Would I need TN?

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wec080

New Member
My husband and I are both Canadian. He's got a TN visa and moved to the US. I am going to join him soon. My Canadian employer in Canada is willing to let me telecommute. So work would be exactly the same except I would be physically in the US. Would I need TN visa for this? I would still be paying Canadian tax.
 
wec080 said:
My husband and I are both Canadian. He's got a TN visa and moved to the US. I am going to join him soon. My Canadian employer in Canada is willing to let me telecommute. So work would be exactly the same except I would be physically in the US. Would I need TN visa for this? I would still be paying Canadian tax.
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This is my understanding: You would need some work authorization since you are going to work on the US soil. I do not think it will be a TN status though since TN requires that you work for a US employer.
Others might be able to advise you more about this issue.
 
Thanks bigboy00! Anyone else knows anything about it? Maybe I would just head for the boarder. Tell them the story and see what they give me.
 
wec080 said:
Thanks bigboy00! Anyone else knows anything about it? Maybe I would just head for the boarder. Tell them the story and see what they give me.
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Hold on a minute. DON'T just head to the border with that story. The border inspectors are not there to help you. They are there to keep people OUT of the US.

You really need to pay an immigration lawyer for a consultation about this. It's something of a grey area, but be prepared to hear that you won't be allowed to do what you want to. If you are working while residing inside the US, you need to have an appropriate immigration status. Like bigboy, I doubt you will get a TN for a Canadian employer. And forget about Canadian tax for now; when you are living in the US you will have to report your income and pay American taxes on it. I don't know how you would do that without proper employment authorization. Your choices might well turn out to be

quit Canadian job and find TN job in US (if you qualify for TN)

quit Canadian job and live with your husband in the US on TD status

remain in Canada.

I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. You need to find a lawyer and get some real, legal advice.
 
Some lawyers agure that if the work is being done for a foreign employer with no ties to US, and if the worker is not benefitting from his presence in US (ie. he is not using resources, contacts, etc that would not be available to him if he weren't in US) then this is 'OK'.

I've never bought into this ...
 
Thanks everyone for your input!
Someone told me today I could just get TD, and they would never find out about the work. That sounds a bit too risky.
 
you can and should get a TD.

But forget about trying to be an illegal. We have enough of those.
 
wec080 said:
By the way who are 'We'?
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Better question: who are 'they' and if it wasn't illegal why would you care if 'they' found out or not.

I've listed the criteria for working legally. It's a grey areas, but at a minimum these criteria must be met. Due diligence would have you (or your firm) run this by a US immig atty.

That should keep 'them' happy.

Glad WE could help.

You're welcome.
 
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