B1/B2 to TN

Here's a tricky question. I'm a Canadian (dual citizen) in my final year of PhD studies in the UK, and have been in the US for almost six months now conducting fieldwork and interviews (all paid by my PhD sponsors in the UK). I'm returning to London for approx. two months to finish a case study there, and have been awarded a further grant from the UK to return to the US and complete a parallel study here.

This would mean I would have been in the US for more than 6 months in the calendar year, but as I can show that this is for academic field work, 100% funded by the UK, I assume this won't be a problem (?).

I've now been offered a position at a local university to teach one class in the Fall. They are willing to provide a support letter for a TN, but it will only be for six months (hopefully that's okay), but of course the pay is very low as it is only one class - the bulk of my salary will be from the UK for the fieldwork I'll be conducting during the same time period.

Does anyone know if this (any part of this) may present a problem. The TN letter I'll present will have a low salary figure (I can imagine the POE stating that it is insufficient to support my stay) but I'll also have letter from my university and funding partner in the UK indicating the financial support they have provided for the trip.

A little complicated I know - any issues I should prepare for?

Depends on the nature of the fieldwork you're doing, but it doesn't sound like "study" to me if you're getting paid for it, so basically what you're saying to them is that you're entering to do two jobs but you want to enter in a category for only one. That's going to cause a problem, obviously. Depends on the nature of the fieldwork I guess, you need to look up the regs on what "study" is, exactly. But B-1/2 is not for study, that would be F-1 or J-1.

As for the money to support your stay, if it's the same as for PR status, it has to be 125% of the poverty figure which is pretty low. At six months that works out to $6,555, so if they're paying you at least that (or you already have it) you should be okay on that score.

Thanks for the advice. I've been in the US for almost six months now conducting interviews as part of my UK PhD work. The UK gov't and a private UK group are paying for me to return this Fall and finish a few more interviews. The focus is the PhD work, and as it is in no way officially affiliated with any institution here in the US I'm not - as far as I can see - eligible for a J-1 or F-1. The job offer came as a result of some interviews I was doing, and while the university is willing to sign a TN letter I wasn't sure if the meager salary (it's just one class) would satisfy the folks at Homeland Security - the bulk of my income is coming from the UK. The salary should just pass the 125% test though, so hopefully it will work. I don't see any other visa options as I'm not attending or visiting any US university.

Btw, is TN status granted for p/t work?

It's intended for temporary work, so yes. Plenty of people have them who just go into the US to work a few hours a month.