TN Visa ... but paid Corp to Corp

TorontoCowboy

New Member
I am a Canadian living/working here in the US under TN for the last 20 years. First 10 years was W2 .. but Wall Street insisted on Corp-to-Corp payment. So I setup an S-Corp and have paid myself through the S-Corp last 10 years.

Now while filing my I-140 the lawyer asked me for my W2's and Tax Returns and PayStubs for last 2 years. She was a bit surprised that my W2/Stubs/Returns listed my own corporation ... and not my TN sponsor.

I have never sponsored myself ... in that my S-Corp is never my TN sponsor. My sponsor is always the company for which I am providing services (usually a multi-million dollar consulting firm).
So my TN is for "Company A" ... who pays my personal "S-Corp X" ... who pays me personally ... usually through a mix of W2 income and K1 dividend. I always thought of Corp-to-Corp as an accounting thing only.

So do I have any reason to worry about my I-140 filing or my I-485 filing? Should I send in my tax returns without worrying that my W2/K1 does not match my TN Sponsor company name?

Nelsona, do you know of other Canadians that have done the I-140 and I-485 under my conditions and succeeded?
 
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I-140 and I-485 are for future position, so who/what/how you were paid in that past really doesn't enter into it. As long as you will be hired as an employee when your GC comes through that is what matters -- they will have to employ you at that time.

The request for tax information (which isn't really required by the way, its just on most lawyers punch list) is just to ensure that IF you have been working in US (again, not a requirement for I-14/I-485) that you are doing so legally and paying taxes, if the question comes up.

You have nothing in your past to worry about, neither from a tax or immigration point of view.
 
Nelsona, thanks for your sage and timely advice.
Out of curiousity ... are you an immigration attorney or someone who just knows a hell of a lot about TN status?
 
If I were an atty I would have to attach so many disclaimers here that these posts would be a mile long.
 
If I were an atty I would have to attach so many disclaimers here that these posts would be a mile long.

So my next question is obviously: Are you a Canadian who has done everything there is to do with a TN ... including an I-140 and I-485 for yourself?
If so were you corp-to-corp as well?
 
... and by the way, the fact that you are Cdn or on TN has nothing to do with the question on whether your I-140/I-485 are safe. So best ask these questions on the I-140 and I-485 forums.
 
Nelsona,

You were correct ... and I just received my GC in the mail. The problem I have now is that my GC sponsor is not responding ... so am having difficulty getting hired.
Any thoughts on what I should do? I am very worried about the N-400 interview in 5 years ... if I have not worked at all for the GC sponsor.

The fault is not mine. I am unemployed and ready to go .... just no response from the sponsor. My intent has always been to join but it takes two to tango?
What can I do?

Please advise if you can.
 
Hi Nelson,

Thanks for the helpful post and conversation.

In my experience, different lawyers advise different things for TN (such as W2/1099 are legal, S-Corp can be seen as self-employment for immigration purposes). i am wondering - what questions do I ask my immigration attorney and how do I choose one? Apparently they need to have experience handling such cases. I plan to have my agreement revised, and get advice on a strategy to avoid issues.

Many thanks!!!
 
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TN is designed NOT to use lawyers, and thus they know very little about it (and give much wrong info). Find an employer/client, have them write simple TN letter, and take this and your degree to the border.
 
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