've also received one (unverified) report of a couple being granted a stay of 8 months, just for asking to talk to a supervisor at the port of entry.
 
    We left Dartmouth Tuesday afternoon to come to the summer place here in Shediac NB.  It was 31 C (88 F) when we left home, 3/4 here the temperature started dropping, and it started raining.  Yesterday we had a high of 11 C (51 F) and today we hit all of 15 C (58 F), plus it has rained a bit yesterday and all day today.
    The point being, I want to be back in St Petes, where it is now 88 with a few clouds.  The PQ can have their French only, I won't be stopping in Quebec when my 89 year old aunt is no longer there to visit.  And we can teach the Americans how to deal with language issues when their percentage of non anglophones becomes a minority within the next decade or two.

Ed

Tom, it is my understanding that allows an extended stay for the tourist requirement, but not the IRS requirement to submit an Income Tax filing, this Bill covers that requirement, plus extended stays are only granted as an exception and never on successive years.
 
Ed, the IRS in the US has had a requirement for visitors to file taxes for stays in excess of 6 months for many years (over 30 years that I'm aware of). There has also been a requirement to obtain a "sailing permit" to confirm filing and payment of taxes due, before leaving the US. But, to my knowledge/recollection, neither rule has been enforced.

Steve Pally started a different, but possibly related, discussion in April 2005 - see here.
 
Gary, I do shower so that I usually don't smell like a fish,
Click to expand...

LOL, Ed. Maybe we could have different rules for visitors with their own shower?

I'm curious - does Canada have any limit on how long a "visitor" can stay before becoming a [prospective] resident?  I don't recall that this question ever came up?
 
That's a good question Gary! I also wonder how different all these rules are for the north, but how different are they to our south?
 
I vaguely recall that the equivalent time limit crossing into Canada is one year, but I stand to be corrected.
 
:) :) :) :)  Since the primary reason for Canadians to come south is the weather, I see no reason what-so-ever to expect a mass reverse migration.  Who would want to that is not a Canadian citizen.  BTW I am half Canadian.  :) :) :) :)
 
    I believe that Canada as well as most countries limit a tourist visa to six months, and notwithstanding that no paperwork is required either way between Canada and the USA, it is still deemed to be a Visa.  That is where the requirement that your Passport is valid for six months comes from, since once you are in you can legally stay six months.

Ed
 
Hfx_Cdn said:
    Stu, it is my understanding that NL presently allows 9 months, NB & NS are apparently looking to extend their present 6 month allowance, and both allow extended absences upon request, and NB says once every 3 years.
    As for people being denied entry, one of the RVrs in the park we used to winter was banned for 3 years for having stayed beyond 6 months the previous year.
    Gary, I do shower so that I usually don't smell like a fish, besides unlike house guests, we have our own accommodations and spend lots of money while there, even if we complain about (pronounced ABOOT) our lack of understanding the American fixation to carry guns.

Ed
Click to expand...

Hey, I understand why ya'll in the far northern reaches of civilization would want to come south for the winter, I'm all for it, come and stay awhile, I say extend your stay to 10 months. 

But why would anyone in the US want to go up to your fine country for more than 6 months? 

I didn't think you had any more than 6 consecutive months above freezing anyway? 

Living up here in North Texas, I feel like a yankee already, I'm looking for southern destinations for the winter.  I've been up to your fine country July and August, much past that window is iffy.  8)
 
[quote author=Hfx_Cdn]I believe that Canada ..... limit a tourist visa to six months...[/quote]

Aye Ed, I stand corrected, and the CCIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) web site suggests we Americans may be limited to less than six months; It's up to the officer at the port of entry (subject to 6 months max), just like visitors to the US.
 
    Stu, as an update, the Canadian Snowbird Association just sent out a request for members to lobby their Provincial politicians to extend the time limits.  BC and Manitoba recently did so by taking it from 6 to 7 months.  So, it creeps slowly forward, and as they point out it is out of Province, not out of Country, so we have to count the time we spend in Ottawa visiting.

Ed

PS:  WinAdventurer, it is a lot easier to heat your house from the low 30's than it is to cool your house from 115.  Plus, shoveling a little snow doesn't compare to shoveling your house after a tornado has just flattened it.  Don't forget Canada is a vast country, so weather patterns differ significantly across the country, and we are moderated by the gulf stream, so we have mild winters in Halifax.  With vibrant colours and fall harvest fairs, fall is a glorious time in most areas of Canada, particularly in the Maritimes, and a great time to RV here.
 
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