Potentially millions of Americans suddenly have a much easier path to Canadian citizenship, prompting a rush of people to explore their ancestry and file paperwork seeking dual citizenship.
For people like Zack Loud of Farmington, Minnesota, it was a surprise to learn that under a new law, Canada already considered him and his siblings citizens because their grandmother is Canadian.
“My wife and I were already talking about potentially looking at jobs outside the country, but citizenship pushed Canada way up on our list,” he said.
Since the new law took effect on December 15, immigration lawyers in the United States and Canada say they have been overwhelmed by clients seeking help submitting proof of citizenship applications.
Driven by politics, family heritage, job opportunities and other factors, thousands of Americans are exploring whether the easier process makes now the right time to gain dual citizenship.
Nicholas Berning, an immigration lawyer at Boundary Bay Law in Bellingham, Washington, said his practice is “pretty much flooded with this”.
The first words out of the first person I talked to in Australia was basically an expletive about Trump and the US … a Canadian passport just seemed easier, better, more palatable