Making under $10,000 ... ?

Hey everyone,

I'm sure I've read on here that if you're making under $10,000 on your work in the US, you don't need to have a visa, or you only need a certain visa. Can someone confirm this for me? I can't find anything on it.

Thanks!

Not sure where you read that, but that's definitely not true. Even some unpaid work (such as internships) require a work permit.

No that's not quite right, if you earn less than $10,000 in the US then you don't have to pay taxes on your earnings in the US, provided you are directly employed by a Canadian employer while you're doing the work.

In addition if you are being sent by a Canadian employer to do certain things that are listed in NAFTA you don't need work authorization.

So for example, say you work for and are sent by Canadian company X to install a piece of equipment at US company Z, and the Canadian company pays you (and ordinarily would pay you) less than $10,000 total during the year for doing that work then you don't have to file a US tax return or pay US taxes on that money. Nor do you need work authorization as installations are generally exempt under NAFTA, and you just go in as a regular B-1 visitor for business.

Do a web search on "B-1 NAFTA entry" and look up the specific regulations on what you can do without work authorization.