Canadian working remotely from Canada for US company

I'm self employed (sole proprietor) living in Canada as a Canadian citizen working remotely for US company via vpn. I get paid 1099 no taxes withheld. I travel to the US a couple of times a year for meetings. Recently, I was denied entry at customs and was told that I needed a visa to enter the US. When asked what my purpose was, I told them that I was going to attend a meeting with my client.

Question:

1) Do I need a visa? If so, what type?

2) I'm not an employee. Do i need a visa?

3) Does the wage listed in the letter of offer matter to the customs officer?

4) is it better to show a lower wage on the letter or is it relevant at all?

5) would you recommend speaking to an immigration lawyer?

Any information would be helpful.

These would have been good questions for the border officer. What "visa" did he suggest?

You were requesting entry on B1 business visitor status (like 1000's of other businesspersons were doing that day), and certainly merely attending a meeting (since you are a contractor and not an employee) is certainly permitted.

What kind of "Letter" are you proposing to write? a TN letter? You don't need a TN, thuis wages are immaterial to this proposed "letter".

If anything, your US client, on their letterhead, can write a letter to CBP which you will carry, explaining the purpose and duration of your trip, and the fact that you not their employee and that you reside in canada. You will still be requesting entry on B1 status, not any other "visa" .

That said, you *can* have your client write you a TN letter, but you need to be doing work that is covered by TN (that would cover what you normally do for them, not simply attending this meeting), and you need to be qualified for TN (you didn't say what kind of work you do). If such a letter were to be prepared, with a description of remuneration, then why on earth would you think it wise to write anything other than a truthful and accurate statement??

In any event, it sounds more like you got a grumpy officer. I would have pressed this up to the supervisor. The fact he used the word "visa" would seem to indicate that he was more intersted in scaring you off than properly doing his job (Cdns never get visas, they enter in a status). I guess it worked. It wouldn't be a bad idea to run this by a US immig lawyer familiar with NAFTA entry.

I have a related personal and company tax question.

What are the tax and visa implications if you are a Canadian living in Canada and working for a U.S. based company as a (full-time employee) and paid in USD?

Do you have to personally file taxes in 2 countries and pay taxes twice? Would the annual taxable amount be more? i.e. on 2 countries? Or would it be for the higher country but filed twice?

Are there Canadian exemptions. Also, do I need a U.S. work visa if I physically work out of Canada or another country?

Or it is better to set up my own LLC and sub-contract to them direct?PLEASE HELP!

As long as they are paying you as if you live in canada (Cdn and prov tax withheld, EI and CPP), you have nothing to file in US.

If however, they are paying you as if you lived somewhere in US, both you and the employer have aproblem.

Follow this up on forums.serbinski.com.

Sorry to butt in, but my queries are along the same line.

I've been reading the great advice that has been dispensed by angelson and steven about Canadians working remotely for US firms. I am new to the forum and very new to the regulations and responsibilities governing working in the US. There is a possibility that I might be asked to do some consultancy work for a US company which will be mostly remote (from Canada) but involving some travel to Africa. So before my potential employer freaks out thinking he might have to sponsor a visa I would like to reassure him that he does not. I want to make sure that I know what I am talking about when the time comes; so would be glad for corrections to the statements below.

Reading these forums it is my understanding that a Canadian consultant working remotely for a short duration is the equivalent of a contractor in that both categories do not qualify as being employees of the company. It is also my understanding that as a consultant working remotely one is self-employed and therefore wouldn't need to fill out a W-2(what kind of paperwork does establishing self-employment entail ?).It would be great if to get paid in CDN $ with money being deposited into a CDN bank account but if paid in US $ then one has to fill out a 1040 NR and a 8833 and have the company fill out a 8233 (or do you have to do this regardless of the currency?). This establishes that taxes are being paid in Canada,where the person is working out of, instead of in the US. Furthermore, in the case of travel to the US for presentations or meetings one can get a B1 visa at the POE (is this true only for land crossings or at airports as well?). Please point out inaccuracies,if any, in the above statements.

Have regulations changed recently vis-a-vis the above the procedures? How do things change is the company pays in USD deposited into a US Bank account?
Also, if you are self-employed you don't have to worry about things like 0% GST--that's only if you have a corporation and work as a contractor?

Thanks in advance!

I didn't really read thru your missive, but remember that it is neither the currency nor the bank account in which your remuneration are paid to which determines (a) whether you are a contractor or (b) whether you are taxable in US.
the money is ALL US-sourced.