Author Topic: Canuck wants to move to the US... (Read 1260 times)

Nash · « **Reply #30 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:00:00 PM »

Heh... I'm the perfect example for this thread.

I'm a Canadian citizen that moved to NYC to go to school... and ended up working there for about 4 years after I graduated. I also just inherited $66,000 US from an Aunt who lived in Seattle (there were taxes on it on the US side.... Canada doesn't tax it).

Getting a student visa was easy. Getting a working visa was a bit more difficult, but not impossible at all.

Your friend should get a lawyer. It'll cost about $1,000 US for him to put everything together... as there's a bunch of things he'll need.

From memory:

The lawyer will take yer guy's school transcripts and send them to some US agency who evaluates them and sends them back with more paper that essentialy says that his University schooling is equivelant to the same thing as a US University education. You need to have graduated from University to work in the US - and this thing basically says that yer credits are the same thing as what he would have received from a US school.

He'll also need to get some vaccinations and have the records for those. He'll tell you which ones.

He'll need to already have lined up a job there. Part of the paperwork to get a US working visa is a letter from his employer on his employer's letterhead which decribes a bit about the company, states it's intention to hire your friend, and also explains why this guy's role couldn't be done by just anyone. The idea is that you can't be taking a job from a US citizen... it's gotta explain why the job can by done by him and only him.

Then he goes armed with all that paperwork and flys down to start his job. When he goes through customs he'll show all that stuff, and his passport will get stamped with the visa.

I might be forgetting some steps... He really should get an immigration lawyer to put everything together.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #31 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:00:31 PM »

Texas ain't bad, but it depends on what part of Texas.

West Texas is desolate, dry, and hot.
East Texas is pretty nice with the pine trees and such.
South Texas is more humid than most anyplace on Earth.
North Texas, gets cold in the winter, hot in the summer.

Cost of living in Texas is low. 2,000 sq ft home (3 bedroom, 2 bath), in a nice neighborhood will set you back about $125K or so.

Technology jobs are most available in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (north texas) or Austin (dead center of the state..maybe a bit south).

Nash · « **Reply #32 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:01:53 PM »

Curval... I'm not sure if I broke any laws or anything... When I worked in the US I just didn't pay any Candian taxes and paid taxes to the US. When I moved back I paid taxes to Canada and stopped paying taxes to the US. Haven't gotten any flack from anyone about it...

Curval · « **Reply #33 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:41:28 PM »

No doesn't sound like it at all. It's what is "beauty" about being Canadian.

Technically you should have had to qualify for non-residence excemption from taxes by meeting certain tests as mentioned when you left Canada. Severing your economic ties to Canada would be closing bank accounts, selling all real estate (or at least deemed dispositions of property reported on your last tax return), terminating club memberships (or move to non-resident status, if any)...things like that. You just need to be able to prove you were intending to really beome a non-resident. Staying in Canada over 179 deems you to be a resident and you would be liable for Canadian tax. Your last tax return is important if you have significant taxable income. If not you are fine and given your circumstances you obviously intended to become non-resident.

Nash · « **Reply #34 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:48:08 PM »

Cool.

SKurj · « **Reply #35 on:** July 09, 2003, 08:18:15 PM »

Curval, what Islands do you mean?

I have 0 dependents, own nothing, owe a little bit (school loans) and am free to go where ever I can afford to... (right now thats about from this chair to the toilet)

Oh yeah, I am graduating college, not university... Computer Systems Technology with no certs yet as I can't afford to take the damn exams.

SKurj

Nash · « **Reply #36 on:** July 09, 2003, 08:49:15 PM »

Oops Skurj, for some reason I thought you were saying that yer friend was wanting to relocate, not you...

I don't think you're going to be able to do it with just college... I'm pretty sure you need a University degree. Also, network admin is not a good category as I'm sure there are lots of those out of work in the US... and part of working in the US is arguing that the job you do is unique enough that only you can do it... and not just anyone, namely a US citizen.

SKurj · « **Reply #37 on:** July 09, 2003, 10:41:59 PM »

Nash

Yeah its me... well, without a Univ degree surely a few years experience will count for something?

I am thinking of targetting casinos(errm for employment!!) here in canada eh, with the hopes that the experience maybe a shortcut to sliding into the US (Nevada at least)

I don't have any problems working a couple years up here, if there is a light at the end of the tunnel...

My other option to find nicer weather is europe... I hold British citizenship as well.. but my first choice is the US.

The ONLY thing I have against Canada is the weather.. I know as far as the cost of living etc we have it pretty decent up here. Though I'd love to live in a place where ya can live in shorts and ride a motorcycle year round....

Guess I could target multinational companies with the hopes of a transfer somewhere down the road...

SKurj

Maverick · « **Reply #38 on:** July 09, 2003, 10:45:00 PM »

Skurj,

The most promising place in Arizona for your type of work would be Phoenix. It was just listed as the 6th largest city in the US and will likely be the 5th as it should pass Philly next year. The main problem is the heat for some one like you that is used to milder summers. Phx. will be 115 degrees tomorrow (Thursday July 10th) and yes, it's still a dry heat. Until the monsoons start.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #39 on:** July 10, 2003, 09:13:44 AM »

sorry, it snows here... a lot

Curval · « **Reply #40 on:** July 10, 2003, 10:13:35 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by SKurj
Curval, what Islands do you mean?

I have 0 dependents, own nothing, owe a little bit (school loans) and am free to go where ever I can afford to... (right now thats about from this chair to the toilet)

The Carribean islands.

Most of the Carribean is dying to have network support types go there for as few years, maybe train a local or two and then will wave goodbye after a few years, no strings attached. Given your feedom you could go to one of the islands make your tax free US dollars and then go home and buy yourself a house or whatever when you get home. You won't owe Revenue Canada a penny and despite the fact that the Canadian dollar recently took a jump in value there is still a favourable exchange rate. You'd pay off the school loans much faster,

Ripsnort · « **Reply #41 on:** July 10, 2003, 10:25:48 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by funkedup
He'll be Terminated soon.

Trade you Gray for Gary Locke!

Pongo · « **Reply #42 on:** July 10, 2003, 10:43:37 AM »

With a two year tech collage diploma in net admin your not getting in the states or its certainly a very long shot. Even at the height of the US tech visa program such an education was hard to get a visa with. Any tale told by someone who might have done it 3-4 years ago is irrelivent.
Visa Quotas are way down (I would imagine that visas are being non renewed even now.)and your competing for net admin jobs with indian visa applicants with doctortates. As people have said, jobless rates in the US are up and the retraining programs are popping out Net Admins at a ferocios rate. So I would imagine only very senior people in that kind of role would be getting visas.
If you want sun look to the Gulf. They are always hiriing in Quwait and Saudi. Its in the paper every weekend. You might have a bit of a sales job with so little experiance though.

Soda · « **Reply #43 on:** July 10, 2003, 01:41:59 PM »

Check out this website, I know a couple of people who went this route around the tech boom and it had a bunch of informaiton on it:

Immigration Lawyer

My understanding is that in the current IT climate you are pretty unlikely to find a way to move to the US. A company would have to hire and basically sponsor you to move down there.

There are a whole host of other issues to consider also. Family members can not work even if you qualify to do so unless they individually qualify (so your kinds couldn't even hold a paperroute), then there are tax issues with the balance of assets being the country in which you pay tax (so you might need to flog stuff in Canada if you want to pay US tax rates). Then there are issues around what happens if you lose your job, you can't simply find another, you have to leave the US and then come back. You also have to qualify for a visa, which can be tough, and almost impossible at an entry level IT job unless you have a specific skill that is deemed in short supply.

There are a bunch of other issues also but I know a number of people in IT who went to the US and none remain there anymore (some simply moved on to other places). I simply don't think the market is overly friendly right now.

Anyway, check out the website but don't get your hopes to high.

-Soda

-dead- · « **Reply #44 on:** July 10, 2003, 02:20:53 PM »

Skurj,

Why not just move to Hong Kong? They're always on the look out for IT geeks. The top tax rate is 16%, you don't have to renounce your citizenship to become a permanent resident, it's nice and warm, and almost all the Chinese moved to Canada, so you don't have to worry about them. Nice bit of pay back, actually if you think about it - coming over here and stealing our women and our jobs...