Move down to USA, thoughts?
👋 Blinders! Canadian citizen here exploring options to relocate to the US, how was the process for those that have made the move and the job hunt? Any suggestions or tips on your experience are much appreciated. Thank you! 🙏 Non-engineer; Finance based w/ prof designation 6 YOE TC: 190K #USA #Canada #referral #careers #amazon #doordash #meta #microsoft #tech
Why would you want to move?
Better pay, different lifestyle and opps. Been in Canada my entire life, it’s safe and cushy feeling - looking for something new.
Which part of the US? I’m Canadian as well that moved while I was a kid
Getting a TN Visa as a Canadian moving to the US is extremely straightforward. As long as you meet the profession and associated education requirements listed here (https://can-mex-usa-sec.org/secretariat/agreement-accord-acuerdo/nafta-alena-tlcan/chapter-chapitre-capitulo_16.aspx?lang=eng#A1603) I think the biggest hurdle you'll face, however, is finding a job that would include relocation these days. A lot of companies would prefer to keep you in Canada and pay you Canadian rates rather than move you to a HCOL city in the US.
Awesome thanks for the link and insight, I’ll need to take a glance through the info. May I ask if you also made the move down yourself, if so how was the job hunt and subsequently the transition over?
Yep! I made the move to the US about 10 years ago. As long as you have an offer letter, and your credentials, you basically get your stamp at the airport upon entering the country and the paperwork is pretty minimal.
I’m a Canadian and I’ve been working in the US for the last 20 years. Pretty straightforward process via the TN
Good to know, thanks! I just get this uneasy feeling of being put in the “declined” pile every time “sponsorship required” is checked off. There’s lots of roles that I’m interested in the US not avail in Canada. How did you decide to make that transition and have you been with the same co. For 20 years?
A TN isn’t a visa, it’s just work authorization. Technically there’s no sponsorship, like H1B etc. so long as you can have a discussion with the recruiter (who should already be familiar with this, but you never know), it should be pretty simple. You could technically just show up at the border with your offer letter and documentation, but that’s obviously not recommended
Have your company sponsor you as a L1, slam dunk
Better look for American company / job hop salary wise for sure. Tn visa would be much smarter than l1 in this case.
I’m sure they’d want a period where they at least kept you in your Canadian posting before even remotely considering moving you down to USA no? Plus, the “remote” roles I’m seeing for US companies fall category of interstate - ineligible if you’re working “remote” from Canada
What's prof designation?n
CFA, CPA, MBA, P.ENG etc.
Unless you want to compete with cheap H1B visa labor than I suggest you don’t come. Only Indians and illegal immigrants are welcome
You seriously haven’t been to Canada recently have you lol? Worldwide refugees, and Indians galore…Shit pay, shit economy, shit home prices, shit weather, shit taxes…should I go on lol? How much can one person be shat on to realize professionals in good positions are wasting their productive years of their life staying in Canada. “But mUH fR3E heAlthCaRE tho 🫨”
@Xzpc86 I just know it’s supper shitty here for the aforementioned reasons. But yea I’ve never been and do hear it’s also bad up there. I wish to visit once at least just to see though.
I have a family member with three adult kids, none of them work. Nothing preventing them from working, they couldn’t be bothered. They live on handouts from the government.
I did it 2 decades ago. TN-1 Visa was my original entry visa. I had a US Job offer and the whole visa process took about 30 minutes at Toronto Pearson airport, and most of that was waiting for the official to fill out and stamp my first I-94 card. Key thing was to get the job first. At that point as soon as you land you need to get your butt over to the Social Security Administration as soon as possible, get your socal security number processing so you can get paid, it may take a few weeks and until then the company can't really pay you until you have that number [then you'll get your relo if any, and get paid up to date]. When I started TN-1's were yearly renewals but now they are 3-year visas, I'd look at getting a status transfer to an H1B so you can file for a green card. Hopefully your employer will offer green card processing out of the gate with the right visa type. [eg. H1B/O1/L1/etc]. I went TN-1 to H1B to O1 to green card. I'm in the entertainment [film then games] industry so my route was a bit convoluted.
Don't come! Only illegals through the southern border are welcome.
I guess legitimacy is not part of the checklist criteria to move to the US