Relocating to Chicagoland

Hi All. I am gland I have stumbled upon this site whoise content is helping my family and I deciding whether to move to the US or remain in Canada.

I am employed and currently making above 80k and our combined is close to 115K Canadian. I have a job offfer in the USA that pays in the early 90's USD and the employer is willing to foot the bill for relocation expenses and sponsorship (TN, or H1B).

I need help with the following:

What tax bracked will I fall under in Chicago Illinois?

Will my Kids lose Canadian child Tax benefits if we all move to the USA?

Pros and Cons. Chicago VS Toronto.

Please help

No idea what the rates are in Chicago but Illinois is not known for it's low tax rates. I assume it's the Illinois rate but Chicago probably has various other indirect taxes like a higher sales tax.

But yes if you move your tax home to the US (i.e. file as a resident) then you lose all your Canadian tax benefits obviously and because they're foreign-born they don't qualify for the US child tax credit either.

I guess from your response there is little advantage comparatively between the two (Chicago and Toronto or Illinois and Ontario). I was hoping to settle eventually in the USA to give my kids the possibility to enjoy both worlds without any immigration restrictions (Visa requirements, work permits, etc.. etc). I know that there is federal and state taxes as well as sales taxes involved. In addition to property taxes, basic goverment services, health care, child care and education costs that need to be considered to to compare the two cities, province and state and make an educated decision eventually.

Is there anyone in this board who can give me that kind of info?

Thank you all

Your kids wouldn't benefit from being in a non-immigrant category like H-4 or TD, those categories are similar to the visitor category except they can attend school and stay in the country until your status expires.

It's a fairly common problem mentioned on here, i.e. when the kids grow up they have no status in the US. Obviously if you got an employer who sponsored you for LPR status and you qualify for it, then your dependents could get it too.

Most of your questions can be answered by a quick Google search I imagine. Off hand, I don't think we have any members of the forum who live in or near Chicago to give you first hand experience.

And I will second Steven's caveat, and add another. US schools typically score lower than Canadian schools in quite a lot of subjects. Add that to the fact that once they've "aged out" and have NO status in the US that will allow them to remain, IMO FWIW, moving to the US on TN (precarious these days to say the least) or H status with children really is no benefit to the kids whatsoever. Other than the novelty of it.

What ages are your kids?

Thanks for the quick reply. 3 month and 7 years.

hi,
If you want to stay in States longer, it's wise to get Green Card of course,your kids can go to school and graduate high school,no problem, in case of college or university however it's much cheaper obtain GC(international students pay lots more), but what I know, place of residence is important.Getting of GC is not easy.
If you get insurance from your employer,your family gets it too.
Living in Chicago/suburbs is quite nice and much much cheaper than Ontario.Right now many opportunities for home buyers.You can buy insurance from Blue Shield if employer doesn't provide it. In my modest opinion Health care is better in States.
good luck and nice living down there

Thank you Pastan. The employer is actually willing to sponsor me for LPR and pay all relocation related costs. Will possibly stay in Schaumburg Il. Planning to rent in the first year or so and eventually buy once my family joins me. The first year will be tough on my family but hopefully things could work out well if the GC application is approved.

Not sure if I should start on a TN or H1 and file for GC right away once in the States.

I don't know about TN visas,but for H1 they have quotas,If you get H1, process of getting PR Card is quite long (You can't start upgrading immigration status right away I think). I have a few friends,they obtained GC in 5-7 years,but it can be faster.My case was harder,and I quit process and relocated to ON after few years. One more thing, H1 visa - you have to work for one employer,if you change employer you have to renew visa ,I don't know about any troubles in case if you do it in the middle of the immigration process.

You cannot directly adjust status to permanent resident (green card) from a TN though. TN is not dual intent, it is temporary.

H1B, though they have not reached their quotas this year (I don't think), you still would not be able to start your new job until October.

Employer sponsorship for permanent residency is currently taking more than 5 years, and if during that time you get laid off, you have to leave the country, and abandon your PR application.