Is TN qualify for Unemployment Insurance?

[syavash]

AXOLOTL:
THANKS.
two layers told me i will be out of status but thats different from being here illegal! i know my employer has notified immigration. they did a number on me. they lured me to leave my previous job --who was applying for my greencard --and promissed me to apply for greencard themselves.
they did it very late. so after working a year there they just applied for labour department certificate. when i was laid off they had to pull out the application.

i worked in california.

it looks like i lost a lot of money even the UI. i wopnder how the hech the EDD did not tell me if I go back UI get my UI. they just told me I am not eligible for 2 reasons: 1- i worked here illegally --they said h1-b is work via not work authorization !!!
2- i AM NOT ELIGIBLE TO WORK.
THATS WGHY I APPREALED! BUT MY COURT IS NEXT WEEK , 5 MONTHS AFTER I WAS LAID OFF!

[Steven]

two layers told me i will be out of status but thats different from being here illegal!

If you have no status, you're there illegally. It takes awhile for the notification from your employer to hit the USCIS system which is why some lawyers say you're okay for awhile but legally speaking as soon as you're laid off you have to leave (or change status, too late now).

This is why you have to apply for EI in Canada, because you're no longer available for work in the US.

[syavash]

The Agreement Respecting Unemployment Insurance was written half a century before NAFTA and TN-1 visas. It applies to all Canadian Citizens who have legally worked in the US and are now back in Canada, regardless of what visa they were on. The same applies to Americans who have legally worked in Canada and go back to the US.

jr_van:
how can I get a copy of this agreement? anywhere online? I need to show it at m,y appeal! I appreciate that. what is the exact title "code" of this agreement. California UI booklet has no indication of this agreement. Thanks you

-- Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:49 pm --

OK
I went to appeal! There was only a judge there who also represented EDD!!!!
Any way the judge tried to ignore the trade agreement between US and Canada. But when I said I am sure there is an agreement he said we pay some canadiands but not nercessarily you or every one. I even asked if i go to canada i will get UI he said no.

Now is there anyway i can go to canada and get UI even when this appeal was denied?

is there a time condition? i lost my job on february 25!

i appreciate any knowl;edge able comment.
how can i call UI canada from States?
to check with them!

[JR_VAN]

Sorry,

I have not been on this forum for a while.

The main thing is that if you were on a temporary work visa in the US, you cannot collect UI while you are in the US. The reason for it is that as part of UI, you are required to be looking for work. But you are not allowed to work in the US, so that would be impossible to do while you are in the US. As a Canadian Citizen, you are entitled to work in Canada. Therefore, you can look for work in Canada, and the treaty entitles you to receive US benefits while you are in Canada, just like an American would get it in the US.

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/l ... ndum.shtml

When and if you go back to Canada, try filing a claim on the phone directly with the State. If they do not let you do it, call service canada, they have a special office that handles claims with the US. They should be able to intercede for you if the state denies you benefits:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/i ... nada.shtml

To file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits, you must contact the Telephone Information Service or go to your Service Canada Centre, you will be asked to give your name, address, phone number, Social Insurance Number (SIN) and Social Security Number (SSN) along with the name of the State from which you want to claim benefits. Depending on the State in which you last worked you may be able to file a claim directly with the State via the Internet or by phone. If the State does not accept claims via the Internet or by phone, information will be forwarded to a designated office responsible for handling such claims based on where you reside in Canada. You may also contact the designated Service Canada Centre directly.

You must provide proof that your employment in the United States was authorized as per American immigration regulations and that you are available for and actively seeking work in Canada. If you are not a Canadian resident you will be asked for proof that you are authorized to work in Canada.

Having said that, try filing directly with the state, speaking with supervisors, and the like, before getting Sevice Canada involved. Mention to them that it was originally denied because you were in the US, but now that you are in Canada, you have fixed the reason why it was denied. California EDD knows the treaty, and it will pay you once you get back to Canada. Although the US has a history of not honouring its treaties (just look at TN-1 visas and NAFTA), our UI treaty has been honoured quite well so far, but you have to come back to Canada for the treaty to apply.

[syavash]

Jr-Van
Thank you.
I was laid off in February 25, 2009. Is there a time limit that I have to file from canada? is it already too late?
any phone number from UI canada that I can call from usa, discuss it with them, before leaving USA?
Thank you

[spuug]

I think I would apply for US UI while you are still in the states and use your Canadian address where you will be staying. If not you can just do it over the phone with EDD when you arrive back in Canada.

I don't think there is a particular time limit for US UI eligibility. A friend applied 9 months after he got laid off and he is in the process of getting his UI.

[michoujordan76]

Hi! Does anybody know if Canada reports back to the US if you've starting working in Canada again?

[Steven]

I doubt it's even clear that you're claiming UI in the US in the first place.

I guess it depends on the tax situation as to who and whether they get wind of it. Payments to non-resident aliens have to be made on 1042-S and you have to report that with your T1, so I suspect the CRA is supposed to do something about it if you're receiving UI and have a T4 covering the same period but it's so obscure I doubt they do anything. If you ever get audited and they want to know where that foreign income came from and why you got it, then you could be in trouble if you haven't informed the unemployment office in the US. The CRA would probably be obligated to report it to them under the treaty at that point and you would owe the money back. The 1042-S would have the unemployment office address on it, so you couldn't hide the source of the income. You might be able to say you lost the slip but all of them? If you're getting regular payments the CRA will want to know from who at some point and it's just not plausible that you've forgotten, your bank records would also show the source.