Canadian hoping to move to Atlanta area, looking for advice!

Hello all!

My name is Tim, and I'm engaged to an American. I'm hoping to move to Atlanta to live with her, and this seems like an awesome resource for Canadians looking to live in another country. As I'm sure most people do in their first post, I have a few questions, and could use some advice and suggestions.

My original plan was to attend grad school in biochemistry in the Atlanta area, at either Georgia Tech, Emory, or Georgia State. Unfortunately, I was not offered admission to Georgia Tech or Emory, partially because of the downturn in the economy (more applicants, less funding, fewer available positions), and I won't hear about Georgia State for quite a while, so I'm now starting to consider other options.

Right now, I've started to apply for jobs in the Atlanta area. On top of my bachelor's degree in biochemistry, which provided me with laboratory research experience, I also have three years of technology sales experience at Future Shop, and also a year of hospitality experience at Walt Disney World in Florida. So far, I've been applying to lab positions, technology sales positions, and also biotech/pharmaceutical sales positions, which would combine both my sales and science experience. Am I on the right track? Are there any other sorts of positions I should be considering based on my experience?

Also, any advice on applying to jobs in the U.S.? How can I make myself stand out from the rest of the applicants, and advertise my Canadian citizenship without making it seem like a liability to potential employers? On sites like Monster.com, I'm forced to state that I'm not currently legally authorized to work in the United States, and I'm left feeling like employers may be discounting my application as soon as they see that.

Does anyone know of any companies or recruiting agencies in the Atlanta area that readily hire Canadians? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

It sounds like you're on F-1, and you cannot work in the jobs you're stating there as F-1. Work authorization is limited to 20 hours a week on-campus, have a read of the instructions for I-765, which you apply on to get employment authorization. Once you've completed the course of study you can get 12 months of full-time work authorization for "optional practical training", this can be extended by another 17 months if it's in the field of science or math.

Once piece of advice I can give you is don't move to metro Atlanta or Fulton county, unless you enjoy taxes, stupid ordinances and over-zealous police. Think Gwinnett, Clayton, DeKalb or Cobb counties.

Thanks for your reply, Steven!

I think maybe I didn't communicate myself clearly. Currently I don't have any work or student visa at all. I received my undergraduate degree in Canada, at McMaster University in 2007. I'm in the U.S. currently, staying with my fiancee for a few months while I look for a job or try to get into a school, but that's about it. Once my 6 months are up, if I don't have a job or am able to get into school, I'll have to go back to canada, which would really suck. I know that if I do get a work visa, I'll have to do a touchback trip, or else the government will accuse me of entering the country with intent to immigrate. I guess if I don't get into school, my best option would be to get a TN visa, right? And for that, I'd pretty much need to have a job already lined up, correct?

As far as where to live, well, there's not a whole lot of choice there. My fiancee already has a loft right in midtown, where I've been staying with her for the last month or so. Actually, I really like it so far, and we can't really consider selling in this market, so we're here for a while.

Thanks again for your reply! If you have any other advice or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Here's a link to the local Canadian group! You may be able to network with them in your search. They organize hockey games, Canada Day parties and other get-togethers for Canucks in the Atlanta area.

http://www.atlcanadians.com/

Here's a link to the local Canadian group! You may be able to network with them in your search. They organize hockey games, Canada Day parties and other get-togethers for Canucks in the Atlanta area.

I actually just found and joined that site last week! I found it before I found this one, actually. I'm probably going to start going to their events and such, both to network and to hang out with fellow canadians, but their forum doesn't seem to be very active at the moment.

I guess if I don't get into school, my best option would be to get a TN visa, right? And for that, I'd pretty much need to have a job already lined up, correct?

The TN is the easiest to get since you can get it at any POE, but yes, you need a job lined up (and in this economy, that might be tough depending on where you are and what kind of job you qualify for). Since you are marrying a US citizen, your best bet is to get married and apply for a green card through your spouse.

TNs are not available for retail sales positions, so that's out. Your degree in biochemistry would be your best option for a job search, but how much call there is for biochemists in Atlanta is anyone's guess. Given the current economy, (14% unemployment in my county in western North Carolina now!) finding a job isn't going to be easy.

I'd suggest if the plan is to get married, do it now and apply for AOS. That will open up your job search considerably once you get your EAD, as you won't be limited to the NAFTA list.

for info on marriage based immigration see http://www.visajourney.com

Here's a link to the local Canadian group! You may be able to network with them in your search. They organize hockey games, Canada Day parties and other get-togethers for Canucks in the Atlanta area.

I actually just found and joined that site last week! I found it before I found this one, actually. I'm probably going to start going to their events and such, both to network and to hang out with fellow canadians, but their forum doesn't seem to be very active at the moment.

Here's another link for you to check out, the page here shows groups across the US for Canadians, including some other ones in Georgia.

http://www.connect2canada.com/connect-lien/expat-expatrie/

TNs are not available for retail sales positions, so that's out. Your degree in biochemistry would be your best option for a job search, but how much call there is for biochemists in Atlanta is anyone's guess. Given the current economy, (14% unemployment in my county in western North Carolina now!) finding a job isn't going to be easy.

I'd suggest if the plan is to get married, do it now and apply for AOS. That will open up your job search considerably once you get your EAD, as you won't be limited to the NAFTA list.

Thanks for the information. I was pretty sure that retail sales did not qualify for TN visas. What about a business to business sales position? ie. Inside or Outside sales.

As far as getting married, I know that's an option, but right now it's kind of a last resort. We'd really like to do a proper wedding on our own terms and timeline if at all possible, so right now, the working option is to find someone to sponsor me for a work visa, so any information or suggestions relating to that would be useful.

Thanks again, you've all been really helpful so far.

-- Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:30 pm --

Here's another link for you to check out, the page here shows groups across the US for Canadians, including some other ones in Georgia.

Thanks! I hadn't found that one yet. I'll definitely give it a shot.

I received my undergraduate degree in Canada, at McMaster University in 2007. I'm in the U.S. currently, staying with my fiancee for a few months while I look for a job or try to get into a school, but that's about it. Once my 6 months are up, if I don't have a job or am able to get into school, I'll have to go back to canada, which would really suck.

Get married, apply for AOS. Any other option is just a mountain of paperwork and an enormous PITA.