US citizen from NY living in Canada for past 7 years as Canadian citizen, am I a legal US resident?

[AVSS HDS CSM]

Hi!
I'm filling out my AMCAS app and I am unsure what to enter for my state of legal residence. I am a US citizen who lived in NY for 23 years, then moved to Canada 7 years ago and became a Canadian citizen. I do not think I should write that I am not a legal resident, that would make no sense since I'm a US citizen, but then the form required that I enter a state, should I select NY? Will NY schools consider that to be some kind of fraud?
Thanks!
P. S. This is my first SDN post.... Amazing resource!

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[JJRousseau]

I lived in the U.K. for four years. My pre-med advisor said that if I still had a legal drivers license then I would still be considered a resident of my childhood state. I did not, so I was a resident of the state I moved to early in the application cycle. If I had applied from the U.K. it is my understanding I would've had no legal state residency, despite being a US citizen.


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[AVSS HDS CSM]

are you dual citizen? are you registered to vote in NY?

Yes, I am a dual citizen, and yes I am registered to vote in NY. Does that make me eligible for IS tuition? I live, work, go to school, and file taxes in Quebec.

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

I lived in the U.K. for four years. My pre-med advisor said that if I still had a legal drivers license then I would still be considered a resident of my childhood state. I did not, so I was a resident of the state I moved to early in the application cycle. If I had applied from the U.K. it is my understanding I would've had no legal state residency, despite being a US citizen.


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Hmmm. My drivers license is Quebec. However, it doesn't make sense to me that my application should say that I am not a legal resident of the US! Won't that make me sound like an international student and preclude me from some programs?

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Write NY. You are a citizen. Also if the picture in question is that of you, I would suggest to remove it, and to remain anonymous on all posts within SDN. Best of luck!

 

[JJRousseau]

No, it will also ask if you are a legal citizen (in fact, someone please verify, I think this option is mutually exclusive with legal resident; e.g. Only students who are legal residents but not citizens will put that they are legal residents). In any case my comments were more about the fact that you really don't have a state residency.


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[JJRousseau]

Listen to Gonnif, he knows better than me.


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[Princeton Medical Student]

No, it will also ask if you are a legal citizen (in fact, someone please verify, I think this option is mutually exclusive with legal resident; e.g. Only students who are legal residents but not citizens will put that they are legal residents). In any case my comments were more about the fact that you really don't have a state residency.


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Legal resident refers to someone who is a permanent resident, aka green card holder. Citizen != resident.

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

For purposes of AMCAS you can say NY. Certainly for purposes of admission, your connection to the state in strong

See New York State Residency Determination | Current Students | SUNY Upstate Medical University

Write NY. You are a citizen. Also if the picture in question is that of you, I would suggest to remove it, and to remain anonymous on all posts within SDN. Best of luck!

Thank you both for the advice! Based on what was said here I will write yes and select NY.
Thank you also to Princeton Medical Student for your direction as to how to use this forum!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

No, it will also ask if you are a legal citizen (in fact, someone please verify, I think this option is mutually exclusive with legal resident; e.g. Only students who are legal residents but not citizens will put that they are legal residents). In any case my comments were more about the fact that you really don't have a state residency.


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Thank you for the help!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

And just as a late update, seeing that I had forgotten all about this thread these last few months......
I ended up not claiming legal residency in the US. I decided that I wouldn't fit the residency requirements for NY (my state), and didn't want later problems with NY schools. Thanks to all who answered!

 

[LizzyM]

And just as a late update, seeing that I had forgotten all about this thread these last few months......
I ended up not claiming legal residency in the US. I decided that I wouldn't fit the residency requirements for NY (my state), and didn't want later problems with NY schools. Thanks to all who answered!

I hate to say that you have just made it so much more difficult on yourself. If you did not identify yourself as a US citizen, it may be assumed that you will need a visa to study in the US and that you will not be eligible for some forms of financial aid. If you are 30 years of age, did you list a NY HS on your application? Did you attend college in the US? Were you born in the US? Overall, your application is going to be very confusing for those who review. I hope it doesn't bite you in the butt.

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

I hate to say that you have just made it so much more difficult on yourself. If you did not identify yourself as a US citizen, it may be assumed that you will need a visa to study in the US and that you will not be eligible for some forms of financial aid. If you are 30 years of age, did you list a NY HS on your application? Did you attend college in the US? Were you born in the US? Overall, your application is going to be very confusing for those who review. I hope it doesn't bite you in the butt.

Well, there are two entries in the application, one for citizenship and one for state residency. I selected "US citizen", and "no" for the legal state residency question. I wrote that I was born in the US, and also listed my NY high school on the app.
I agree with you in that I wish I could have made it less confusing. I hope it is still clear enough though, since I clearly stated my US citizenship.
On the other hand, wouldn't it have been bad for my NY schools if I'd claimed NY residency when I haven't lived there for over seven years?
Hopefully this answer and thread will be helpful to people in the future....

 

[LizzyM]

You might not be eligible for instate tuition from the SUNY schools but that won't make a difference for the other NY schools (Albany, NYMC, NYU, Cornell, etc). I'm glad you have listed yourself as a US citizen because that is a BIG deal.

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

You might not be eligible for instate tuition from the SUNY schools but that won't make a difference for the other NY schools (Albany, NYMC, NYU, Cornell, etc). I'm glad you have listed yourself as a US citizen because that is a BIG deal.

OK, I understand about my current OOS status, but what can I do. Thanks for the reassurance about my US citizenship! I guess that's one reason why they ask both questions in the AMCAS app.
Of course, I will be sure to post here if it becomes apparent that I should have written something else in my app. For the sake of others here who can learn...
Thanks again for your helpful input, in this post and in many others!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

Before I forget about this thread, I will post my results thus far from the 2017-2018 app cycle, just for the information of others who may find themselves in similar situations:

I filed my AMCAS as a US citizen but with no state of residence.
I applied to 19 MD schools, and withdrew from three of them pre-II after receiving my first acceptances.

My stats were: 3.99 cGPA, 521 MCAT (99%). ORM, but somewhat non-traditional.
I was complete at most schools only in mid-September, since I wrote an August MCAT (I needed the summer to prepare for it). I submitted my primary app in July, and secondaries through early September.

I was rejected pre-II from ten schools (6 of those were Ivy League, so yeah...), and interviewed at six schools (including some top 20s and 1 Ivy).
As of today I have been accepted to two programs, and I'm waiting to hear from the others (no post-II rejections yet...).

All in all, I don't think my non-US resident declaration hurt me that much, although I have no way of knowing for sure. It's more likely that my late complete date hurt me a bit, although I am very happy with my acceptances and feel that I am a great fit at the schools where I interviewed.

If anyone feels they need more info about this, feel free to message me and I'll see if I can help.

That's it. Cheers!

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Before I forget about this thread, I will post my results thus far from the 2017-2018 app cycle, just for the information of others who may find themselves in similar situations:

I filed my AMCAS as a US citizen but with no state of residence.
I applied to 19 MD schools, and withdrew from three of them pre-II after receiving my first acceptances.

My stats were: 3.99 cGPA, 521 MCAT (99%). ORM, but somewhat non-traditional.
I was complete at most schools only in mid-September, since I wrote an August MCAT (I needed the summer to prepare for it). I submitted my primary app in July, and secondaries through early September.

I was rejected pre-II from ten schools (6 of those were Ivy League, so yeah...), and interviewed at six schools (including some top 20s and 1 Ivy).
As of today I have been accepted to two programs, and I'm waiting to hear from the others (no post-II rejections yet...).

All in all, I don't think my non-US resident declaration hurt me that much, although I have no way of knowing for sure. It's more likely that my late complete date hurt me a bit, although I am very happy with my acceptances and feel that I am a great fit at the schools where I interviewed.

If anyone feels they need more info about this, feel free to message me and I'll see if I can help.

That's it. Cheers!

Congrats OP!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

Congrats OP!

Thank you very much!! I truly appreciate that you gave of your time to help me out at the beginning of this cycle! I had very little advising, so you really helped me a lot. All the best!
EDIT: And of course that goes for all the dedicated SDNers who help us all daily, and who particularly helped me with my questions, huge thanks to you all!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

And so, I would like to thank you @gonnif @JJRousseau @LizzyM for your help with this and other issues over the year. Very much appreciated!

 

[Chromium Surfer]

Before I forget about this thread, I will post my results thus far from the 2017-2018 app cycle, just for the information of others who may find themselves in similar situations:

I filed my AMCAS as a US citizen but with no state of residence.
I applied to 19 MD schools, and withdrew from three of them pre-II after receiving my first acceptances.

My stats were: 3.99 cGPA, 521 MCAT (99%). ORM, but somewhat non-traditional.
I was complete at most schools only in mid-September, since I wrote an August MCAT (I needed the summer to prepare for it). I submitted my primary app in July, and secondaries through early September.

I was rejected pre-II from ten schools (6 of those were Ivy League, so yeah...), and interviewed at six schools (including some top 20s and 1 Ivy).
As of today I have been accepted to two programs, and I'm waiting to hear from the others (no post-II rejections yet...).

All in all, I don't think my non-US resident declaration hurt me that much, although I have no way of knowing for sure. It's more likely that my late complete date hurt me a bit, although I am very happy with my acceptances and feel that I am a great fit at the schools where I interviewed.

If anyone feels they need more info about this, feel free to message me and I'll see if I can help.

That's it. Cheers!

From what I have heard and read on here, as long as you are complete at schools by September that is still on time. End of Sept/beginning of Oct is late from what I have read on here. Congrats on your success this cycle!

 

[AVSS HDS CSM]

From what I have heard and read on here, as long as you are complete at schools by September that is still on time. End of Sept/beginning of Oct is late from what I have read on here. Congrats on your success this cycle!

Thank you!