I am Canadian, my wife is American. She's becoming Canadian soon.
Any reason she should keep her American citizenship? I can't really think of any big benefits?
It's super easy for a Canadian to live in the US for an extended period of time, so not really worried about that if our kids want to move down there later.
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So your future child can become US president (you need to be a naturally born US citizen to be eligible). It would be unfair to remove that possibility from them you never know.
Least out of touch, wildly ambitious WSO user
Not a big deal if they can secure a gig with PJT RSSG though
Does she want to vote in the us going forward? Maybe just for optionality if you wanted to live there down the road? Other than TN visa categories, is it really that easy for a Canadian to work there? Outside of having to file US taxes (presumably she wouldn’t actually owe) are there that many drawbacks to keeping it?
The real question is, any reason not to? My view is that in life it’s always best to maximize the number of doors that are open to you (and your children), even if you never walk through those doors. Life has many unexpected twists and turns and circumstances can change. I am a citizen of three countries including the US. Do I plan to ever live in those other countries? Probably not, but it offers my kids (and future generations) optionality to study and work elsewhere should that ever be of interest. Also, it may seem like an impossibility, but political winds could change and things that seem guaranteed or easy today (visas, residency, reciprocity, etc), might be unavailable in the future. Better to have more options than less.
Watch out for the potential taxes she could have to pay - especially for inheritance
Yeah there is an exit tax I believe. She has a chunky 401k/IRA but my tax team was saying those can convert into Canadian equivalents without much headache.
No real inheritance concerns, as her family isn’t $$$ and we don’t mind just having them give everything to her siblings.
Yes, she should definitely keep her American citizenship, as once you have kids they will automatically be citizens here, too. It is straightforward for Canadians to work in the US (TN Visa), but getting citizenship is still not easy.
It's incredibly foolish to be willing to give up your children's citizenship to the US just for...what exactly? Your wife renouncing her American citizenship is ridiculous.
Canada may be great, but for career opportunities, there's a reason that most of the best Canadian grads come to the US, even if only for 5 or 10 years. Don't deprive your future children of any opportunities.
Mainly worried about future tax code changes. Also I have a ton of US based companies and could easily get them a TN at any time etc
Hey also a Canadian dating an American and was in a similar position - what do you mean you have US companies that get them a TN-Visa? Are these just random LLCs you registered that can get individuals TN-Visas, is it really that easy? My experience at least it was a hassle ever getting all the right documents to work in the US
You are worried about US tax code changes? You do realize that the US has a far better demographic makeup than Canada right? Also, if say Alberta decides to tell the rest of you leaches to fuck right off and join America as the 51st state that the rest of Canada would last about 3 years at most. For a province to succeed in Canada it is litterally as easy as filling out some paper work. Alberta would be about 10x better off if it did that.
Just keep that in mind before you try to game theory this stupid idea.
This isn't a logic-based decision, but I am a huge believer in American Exceptionalism. America has its problems just like any other country, but I don't believe that there is any greater place on earth, or that there will be any time soon. And that's why I would never want my kids to give up their American citizenship, even if they had alternatives.
As a Canadian I pay about 30% less tax than my US based cofounder and I can travel to the US as long as I want with my investor visas.
I'm concerned about future tax code changes that would cause problems for us if she has her US citizenship.
I’m biased, but I can’t imagine wanting to voluntarily relinquish unfettered access to a major developed country with the world’s largest economy and strong global travel access. In 2023 you don’t need the passport if you have a Canadian one, but who knows what the world looks like 20 years from now (or 50 years from now for your kids). It will also always be easier to get to the US as a citizen, even if Canadians also enjoy pretty straightforward access currently.
Optionality >>> for me
True. EB/TN programs are nice now, but have definitely tightened up even from ~20 years ago...
Um what if you break up?
You may not find this particularly important, and I guess it cuts both ways*, but if you get in trouble in a foreign country, the US State Department is absolutely, 100% the best possible ally you could possibly have; embassies and consulates everywhere, and real diplomatic and military clout to back it up. Which is the original point of a passport in the first place, was to have access to that kind of help in an emergency. If you're not an American citizen, don't expect any help if you're in a jam.
* Of course, one could easily argue that a primary cause of getting into trouble is simply being an American citizen, so... yeah
You know a lot of stuff!
I cannot tell if this is sarcasm, so... thank you?
This is valid, but I dont really go anywhere where we'd be getting kidnapped lol
Haha no one plans on getting kidnapped! Except maybe the Getty kid, if you are a conspiracy theorist.
But it goes beyond that, right? Like... you rent a car in Europe and hit someone. The kind of accident that happens every day, that no one means to do, but which is unavoidably going to happen to someone at any given moment. Might be nice to have the US government on your side while you navigate that.
“I can’t really think of any big benefits.”
Lol. Good luck in Canada dude
Wanna compare NW?
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