usa work visa for canadians (1 Viewer)

[Mike Blais]

Hi all,
In the next few months I plan to move down to minnesota to live with my girlfriend, I'm kinda concerned about getting a work visa. I've looked at the us immigration website and it's a bunch of legalese that I can't quite figure out. I think I'll eventually find a lawyer who specializes in this type of stuff in order to make sure i've done it right. I think my downfall may be that I don't have a university degree or work in a high-tech job. I do have my mechanics license and I've been told that canadian licences are well regarded in the us, so hopefully that may help. Any experiences/pointers that anyone has would be great since I want this to go as smoothly as possible (marraige isn't an option. yet :b )
cheers

PS: if you work at a car dealership in the twin cities area and are looking for a service advisor, let me know

 

[Rain]

From the little bit of research I've done on the topic, I'd say your chances are small.

Generally work visas are only given out to those with "special skills" and a convincing case must be made to demonstrate the the skills in question cannot reasonably be obtained from someone who is already a US citizen.

The green card lottery is out if you were born in Canada, as we are not eligible. If you were born elsewhere, maybe see if that country's natives are eligible.

Your best chance, assuming the girl is a US citizen, is to marry her.

 

[Cary_H]

I concur with Rain. We are not a nation that they are actively courting immigrants from, in fact, we aren't even offered the opportunity to enter the lottery they run.

I have family in the U.S. and recent policy changes no longer allow them to sponsor me.
In addition, despite a close friend of mine marrying a U.S. citizen recently, she cannot apply for a Green Card for something like 3 to 4 years.

On the other hand, if you are qualified in a career field that is in high demand and/or highly specialized, you'll face next to no roadblocks whatsoever.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Yep, your best chance is to get an US company has to "sponsor" you for a work Visa (and that does imply a need for specialized skills/services), otherwise, marriage is the next best route.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

If you had a science related university degree (not this case, sorry to say), you could fall under the NAFTA treaty for employment.

Essentially, if a US company offers you a job, you can apply for the one year work permit and go from there. At the end of each year (defined as the time you cross the border), you need to reapply for another work permit. There are no extensions on the NAFTA permit.

You just cross back into Canada ... and re-enter the US as if it were your first time. The paperwork costs about $60 US.

It's a wee bit more complicated than that though as the letter of employment has to address some 10 specific points about the nature of the work and the expected length of stay.

Regards

 

[Mike Blais]

done some deeper digging and it looks like marraige really is the easiest way to get a job, big step to do that though . Really need to be sure, thanks for the tips.
M