Brother sponsorship?

Hello all,

I've got a bit of a convoluted situation that I'm hoping the experienced members of the board can help me out with.

My brother recently immigrated to the USA after marrying an American. I'm looking for a way to join him but don't have the marriage option as I've got my own Canadian wife. Ideally We'd like find a way to live and work in the usa permanently or with as little risk as possible of being sent home year to year.

I'm in a bit of unique situation as it appears I may have a few options and am not sure the best route.

First question- can my brother sponsor me and my wife. I have looked around and have found conflicting info as to if siblings can sponsor each other. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Alternatively, my current situation seems to open up some additional scenarios which may get me down there.

I'm an computer professional with 15 years of high level experience in the industry. However, I just have a bachelor of arts from university that isn't specific to my field, however, I do have some microsoft certifications. I could probably snag a job in the us with a company that would sponsor me. Would I qualify for a TN visa? If so how reliable is the renewal process? I would like some comfort that a 5 year stay would be fairly plausible this route if the company was willing to sponsor me for that long?

I also own the computer consulting company I work for as well as a company that that owns some rental properties here in Canada. I have a connection in the us that works at an investment firm that may be willing to buy the computer company. I've been reading about some provisions executives of companies with usa ownership having the ability to live and work in the USA. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there any possibility of gaining some more permanent status this way?

Any advice is appreciated.

First question- can my brother sponsor me and my wife...

I'm an computer professional with 15 years of high level experience in the industry...Would I qualify for a TN visa?

I also own the computer consulting company...I've been reading about some provisions executives of companies with usa ownership having the ability to live and work in the USA.

Sponsorship by your brother would be a very long term process. He can sponsor you only after he becomes a US citizen. It will take him 3+ years to become a US citizen (if he chooses to which he doesn't have to). After that the current wait times for sponsorship are about 11 years.

When you say your past positions have been "high level" is this just corporate mumbo jumbo or can you document that in an objective way? There is always the "alien of extraordinary ability" category for getting a green card--but that is a complex route to go and requires real documentation of your high level ability. With a bachelor's degree you won't get the extraordinary ability petition approved based on your education--so it would need to be based on your work experience. I am, honestly, a bit skeptical about how "high level" your past positions have been. Getting Microsoft certifications is something that low- to mid-level technical people do--it isn't something that high level executives do.

A TN--which doesn't require that you be "high level"--usually requires that your education match the field in which the TN is granted. You could talk to an attorney--with an arts degree it might be an uphill battle although perhaps you took enough technical courses to qualify. Do you have any kind of post-secondary diploma/certificate besides your degree--it would need to be from a 2+-year program at an accredited institution, not a Microsoft certification--that is better matched to your field?

An L1 visa is certainly possible for the transfer of an executive from the Canadian office to the US office of a company. However the company would need to have some existing and continuing presence in both countries, independent of your move, for this to work. If the company is basically just a one-person operation that moves whenever you do, that would be a no go for an L1. If you have a number of existing employees in both countries and the only one who is moving is you--that would work.

Does your wife qualify for any kind of visa in her own right?