How do I find an employer in the US?

My family is located in the US and I visit very frequently. I would like to relocate. I have two questions. 1. Are there any employers that are willing to hire a Canadian?

I have a diverse skill set. Paralegal, adminstrative, marketing, some seo skills, blog author and media personality within a certain industry, which may require personal appearances and event hosting.

2. I am the creator of an internet social network in a specialized area of interest. Right now its my past time, but may be a source of income in the future. Event planning may be sponsored by retailers, and/or manufacturers. How can I attend and promote products in the US as a Canadian?

Help - I need to get into the US first and foremost, to be with my family and secondally to advance my career objectives.

Yours, CanAm...

What sort of family is it that you need to get to? What is their status in the US?

Do you have a university degree? What are your qualifications for all of those jobs mentioned? How many years experience do you have?

Whether or not you can find a job is not something anyone here can answer really. In this economy right now in the US, for citizens its more than just a bit difficult to find a job, so for immigrants I'd suggest it may be a bit harder. And to find a job in the US is pretty much the same as finding a job in Canada. Post your resume on all the job sites, monster.com, careerbuilder etc etc etc and see if anyone bites. You can also check the on-line version of the local newspaper for the city you want to move to. Or pick a company, find their website and send them your resume.

Bit vague, if you're a Canadian paralegal any legal qualifications you've got aren't worth much in the US because the legal system is completely different, so even if you have a degree it's unlikely anyone in the US would be interested in hiring you. The other skills you list don't sound degree-related or even if they were, anything that would get you work authorization in the US.

You can enter to promote products, go to conventions, have meetings with people and that sort of thing as a regular B-1 visitor for business, that's no problem.

You might qualify for family-based immigration, read this: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

Essentially it has to be a member of your immediate family, spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister. There are different categories depending on the relationship, spouse is the fastest (year or less), sibling is the slowest (decade or more). And for most categories they must be US citizens (and even for the other categories it's much faster if they are).

Thank you for responding. The family member is my daughter who intends to be naturalized this year. She's a permanent resident. I have 15 years experience, but no substantial degree other than the two year college degree. Im more concerned with the entering to promote products - "go to conventions, have meetings with people and that sort of thing as a regular B-1 visitor for business, that's no problem."

I do have a special area of interest - I don't mean to sound vague, but its very unique within this particular industry, developing a market sector thats been underdeveloped until me....

How would I go about applying for a B-1 visa, and how long does it take?

and how long would it be good for, and would I have to apply for one everytime I need to go to an event?

I think as a mother I'm an immediate relative? and I guess the only way to see about working in the US is applying for the jobs - do I just submit my resume like I would in Canada? and see if anyone bites?

If the employer wishes to hire me, can they do so?

thanks for all your help...

Canadians do not need to apply for B1/B2 status, that is the status we enter the US as a visitor, no visa required. You are only allowed to visit however for 6 months per year on B status, so that isn't an option if you're intending to stay indefinitely.

Yep, just submitt your resume. But if you don't have the univerisity degree or equivalent on the job experience according to the rules of NAFTA, then even if you can find an employer to hire you, you may not get the TN anyway.

See the link Steven posted about family sponsorship, and see the link in my signature for all the other info to point you to other websites with more in depth information you'll need.

How would I go about applying for a B-1 visa, and how long does it take?

There is no visa, it's just the regular visitor category, you show them your passport at the POE and that's pretty much it. They may ask for proof, so have a business card, correspondence handy etc.

B-1 for Canadians is pretty broad because of NAFTA, if you do a web search on "B-1 NAFTA" you'll get various websites that will list the regulations.

Parents of US citizens are classed as "immediate relatives" which means they're pretty much at the top of the heap behind spouses and minor children, so that should be relatively quick, probably under two years to get.

So basically when your daughter gets US citizenship she needs to file an I-130 petition to sponsor you.

Thank you so much for the information. So as long as I can support myself without working, I can stay for 6 months out of the year? thats ok...I can live with that until my daughter's sponsorship goes through..

thank you very much...

this is a very valuable site, and I've bookmarked it...thanks!

The sponsorship petition will take a couple of years actually, not just 6 months. And she can only petition for you after she has her citizenship completed, oath and everything. Has she sent in her naturalization application yet? Or is she just waiting on the swearing in ceremony?

Thank you so much for the information. So as long as I can support myself without working, I can stay for 6 months out of the year?

From a legal standpoint yes. They may get shirty with you if you stroll up and say you want to stay for six months because obviously they may think you intend to remain permanently. You have to be able to convince them of non-immigrant intent, but that basically boils down to who you get and what mood they're in. In one of the other threads we were discussing this topic because it seems that the older you are the less hassle they give you.

But for example you may stay for a couple of months at a time, leave and re-enter a few times, in which case I can't see it being a problem.

If the visa number from the I-130 comes up while you are in the US, you can apply for adjustment of status without leaving using I-485, so the address to put on the I-130 is your daughter's address I would guess.

If you do try and visit for a full six months and they get iffy about it, ask for an I-94 and ask for a six-month expiry date on the card. Usually helpful to have an I-94 if you plan on staying that long anyway as it can be useful for various things.