moving from canadian office down to US office same company

i am currently working for a canadian company at the canadian office and will be moving down to the US office under TN status, doing the same work.

my current title is Software Engineer (has been for last 3 years with this company.) My question is, in my TN employement letter should my company say that i will be a Computer Systems Analyst or a Software Engineer?

the work that i do is very much that of a Computer Systems Analyst under the USCIS description (i'm not simply a programmer) but would it not be suspicious to the border officer if i all of a sudden change my title to Computer Systems Analyst after being a Software Engineer when i'm going to do the same work i've done for the last 3 years? i guess if asked i could say i was a Computer Systems Analyst all along but i prefer to be honest here if i can (and no one really calls themselves that anymore these days )

seems like its just all semantics but maybe the USCIS takes semantics quite seriously. would they even let anyone in under Softare Engineer (i don't have an engineering degree)

How long do they plan to keep you down there? Maybe an L1B inter-company transfer would be a better option?

Although the L1 might be the way to go, I wouldn't wory too much about your NAFTA title being different than your past title.

I got my TN as a Scientific Technologist and the three previous titles on my resume were: Ventilation Technician, Underground Surveyor and Engineering Technologist.

The offer letter said I was going to be working as a Sci Tech (although my actual title on site here is Project Engineer), and I had two letters (from previous co-workers/supervisors) stating that I had worked in the capacity of a Sci Tech in the appropriate field (I was required to show relivent experience).

Having said that your employment letter must state the NAFTA job title, even if the title within your company is going to be different, but that may be something you may not want to share at the border.

i was also thinking L1 would make sense but it is more difficult to apply for in that it costs more, requires more time and effort on the part of my employer, might require my employer to consult with lawyers regarding the application process and takes more time for the application to be approved by the USCIC (whereas TN is instantaneous and cheap)

They must have changed the L1 process then. When I got mine years ago, it was same day application and approval at the airport POE, same as TN.

i was also thinking L1 would make sense but it is more difficult to apply for in that it costs more, requires more time and effort on the part of my employer, might require my employer to consult with lawyers regarding the application process and takes more time for the application to be approved by the USCIC (whereas TN is instantaneous and cheap)

L-1B is the way to go, for Canadian citizens you can apply at the POE (unless something has changed but I don't think it has). Less paperwork and the paperwork is usually simpler, it just costs more ($820). It's going to be a lot easier to show you are a skilled person working for the Canadian office rather than arguing about semantics to do with programmer vs. analyst, and a programmer is not an analyst anyway so you would have problems with TN-1.

"Software engineer" is a big red flag to any experienced USCIS officer because the Indian software companies bring them in by the truckload on L-1B. If they've dealt with applications before they're going to know an analyst is not a software engineer.

The only real snag is if you plan on staying longer than the five-year L-1B limit, but you can always try for TN-1 after that.

In addition L-1B is dual-intent, so if they want to sponsor you for PR status or you want to get hitched to an American, it's much simpler.

I totally agree to the past post the L1b is the way to go. If you are supervising supervisors or professional you could apply for an L1A. The advantage 7 year limitation and the possibility to apply for PR without the Labor cert and visa numbers are immediately available for you. Therefore no backlog for the PR which you should get in 12 to 18 months

after some digging on the USCIS website, i found out you guys are correct. Canadians can apply for an L-1 at the POE.

from the USCIS website:
"If the person is a Canadian citizen applying for admission as an L-1 under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the petition may be filed at the port of entry when the person applies for admission;"

the fees are the same though ($820 as mentioned above)

Thanks for the help!

another question, what is the process for applying for PR if you have a L-1? (specialized knowledge version, not management)

can i apply right after i get there? what's the procedure? how long does it take to get the PR status? does PR mean green card?

The company employing you has to apply on Form I-140, it usually requires labour certification: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/hiring/foreign.htm which basically is proof they can't find anyone else locally who is a US citizen or LPR to do the job.

You will probably fall into preference group EB-3 skilled worker, which takes about 3.5 years before your visa number comes up, so obviously the sooner they apply the better because doing the labour certification takes awhile and L-1B only lasts for five years.

You might be able to squeeze into EB-2 if your job requires a master's or doctorate and you have one (or you have some other quirky requirement in your job that is pretty tough to get). That's quicker.

PR status means green card, although they're currently an off-beige sort of colour!

Beware of the tax issues: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p151/README.html