Can I continue to work for CDN employer while living in USA?

I'm Canadian, currently residing in Toronto. I recently married an American, who has been living in Canada on a student Visa for 6 years. He's now been accepted to med school in Vermont. We're hoping to move in a month. My job is one that can be done from anywhere and my Canadian employer would like to retain me as an employee.

Can I live in the US with my husband and continue to work for a Canadian employer?

Would a TN Visa work for me if my employer is canadian but I want to reside in the states?

Help!

No, I don't think a TN would do it, TNs are for US employers to sponsor you to be able to work in the US. You can't legally work while on US soil without US work authorization. Your husband can sponsor you for a green card, which comes with employment authorization. Of course, it won't be completed in a month, it can take up to a year to process.

I don't think he's eligible to petition via the US consulate in Toronto, you'd have to go thru the USCIS processing centre in Vermont, and he'd either have to prove some sort of income, or get a co-sponsor (any US citizen family or friend can be a co-sponsor). And you'd likely have to stay in Canada to wait it out.

Check out http://www.visajourney.com for US marriage based immigration information

We will be doing the greencard petition, eventually. We have a co-sponsor and we'll receive our marriage certificate next month, so we can't start the process in Canada. We'll have to do it while living in the states.

What I need help with is:
1. Can I enter the US and live with my husband while we are doing the application -- or do I have to remain in Canada?

2. Is there a way to continue to be employed by a Canadian company while residing in the states, legally?

Thanks for any help!

You can visit the US for up to 6 months, but you cannot work in the US (even for a Canadian employer) during that time. And after the 6 months is up, you'd have to return to Canada to wait out the rest of the immigration process. Currently petitions from within the US are taking about 1 year.

You cannot legally work in the US without a work visa. Not even for a Canadian employer.

While, I don't want to encourage anything illegal, I think that the US government may not be too concerned if you live in the US while working for a Canadian employer. It's certainly not taking away any jobs from workers in the US, and you're improving the economy by spending your wages there.

The problem is that with modern technology this is a lot more feasible scenario than in the past.

I mean, how many Canadians vacation in the US and check their work e-mail while they're there? That's technically just as illegal and I don't see anyone in the US being concerned about that as it's certainly not hurting anyone there.

This isn't a casual thing while she's temporarily there though, if you're in the US and happen to pick up your e-mails that's one thing, she's talking about a permanent move.

What she needs is a K-3 visa, then she applies for an I-765 as soon as she gets there.

There are also tax implications.

I wouldn't bother with the K3 these days, they're taking about the same amount of time as the CR1/IR1 immigrant visas, and after you get the K3 you still have to spend more money (another $1010) on adjusting status. With the IR1 you don't, and with the IR1 you have employment authorisation as soon as you get the visa. With K3 you don't.

It used to be the other way around, when I went thru it, it took about 2 years for my I-130 to be approved, and only a year for the I-129F, so the K3 made sense. Not anymore, they've changed how K3s are processed and slowed them down, so the immigrant visa is the way to go for Canadians.

Hi
I have a similar question, but I am looking at this from Canada perspective. I working in Canada for a Canadian employer and I am getting a US green card soon. I don't want to quit my job (at least for now) and I was wondering what will be the implications of continuing working for the Canadian employer from the US. My employer does not have problem with where I live, I just need Internet connection. Will I have any legal issues in Canada ? how about health benefits and tax filing ?
Thanks

If you move to the US with a leagl permanent resident status (ie: green card) then you are no longer a resident of Canada, and therefore no longer eligible for Canadian provincial healthcare benefits.

If you are living permanently in the US, and working for a Canadian employer, your taxes are going to be rather confusing to do. I'd strongly recommend you speak with a tax accountant before you leave Canada.

From a tax standpoint they either have to have an EIN and do US withholding taxes, or else you have to register as self-employed or start an S-corporation. Which basically means you invoice them as an independent contractor and do all the withholding taxes etc. yourself.

If you're self-employed then you have to get a self-employed healthcare plan.

Essentially if you move to the US, you are a US employee, so they have to act as a US employer and comply with US tax laws or you have to set up your own company or be self-employed.

I think if you go the self-employed route you have to file a non-resident T1 return to report Canadian-source income, and if you set up an S-corporation it may have to file a T2 return as a non-resident corporation. However these are merely informational returns, provided all the work is done in the US you do not have to pay any Canadian income taxes.

This all sounds complicated but believe me it's trivial compared to the complexity of doing some of the work in one country and some work in the other, because then you have to proportionally pay tax in each country. The only exception is if you are directly employed and stay for 90 days or less and earn $10,000 or less. E.g. you set up a US corporation, it directly employs you, and you have to work in Canada for a short period. Provided you're in Canada for less than 90 days and you earn less than $10,000 while in Canada, you do not have to comply with Canadian withholding laws.