TN Letter wording for fixed-priced payments under Form 1099

[eeMGee]

My current employment opportunity is to be paid on a "purchase order" basis; a set price for a given work package. All employees at this firm are paid as independent contractors (Form 1099).

I understand that although one cannot obtain a TN as self-employed, one can work as an independent contractor for a sponsoring company under TN. I know there are pros and cons to 1099 payment; the extra tax and accounting costs I am factoring into my negotiations. I have drafted the following paragraph for the TN letter, duration & compensation section:

"Mr. X’s professional affiliation to ABC Aerospace will extend from July 11, 2011 until no later than July 10, 2014. Compensation will be purchase-order based, and paid upon completion of pre-agreed project work packages. Mr. X will be paid as an independent contractor working for ABC Aerospace and issued Form 1099’s. The estimated hourly wage for his work, based on nominal performance, is $80/hr."

Any advice / comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nelsona]

There is no need to mention 1099 (which is a tax issue), but there is no harm. Because this is your only TN however, it would be best to also include the number of hours per week they intend for you to work.

Otherwise CBP may feel that granting a TN for, say, an hour's worth of work per week would require you to maintain a Cdn residence, as this would be insufficent remuneration to live on, and you might be considered a threat to work illegally. It would be much better for firm to estimate your weekly remuneration or compenstion (its not wages).

Also, given yor current limbo resident state, a current dated letter with the term being "no more than 3 years" would be best rather tha specific dates, as the terms of your letter would likely only be approved in late june, and the expiry will be 3 years from the day you present yourself at the POE in any event.