June 1997
CEN-TA
PEDE
FREE TRADE!!!! One of the
most asked questions to the office is "How do I work in the United
States under FREE TRADE?" The following gives the requirements for a TN
(Treaty NAFTA) visa and is taken from my BORDER BOOK
On December 8, 1993,
President Clinton signed the NAFTA Agreement which took effect on January 1,
1994 under 101(a)(15). This agreement allowed Canadian Professionals to
qualify for a job in the U.S. within the same day if all the
"ducks" are in order. A family would "go
south" with a combination of TD and TN visas.
TD - Spouse or Child of
NAFTA Professional under 214(e)(2) (TN holder)
TN -
NAFTA Professional - (North America Free Trade Agreement) PROFESSIONAL
BUSINESS PERSON
A professional is defined as a
person with a minimum of a bachelor's degree, who applies for a position
which requires a UNIVERSITY degree as its minimum entry-level requirement unless
otherwise specified. To meet this classification as a Canadian,
you must have a bone fide job offer and all licences and degrees in place
for your profession.
CHECK
LIST for the TN Visa
_X_ An applicant for
admission must establish Canadian citizenship
_X_ The applicant must
be entering the United States to engage in a profession or
occupation at a professional
level under NAFTA
_X_ The applicant must
be in possession of an offer or contract of employment
from a United States employer
stating:
1) The
professional activity to be engaged in
2) Purpose
of entry
3)
Remuneration
4) That the
position is temporary in nature and will not exceed one year (although it
can be renewed)
_X_ The applicant must
provide documentation of his or her educational degree or
professional qualifications
_X_ The applicant must
meet all licensing requirements
_X_ Employment need not
be full-time
_X_ Permanent residence
abroad is not a prerequisite
_X_ Maximum period of
admission of a TN is one year
_X_ TN dependants
accompanying the principal TN will be admitted under the
"TD" classification
for the same amount of time as the principal
_X_ A $50 U.S. fee is
required
_X_ TN applicants are
not permitted to enter as a professional to
participate in any way to
circumvent a strike
_X_ SELF EMPLOYMENT IS
NOT PERMISSIBLE
The following is a partial
list of some who qualify under a TN Visa. Please note that extensive
experience can equal a degree in many cases. All need a Bachelor or
Baccalaureate degree unless otherwise noted.
* Accountants - RIA or SIA or
CPA or CGA or CMA or CA
* Agriculturalists
* Agronomists
* Animal Breeders
* Animal Scientists
* Apiculturist
* Architects - BA or state /
provincial licence
* Astronomers
* Biochemists
* Biologists
* Botanists
* Chemists
* Computer Systems Analyst -
BA or Post-secondary Diploma or Post-secondary certificate and three years
of practical experience
* Computer Systems Programmer
* Dairy Scientists
* Dentists - DDS, DMD, or
state / provincial licence
* Dental Technicians
* Dietitian
* Disaster Relief Insurance
Claim Specialists - (claims adjuster employed by an insurance company
located in the territory of a party or an independent claims adjuster) - BA
and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance
adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims; or, three years experience
in claims adjustment and successful completion of training in the
appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief
claims
* Doctors - (see physician
further on)
* Economists
* Engineers - BA or state /
provincial licensing
* Entomologists
* Epidemiologists
* Forester - BA or state /
provincial licensing
* Geneticists
* Geochemist
* Geologist
* Geophysicists (including
Oceanographer in the United States)
* Graphic Designer - BA or
post-secondary diploma and three years experience.
* Hotel Managers - BA in hotel
/ restaurant management; or, post-secondary diploma or post-secondary
certificate in hotel / restaurant management and three years experience in
hotel / restaurant management
* Horticulturist
* Industrial Designer - BA or
post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate and three years
experience
* Interior Designer - BA or
post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate and three years
experience
* Journalist BA plus three
years experience - (This category is no longer valid and has been left in to
explain the circumstances. As I understand it, journalists in general took
it as an insult that they had to have a BA degree, because, "most,
if not all," of the best known journalists do not have a BA
degree.)
* Land Surveyor - BA or state
/ provincial licences
* Landscape Architect
* Lawyer (including notary in
the Province of Quebec) - LLB, JD, LLL, BCL degree (five years); or
membership in a state or provincial bar
* Librarians - MLS or BLS (for
which another BA was a prerequisite)
* Management Consultants - BA;
or equivalent professional experience as established by statement or
professional credential attesting to five years experience as a management
consultant, or five years experience in a field of specialty relating to the
consulting agreement
* Mathematician (including
statistician)
* Medical Laboratory
Technologist (Canada) / Medical Technologist (U.S.) - BA; or post-secondary
diploma or post-secondary certificate and three years experience
* Meteorologist
* Nutritionist
* Occupational Therapist - BA;
or state / provincial license
* Organic Chemist
* Pharmacologist (Pharmacist)
- BA; or state / provincial license
* Physician - (teaching or
research only), MD or state / provincial licence. To work as MD, a doctor
must pass his MLE (medical licensing exam) which has three parts written
over a year. After passing, he or she would enter the U.S. under an H-1A.
* Physicist (including
oceanographer in Canada)
* Physiotherapist / Physical
Therapist - BA; or state / provincial license
* Plant Breeder
* Poultry Scientist
* Professional (most
recognized professions)
* Psychologists - state /
provincial license
* Range Conservationist
* Recreational Therapist
* Registered Nurse - state /
provincial license
* Research Assistant (working
in post-secondary educational institution)
* Scientific Technician -
Possession of: (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the disciplines:
agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry,
geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics; and (b) the ability to solve
practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply
principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research.
* Social Worker
* Soil Scientist
* Sylviculturist
* Teacher (College, Seminary,
or University) (Post Secondary level only)
* Technical Publication Writer
- BA, or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate, and three
years experience
* Urban Planner (including
geographer)
* Veterinarian
* Vocational Counsellor
* Zoologist
SUBJECT TO
CHANGE
This list is subject to change
at any time. When talking to Dennis Olsen about updating the rules, I
mentioned a nurse who had found out that nurses could go south instantly in
the late 1970's. She got a job offer from a Hawaii hospital, came back to
Vancouver, quit her job, sold her house, kicked out her husband, gave away
the dogs and showed up at the airport to move to Hawaii, only to find out
that they had closed the quota for nurses.
And then, as I was writing
this exact section of the book in March, 1995, I received a call from a
Doctor who had a job offer from the U.S., sold his house and Canadian
practice, only to be told that he did not qualify when he showed up at the
border because although a practicing family physician in Canada and fully
qualified to go south with a Green Card (a resident alien immigrant visa),
he did not qualify as a TN (can only teach or do research) and he did not
qualify as an H-1B because he had not written an MLE. This medical licensing
exam is written in three stages over a one year timetable. I guess he has to
sue his immigration attorney in Los Angeles. This attorney knew he did not
have his MLE, but charged him significant monies and told him he could get
in now!
Remember, A TN is valid
for less than one year only although it can be renewed indefinitely. You may
work AND LIVE in the U.S. Your spouse and children cannot work, even as a
VOLUNTEER at the library. Once in the U.S., you can apply for permanent
status.
W
A R N I N G
March 8, 1995 - When a
Canadian leaves Canada to move to the U.S., there is a departure tax. This
means that all of the Canadian's assets are deemed "to have been
sold" at fair market value the day before he or she leaves. If there
are "paper profits," tax is due on this paper profit although a
bond may be posted. The United States did not have this departure tax
because the U.S. citizen has to keep on filing U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX
RETURNS while out of the country for as long as they remain a U.S.
citizen. If they gave up their citizenship, they could own a million
dollars worth of assets that they had paid a dollar for and their
"paper profit" would have just disappeared into the mist. Section
352 of the new Legal Immigrant and Illegal Immigrant Responsibility Act of
1996 states that the U.S. Citizen who gives up their citizenship to avoid
U.S. income taxation is also banned from ever returning to the U.S. for any
purpose.
If you have not been
filing your U.S. returns, be sure and catch up now. Penalties are too large
to ignore. Ask for the Sept 95 newsletter for examples of U.S. enforcement
methods. Ask for Oct 95 for the rules for U.S. citizens living in Canada.
If you
transfer or take more than $10,000 in or out of the U.S., the NEXT FOUR
PAGES are VERY IMPORTANT. As Page 268 shows, the penalty for failing to
comply could be $500,000 PLUS 5 years in jail.
SOCIAL
SECURITY RULES CHANGED AGAIN FOR 1997
After the debacle caused by
the changes to Social Security taxation in Canada which was introduced with
the 1996 changes to the US / CANADA Tax convention, I am pleased to see that
the situation has changed. In 1996, Social Security was taxed only in the
United States. In 1997, it will go back to pre 1996 rules and have 50% taxed
in Canada for non-resident non-citizen (of the U.S.) recipients. At the
moment, there does not seem to be any indication that it will be retroactive
to 1996 but "STAY TUNED", we will let you know soon. If you want
the Social Security tax rules for 1996, ask for the January, 1996 edition of
the CEN-TAPEDE.
