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In my experience it's trivial to get a TN1 visa if you are Canadian. It is tied to a specific employer, but an employer could just be an LLC set up by your frie
by starkfist 16y ago
In my experience it's trivial to get a TN1 visa if you are Canadian. It is tied to a specific employer, but an employer could just be an LLC set up by your friends. There is a similar visa for Australians now, the E-3.
- eru 16y agoHow about EU citizens?
- ojbyrne 16y agoIn my experience its easy to get but not trivial. You need a lawyer first of all, or they'll deny you just for spite. Then the firm that's hiring you needs to demonstrate that it has - employees - an office - revenue or funding I've got my (successful) application right in front of me, and it has proof of all 3 of those things. Also they have to pay you the "market rate" for an engineer (presumably that's the category you would be in), and you have to have a degree in order to prove that you fit in that category.
- starkfist 16y agoTrivial may be the wrong word. It's easy if you fill all the requirements. In SF we had an LLC, an apartment in the mission, a lawyer to fill out the paperwork, and 8 Canadians. The canadians all did have college degrees. I honestly don't know if the border patrol even checks all of this stuff. One of the guys said it took about 20 minutes to get through. It probably depends on what border you go through. In my experience the small borders are the worst, because the border patrol are from small towns and have nothing better to do other than fuck around with you. (this is also assuming you are driving) The best driving border is BC => Washington. Flying in, the west coast seems the best. On the other hand, I know loads of people who go from Europe, Japan and Australia to California, NYC and Hawaii simply to hang out for 3 months at a time. These are people who have no college degree or any useful skills at all. They are here to surf, snowboard, or loaf around new york. Getting into the country is not a huge problem. The threads on this topic often have a tone of excessive worrying about visas. You can easily show up in the country and hang out for a while.
- ojbyrne 16y agoThe latter is a slightly different (and in my opinion more interesting) approach. Tourist visas are actually good for up to 6 months. So as long as you have enough money saved, you can do it that way.
- Mankhool 16y ago"I honestly don't know if the border patrol even checks all of this stuff." In my experience they do. I'm a Canuck who was working in Dubai, got a job in Vegas, applied for and received a TN Visa from the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi (which was a cool document bonded onto one of my passport pages). I transitted through the Vancouver airport on my way to LV. There, US Customs took one look at my TN-1, drew a line through it, noted "Cancelled without Prejudice" and denied me entry to the US to work. When I asked why the response I received was, and I quote, "Abu Dhabi don't know shit".
- starkfist 16y agoWell that sorta reinforces my point. They don't check it if you are denied or approved... They just deny or approve you.