Being Canadian
Since I've been in the States, I've never found it an issue to be Canadian. Yes, it's been a hassle at times when I first moved here especially trying to get people to check my canadian credit rating. Now that I've been here for a little over 4 years, I've never had an issue with my work visa. It has always been a little more of a challenge to find companies that were willing to hire a Canadian cause they didn't understand how a TN Visa worked. Of course, like most others, I came to the US as it is the land of opportunities and much better for career advancement than in Canada. Well, yesterday was the first time that I ever had the remote thought of hating the fact that I'm Canadian. I'm currently looking into career opportunities and came across the idea of being a consultant for a company but I would need to start my own LLC. I didn't realize that there is no work visa available for this kind of work. Or maybe there is and I just can't seem to find it and no one I know knows about it. Anyways, consulting would be a great opportunity to gain a lot of experience in my field and I'm very upset that my citizenship limits me from doing something that could potentially a great opportunity for me. Not saying that I would even do this work for sure, but the fact that it limits me to not even be able to explore it further sucks. Does anyone out there know of a way around this? Or if there is a work visa that I don't know about that would allow me to do this type of work? Or do I always have to be an employee of a US company? Is there a way to have a Canadian company and then do consulting work for a company in the US?
11 Comments:
It's not really your citizenship that makes it difficult for you to get a consulting job but rather your visa... You need the H1B visa which is a bit more strict compared to a TN. H1B runs for 3 years (renewable once) but during this time, it's recommended that you apply for a green card (which takes about 5 years)... Company also has to run ads to show that you're not taking the job away from any other American...
The other visa is an L-1. This is a company transfer... Say the consulting company is McKinsey who has offices everywhere. You would get hired by McKinsey in Canada and then, they'll sponsor an L-1 for you and you can then work for McKinsey US.
Hope it's clearer but if it's not, you know how to reach me!
G
I think I found it. I think you can be self-employed under a TN and not on a H1B. You can also be a management consultant!
http://www.grasmick.com/nafta.htm#(b)%20REQUIREMENTS
Well, at least you don't get hated on while traveling for being American. Or getting harassed for being a Taiwan citizen. I mean, at least Canada is a country.
Fucking HK customs guy kept barking "passport" at me, and I thought he meant the tai(2) bao(1) zheng(4) ["taiwan compatriot identification] I used going into China (since China doesn't recognize Taiwan issued passports). Then I figured out that in HK, you do use the Taiwan issued passport. But the custom guy was a total dickhead. Dude - HK is a freakin' SAR, so don't even act like people in Taiwan are the second class citizens!
I feel lucky to have my US passport. I was just too cheap to pay the $50 visa to travel to China with it. Hence, sucking down the pride and traveling with the "Taiwan Compatriot ID" and getting dirty looks from HK customs official.
I love being Canadian, and would never work beside any American. Because most Americans are pieces of shit because they voted that racist Bush and his son as President. I would hate it if I had to work with them, those smelly, racist, egotistical Americans. Plus, I hate when they win in hockey and I hate Brett Hull.
Wow, Thoughts, there's a lot of hatin' going on in your blog.
I am Canadian, born and raised (and proudly so). I work alongside Americans, and you'll find (if you try it one day when you grow up) that they aren't all so bad; it's the under- and un-educated bunch that give reason to all those stereotypes. Some Americans are even -- dare I say it -- amazing and fun and everything nice!
That said, there is lots wrong with this country and the people in it that lets it be the laughing stock of the world. On the most part, the people here don't care, though, because they don't have any channels (media, news, brain) with which to even HEAR that the rest of the world is laughing at them. The news and everything is self-centric, self-motivating, and it hides them in their own little world.
I'm Canadian, and I'm even more proudly so, now that I live amongst Americans. But I don't hate them. I just love being Canadian.
America's cool. If you don't like it, get the fuck out.
since the comments here are more directed towards "americans" than america, i'll add a variation to the above remark - IF YOU DON'T LIKE AMERICANS, DON'T FUCK THEM!" goodness you wouldn't want to have half-breed americans who grow up to be dumb and ignorant, lest that side prevail over the smart enlightened canadian half! haaaa ... cuz you know citizenship is indicative of some genetic traits.
now, can we talk about turds or get an update on IT Guy instead (bet you HE's AMERICAN!) please?
frankly, i don't mind so much the "un-educated" or ignorant masses. every country has their share. the fact that the US is so large means that in absolute terms, it'll have more. i mean, look at the size of TEXAS!!! haha ... what scares me more is the smart people, actually. psychologists have long known that smart people reach certain dubious conclusions and are influenced as much by biases and prejudices as the alleged un-educated. what smart people are better at doing though, is rationalizing their conclusions retroactively to "make sense." and then they can sell it to the masses. i look at the leadership in washington, and i don't doubt the intelligence of people like condi rice and john ashcroft and donald rumsfeld. but i do wonder ...
in chinese they have terms for 2 kinds of people - the way(3) jun(1) tse(3) and jen(1) hsiao(3) ren(1). the former is the dishonest gentleman, the latter is the simple ignorant. in this context, chinese speak of being a simple ignorant as a good thing ...
some more psych speak - to say that americans are dumb because they are americans is commiting "fundamental attribution error." i bet if you put a canadian born citizen to grow up in the US, they would then behave just like the "egotistical" american. being american or canadian in and of itself doesn't really mean anything.
coincidentally, jim steinmeyer, in comparing magicians and politicians, describes how we might be predisposed to believing the things we do:
. . . The most insidious part of any confidence game is not its outrageous claims but its appeal to the needs of its potential victims.
...
It's not as simple as finding stupid people who are willing to accept what they're told or happy to overlook obvious clues. The key is finding smart people who bring a lot to the table — cultural experience, shared expectations, preconceptions. The more they bring, the more there is to work with, and the easier it is to get the audience to make allowances — to reach the "right" conclusion and unwittingly participate in the deception.
What's Up Their Sleeve? Our Eagerness to Be Gulled: Magicians, con artists and politicians enlist public's cooperation, Commentary, LA Times, 11 April 2004.
DUDE. i feel like i am blogging on my own livejournal. Later strangers.
Gawd! I leave for a day and how does my blog turn from asking about Work Visa issues to Canadian vs. Americans? I like working in the US or else I wouldn't be looking for a way to find a better job and stay.
Where exactly does it say you can be self-employed under a TN??
For those who want to know why Americans seem so dumb, arrogant, etc., go download OutFoxed. It's a documentary about the Rupert Murdoch's Fox News network. You would be amazed at what they're doing at that network and how misinformed (manipulated) their viewers are. jh
Wow. Somebody got riled up from this. You are certainly entitled to your opinion as well. But let's be ready to admist some faults, can't we?
I mean, I'm happy to admit that Canadians are in general bad tippers. I've also heard that Canadians are viewed as rude tourists, and though I haven't seen any of that myself, I wouldn't rule it out just based on pride. Canadians also move slower in business (again, generally) and the pace of life is a little gentler than, say, the metro masses in the USA (or any other country, for that matter).
I'm surprised at Anonymous #1's hateful comments, but they're entitled to speak their mind (even if without anything to back it up). And I hope Anonymous #2's comments weren't directed at me and my notes of my experiences; I like to think that I'm at least rational in my justification (and clarification) of my comments.
In any case, I hope the visa thing works out, Thoughts!
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