I'm an international student (Indian citizen) studying CS at a Canadian university [Bachelors, 1st year] and I noticed that most of the CS majors from top Canadian unis (Waterloo, UBC etc) want to intern in the US and then move there to work full time after graduation. Since I am not a Canadian citizen (and hence no TN visa), it would be very hard for me to follow this path. One option for me is to get Canadian PR -> Citizenship -> TN visa but I'd be close to 30 by then [currently 20] (the US job competition would increase and my LeetCode motivation would decrease with age). Also it's not a dual intent visa and I read a Blind comment saying it's hard to get one as a fresh Canadian citizen. I thought about transferring to a US uni but the tuition there is quite high (almost 2x). Do you suggest doing that? The reason I chose Canada in the first place is because of its good immigration system (vs H1B in the US) and lower cost of attendance (at uni) than the US but after seeing the aforementioned trend among Canadian CS majors and reading Blind posts about Canada's low TC (compared to the US), bad weather etc, idk if I made the right choice. #canada #tc #h1b #salary #vancouver #toronto #bayarea #universitycompare #tnvisa #pr
Personal preference. Do u want peace of mind in immigration side or want high TC but constantly worrying about visas and extension. U can always have side hustles if pay is not enough for ur lifestyle but there’s no alternative for visa challenges in us. If i was u I would pick Canada anytime over h1 mess
Since you are young, would definitely recommend moving to US (specifically Bay Area). Unless you are planning to marry someone not born in India (assuming you are born in India) get that Canadian citizenship. 30 is not too late to move here. Also most fresh grads start at 110/120k here so you wont miss out much. The difference between Canadian and US salaries start to swell once someone has 3/4 yoe. Your future self will thank you!
Why would you recommend moving to the Bay area?
@bbhdsjj is 110k/120k for fresh grads in SAP bay area or for SAP fresh grads in US overall?
Can you get a TN visa while on PR before citizenship?
Nope
30 is not late. US immigration will not be kind to you, don't make the mistake of not taking Canadian citizenship.
Look up how many Indians are actually moving from US to Canada in order to avoid Visa issues. You have made a right decision to go to Canada. Stay there. TC is not everything. At 30, you will still hv potential 30 years of work life.
My word of advice is get the Canadian citizenship first. Make sure you have the ability to live in a first world country like Canada no matter what. After that, get a TN Visa or H1B or whatever.
This. And if TC is problem, do a side hustle in Canada.
Agree with both. Canadian citizenship opens doors to other countries as well.
You meant you moved to Canada, right?
A first-world citizenship in hand is worth two in the bush.
Get your Canadian citizenship. Early in your career, you won’t be making that much more in the US anyway.
Dunno if it helps, but I'm in the US right now and plan to eventually move to Canada because of the immigration. You're right about the salary but I don't think you need to jump schools just to get a job in the US. Can you not try to get a job in the US and then apply for an h1b visa? Not sure if that path is viable. Lastly, is the weather in Canada really that bad? I was expecting places like Toronto to have climate similar to that of NY
Forgot to mention that I'm a graduate student in the US rn. I'd also suggest that since you're in your first year, you can also focus on leetcode and getting into the top companies(get a job in the US and earn that high dough . If it doesn't suit your fancy, you can always ask for a transfer)