Starting a business in the US on a TN, can it be done?

D

debun

Registered Users (C)
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?
 
You need to get an 'E' visa for starters.

You can't have an E visa and TN at the same time, so it would cost you $xx,000 in mandated initial investment, plus your TN job.
 
Can I have a Canadian business that buys product from a US machine shop, and sells to US customers and distributors?
 
You can own such a business. But you cannot do the buying and selling. This is work, carried out in the US. You need a status for that. And it won't be TN.

Where the business is registered matters not.
 
Nooooo. Where one puts/hides money is not an issue. The issue is WORK. WORK performed in US. It doesn't even matter if you get paid or not. WORK requires status.
 
I believe you can do that.. as a canadian you can setup a company in US. any person in the world can setup a company in US. otherwise every foreign company's ceo would have a green card.
 
Like nelsona said - E-2. Check out the section on E-2 investor's visas.

Susan Ward, one of the moderators, seems to have a good handle on this.
 
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