Quebec resident working on a TN in LA

cjacques
New Member



Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 3
Location: Montreal

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:51 pm

 

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Hello to all,

I am presently working for a canadian branch of an american company, in quebec. I am being offered to be transferred (same company)on the west coast.

My options are to either move to vancouver, stay 180+ days and remain a canadian resident, while working 3 month periods in the US, OR move to the US. From my understanding, a TN visa will be required for either case.

Questions:

Would I be able to remain employed from the canadian branch or will I have to be hired from the US branch? When applying for the TN visa, I will need to provide a letter from my employer, which will need to come from the US branch?

Where would income tax be paid?

What are the advantages/disadvantages staying a canadian resident?

I am doing a lot of reading, but this is all still a little confusing. Thanks for any help!

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:23 am

 

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If they're transfering you intra-company, why not look into the L1B? Much better visa IMO than the TN.
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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1592
Location: Calgary

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:49 am

 

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This thread deals with the tax issues: http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/new-tax-law-...anada-vt4773.html

If you use TN-1 then yes, the letter has to come from the US branch, but like Reba says, if you've worked for them for at least a year you should be able to do L-1B.

TN-1 requires you have a degree, experience and fit into one of the NAFTA categories, plus it's only valid for a year and has to be renewed annually (although there is a plan to extend it to three years).

L-1B simply requires you to have "specialized knowledge", which basically means knowledge about the inner workings of the company that someone outside the company would not have, e.g. knowledge of how to use a bespoke internal IT system. Valid for one year in the first instance, and two years after that, up to a maximum of five years.

The downside is that L-1B costs $820 and TN-1 costs $50.

One of my relatives got L-1B and he doesn't have a degree, he got it because he had some HR responsibilities with the company which were highly confidential.

The advantage of L-1B is that it is more flexible as the "specialized knowledge" can be quite broad, plus it's dual-intent, i.e. you can enter with the intent to change status to permanent residency at some point, if your employer sponsors you for it.
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Steve.

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