I have a potential business opportunity providing a motorcycle race team parts. I am a Canadian design engineer currently working in Texas under a TN visa and I was contacted by a local race team to help design and produce some parts for them. Both the race team and the machine shop that I am evaluating to do the machining are located in Texas. Can I get a US business license if I am on a TN? Can I do business in the US with a Canadian business license? How can I proceed with this project without breaking the law?
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How can a Canadian on a TN start a side business in the US? Can they?
- Thread starter debun
- Start date
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
With a TN you can invest in and own a business in the US, but you can't actually work in it (unless you successfully get the business to sponsor you for an appropriate visa, which is very difficult for a brand new company wanting sponsor its owner).
laborvisalaw
Registered Users (C)
TN visa is actually quite restrictive in what you can do. As other posters have said, you cannot work for any other business while on TN visa. While you can invest in a business (e.g. open your own business), you cannot work for it.
(here is a related article, it is about H-1B but it is useful for TN visas as well - http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/01/starting-own-company-on-h-1b-visa/).
Anticipating a further question from your end, many people ask if they can "volunteer" for a company. The answer is, probably no, because in most cases people try to circumvent the employment restrictions on their visas; so the general rule is that you cannot "volunteer" to do a job which would otherwise be a paid one. Here's slightly more information on this area: http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/02/unpaid-volunteer-work-on-h-1b-h-4-or-f-1-visas/
good luck-
(here is a related article, it is about H-1B but it is useful for TN visas as well - http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/01/starting-own-company-on-h-1b-visa/).
Anticipating a further question from your end, many people ask if they can "volunteer" for a company. The answer is, probably no, because in most cases people try to circumvent the employment restrictions on their visas; so the general rule is that you cannot "volunteer" to do a job which would otherwise be a paid one. Here's slightly more information on this area: http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/02/unpaid-volunteer-work-on-h-1b-h-4-or-f-1-visas/
good luck-
Well what about if it's a Canadian business and I collect funds to my bank in Canada? Would it be any different if I had the good manufactured outside the US? For example in Asia or in Canada? Thats an option but the best solution for me is to have a Texas based machine shop do the work and deliver the parts.
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laborvisalaw
Registered Users (C)
As long as you don't actually work (e.g. actually manufacture the item) for the company while you are in the U.S., then you should be fine by actually shipping the item from Asia or Canada and having the U.S. customer pay the Asian or Canadian entity shipping the part.
The only work I will be doing is design. Then I need to have somone fabricate the parts for me. I would like to use a Texas based company because I'm in Texas on a TN. So would it be okay to have my Canadian registered company purchase and sell parts within Texas? All funds would go to my bank in Canada.
The second part is, if I decide to expand and import good from Asia, do I have to warehouse them in Canada, or can I store and ship within the US?
The second part is, if I decide to expand and import good from Asia, do I have to warehouse them in Canada, or can I store and ship within the US?