[UnAmerican]

OK I am not sure if this is the right forum or not but it seem to fit the closest.

Lets say my friend and his wife want to move to Canada anyway.

But in addition my friends wife went to school for a masters degree in something health related because she likes helping people. But his wife racked up 100,000 in student loans and her job only pays 34,000 a year. Also the chance of getting payed more is very low. Pay is close to a social worker.

Now her loan payments are about 1300.00 a month and she has no way of paying them with the degree she went to school for 6 years for.

So if she accepts a job in Canada and she and her husband get citizenship in Canada after being there for 3 years; is there anything the US could do to her as a Canadian citizen?

Any help would be appriciated

[dgthe3]

Well, i personally cannot help but the government could, maybe. It does sound as though your friend is in a bit of a tight situation. Normally, Canadians move to the States to get paid more, rarely do Americans move up here to get paid less. However, money is not everything and your friend(s) should end up ok in the end.

[Rev_Blair]

I don't know for sure, but I'd assume that she would still have to pay off the loans. Canada and the US have agreements covering most legal matters. There shouldn't be a problem with her moving here as long as she continues to make the payments though.

Even if she can avoid US creditors by moving here, if she defaults on such a large debt, her credit rating will be trashed.

[UnAmerican]

Thats the thing 1300.00 a month left over from a 34,000 salary....

She hasn't paid them yet and there is no way in hell she will be able to. The credit cards haven't been payed in 4 months due to just paying the interest payments alone on the student loans..

Fact is with her career there will be little to no way of actually paying off these loans what so ever. Since American bankrupty courts do not allow student loans to EVER be bankrupted it makes things even worse.

The credit is already screwed and by this point credit rating is the LEAST of the concerns. Just being able to get through a day without crying over unpayable debt would ba a start.

Does Canada allow its students to bankrupt on student loans?

[Rev_Blair]

I believe they changed it so it is no longer allowed. I've never had a student loan, so I'm likely the wrong guy to ask about this. I doubt her loans would be transferrable to Canada in any event. She may be able to pay them through a Canadian institution, but it is still the US government she owes the money to, is it not?

[UnAmerican]

Rev_Blair Rev_Blair:

I believe they changed it so it is no longer allowed. I've never had a student loan, so I'm likely the wrong guy to ask about this. I doubt her loans would be transferrable to Canada in any event. She may be able to pay them through a Canadian institution, but it is still the US government she owes the money to, is it not?

Actually the federal government just sells them off to a private bank. So you really just owe the bank the money....the government just forces you to pay it by not letting you go bankrupt. I know this is a deep subject and all.....but it is also a very hard subject to get an answer on.

Fact is they have no intention on paying them because they both work in social fields and make very little money and are quite content living that way. The money just isnt there to pay the loans. If they had it they would pay.....but they are not bankers....rather civil servants.

Just happens to be that you need 6 years of school to be a civil servant these days.

[Canadaka]

That sucks, I myself have student loans, $20,000. But i should be able to manage. But with Canada student loans if you prove that you cannot make the payments, you can apply to have the no pay time extended or the monthly fee reduced. In some cases i believe some of the loan can be waived.

Is there no such thing with US student loans?

[UnAmerican]

Canadaka Canadaka:

That sucks, I myself have student loans, $20,000. But i should be able to manage. But with Canada student loans if you prove that you cannot make the payments, you can apply to have the no pay time extended or the monthly fee reduced. In some cases i believe some of the loan can be waived.

Is there no such thing with US student loans?

There is but the reality of it is the pay in this field wont be increasing anytime soon. Not even in 10 years will it increase enough to pay 1300.00 a month.

Fact it the whole situation is ****** There is no viable solution in the traditional sense.

[Franco Unamerican]

just perusing an old thread...

im pretty sure, in Canada, you can declare bankruptcy on a student loan but the government will go after you later in life when you cash your RRSPs (retirement savings).

i have a friend that did the following.

He owed $30000 and never paid it. the collection agency finally caught up with him and he was like "I have $8000 in my bank right now thats it..." and they said make it 9 and we will take it. all clear $30000 for the price of $9000.

an idea...

[putz]

well in a previous life ime I was a Professional Bill collector. Anyone who needs help can PM me (it might take a day or two for a response). Anyway....

$1:

m pretty sure, in Canada, you can declare bankruptcy on a student loan but the government will go after you later in life when you cash your RRSPs (retirement savings).

i have a friend that did the following.

He owed $30000 and never paid it. the collection agency finally caught up with him and he was like "I have $8000 in my bank right now thats it..." and they said make it 9 and we will take it. all clear $30000 for the price of $9000.

You can only declare a FEDERAL Student loan in bankruptcy IF it is over 10 years old from the date of last acknowledgement (This can be in the form of a VOLUNTARIY payment or a letter or even a signature on a form) Now you will also loose all your GST Cheques and Income tax returns ONCE you have defaulted on the federal loan.

[dknychic]

If it was a small loan (like 10k or so) and she defaulted on her payments and then left the country, it would probably not be worthwhile for collectors to go after her outside the US. There’s a good chance that the bank would tell the collectors to forget it and make up the loss by raising interest rates. If that happened, your friend could return to a clean credit after 7-10 yrs and start over. However, for a loan greater than 100k, they’re not likely to let it go that easy. They can and probably will try to track her down regardless of where she is. They can definitely have collectors threaten her with wage garnishment and such overseas, but I’m not sure if they can actually legally do anything (I would consult an attorney on that one). As far as declaring bankruptcy goes, it doesn’t make student loans go away unless she is totally disabled or has been out of school for at least ten years. She should look into either consolidating or refinancing for now to possibly lower the monthly payments. She could also apply for an economic hardship deferment for up to three years if she hasn’t already. Of course, she could always say "screw this" and just leave the country but it doesn't make the loan go away and she'll have to deal with it if she decides to return. Cheers

[Antoine]

UnAmerican-
In answering my immigration queries I visit an excellent immigration forum at: http://www.canada-city.ca/canada-immigration/index.php
Immigrating is confusing and challenging. I'm American and will be applying for the Perm. Residence in a few months. Visit the site, it is worth it.