Canadian working for US non profit

I live in Canada and have been offered a job with an American non profit organization. I will be working from home in Canada as well in the US. I am not sure where to start with the paper work?

How often, and what will you be doing in the US? If you'll be still living in Canada and doing most of your work from there, you probably don't need a visa of any sort at all. You can go to the US for business meetings just on the regular B1/B2 Canadian visitor status.

I will be working for an Animal Organization. How much work I do in the US will depend on our projects. I will be paid in US funds. My base will be in Canada but the job will involve a lot of travel and work in a variety of places.

I will be working for an Animal Organization. How much work I do in the US will depend on our projects. I will be paid in US funds. My base will be in Canada but the job will involve a lot of travel and work in a variety of places.

If you're actually *working* in the US (as opposed to just attending meetings) a B-1 is not going to work for you. Working for a non-profit means that in most cases you would not qualify for a TN. You will probably have to get the organization to sponsor you for an H-1B.

However, keep in mind that H-1B visas take a long time to get. I hear that they are backed up and their annual allotment is full until 2010.

However, keep in mind that H-1B visas take a long time to get. I hear that they are backed up and their annual allotment is full until 2010.

I heard quite the opposite. They haven't filled the quota yet so they are still accepting applications as far as I know. My coworker got her H-1B in about a month.

However, keep in mind that H-1B visas take a long time to get. I hear that they are backed up and their annual allotment is full until 2010.

You heard wrong. There are still H1B's available. In late April, there were still @ 20,000 H1B's available with the cap set at 65,000. The most likely explanation is that there are fewer employers sponsoring because there are no jobs and thus H1B's are still obtainable. The April jobs report confirmed this showing another huge contraction in U.S. employment with 539,000 positions eliminated.

I live in Canada and have been offered a job with an American non profit organization. I will be working from home in Canada as well in the US. I am not sure where to start with the paper work?

If they're actually paying you and you're working for them in Canada you need to register as self-employed most likely, get a business number and invoice them. Otherwise they would need to have a business number and do Canadian payroll tax withholding which I assume is unlikely.

If you work for them in the US presumably they have their own payroll so you can go on that and get a W-2. Taxes have to be paid proportionally so taxes are withheld on your earnings while in the US and you withhold the Canadian taxes on your earnings while in Canada and you file a T1 in Canada and a 1040NR in the US.

Whether or not you can actually legally engage in work in the US is another question, people above have mentioned H-1B but that category is for people who have a degree (or enough experience to equate to a degree, usually a minimum of 12 years) and the job must require that degree of education. Plus it's not a casual process for your employer to sponsor you for H-1B.

Do a web search for "B-1 NAFTA entry", this will give you the regs for what you can do as a business visitor in the US, which may be sufficient. Or you might be able to work around it if you see what the legalities of it are.

So ... if I understand this correctly. I need to apply for a B-1. I should become self employed - get a business number and invoice them for time worked. When in the US, I am only there for meetings. They can hire me as a contractor and pay me in US funds? Is there a time limit with a B-1? If so, is it common to reapply and be successful?
Within two years I will be moving to the US and marrying an American. I will remain Canadian - my family is here and I am proud to be Canadian. Will I be able to work with a B-1 until I move and change things then?

I really appreciate everyone's help with this ... thank you so much!

You have to be very careful here. One of the criteria for B1 is that the compensation must necessarily evolve from sources outside of the United States. You must show ties to Canada during B1 Status and you must show no intent of abandoning your Canadian residence. The initial duration of B1 is for a one-year period maximum. There are many grey areas as well as to what constitutes permissible and non-permissible activities.

You would have to be careful as well displaying explicit immigrant intent, i.e. marriage to an American a few years following your status on an non-immigrant status such as B1 which by definition implies you have no such intent of immigrating.