Independent Contractor while on TN

mikev

New Member
Hi guys,

I'm a Canadian citizen. I am currently working in the US as a Graphic Designer on a TN Visa for a tech consulting firm, here.

I have been asked to do a speaking engagement at a university here (it's for an executive education two-day course), for which they are offering to pay me.

To make it a little easier for me, they have offered to hire me as an Independent Contractor for this purpose. Does this mean I should (1) get a letter from them, so I can get another TN visa for this gig (as a Teacher, I presume)? Or (2) can I invoice them as a Canadian (I was a sole proprietor in Toronto and technically have a business there)? Or is there a third option I'm not aware of?

I would love to do more speaking engagements going forward, so I'm trying to understand what my options are here.

Thanks for any input.
 
Unfortunately, since you are on TN, you can't do this. If you lived in Canada, you would enter on B1 business to do this. So, since you can't do B1 work while on TN, it's a no-go.
It is not a TN teacher task either, so no TN would be granted for this.
Its not an invoicing issue. You are doing work on US soil for a US client.
 
Thanks for your response nelsona.

That's a bummer. Makes sense though. Guess I was just hoping there was a way to expand my practice.

On another note, can I do unpaid speaking engagements? I assume there's nothing wrong with volunteering my time to speak at conferences, meetups etc. Is there an onus on me to prove that I'm doing those talks for free? What would I need to put together as proof?
 
Actually, volunteering for anything other than a pure non-profit and only in a position that is normally unpaid, is NOT permitted.
You can probably figure out how easily this could be abused.

It's never the payment that is the issue: it's the work.
So, volunteering at a blood drive is fine, but working at the Red Cross head office is not, since those are paid positions.
So, the very fact that you would have been paid for this conference shows that it cannot be volunteered.

You are a guest in US to do your job.
 
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