Cars cross the international bridge between (L) Lubec, Maine, and Campobello Island, New Brunswick, in a file photo. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
A change to the Citizenship Act that effectively allows anyone with a provable Canadian ancestor to claim citizenship is sending some Americans into archives and church records in search of long-lost family ties, driving an increase in applications from the United States.
Immigration professionals note that while more Canadians continue to move to the United States than Americans move north, political conditions are a significant driver for the recent surge of interest by American applicants, who see Canada as more aligned with their viewpoints—particularly now that there is a possible path to citizenship. But there are other factors involved as well, with some simply not wanting to pass up the opportunity for a second citizenship if it is available to them.
