Switching from TD to H1 visa

Hi,

I have a job offer from US to which I will be applying for TN. Unfortunately, for my wife, also a canadian citizen, who is a certified elementary school teacher in Ontario ( and has certification from MA, USA), TN is not an option as such a job category is excluded from TN list. I am very new on this immigration matter. Should she get a job for a non-profit organization or a school board (not even sure if she can apply) in San Jose area, can she as an spouse of a TN holder, apply for H1 visa category? Or is this a big no no. This is vital in making a decision for me to move to US.

Thanks.
Ednap

She can apply, but she cannot look for work while in the US as TD. Bit of a legally awkward situation. She can certainly set up a job interview and enter the US to go to the job interview, but she can't look for work while in a category that is not work authorized.

If she enters with you as TD and then receives a job offer and the employer is willing to do all the paperwork, they can file for change of status on I-129. H-1B is subject to a quota but it hasn't been filled yet, but I suspect it will be shortly. There is also a 90-day limit before doing a change of status, but that can be circumvented by re-entering when she gets the I-797.

She can apply for a cap-exempt H1B as long as the school district has an affiliation with a University (i.e.,a non-profit organization) which they pretty much all do so that they can mentor student teachers. My friend is a Canadian and she is working as a teacher (as a speech therapist - in the states they are considered teachers) in Newport Beach, CA. She has a cap-exempt H1B meaning that she can apply anytime of the year and once it is processed, start work right away. You will need a good lawyer capable of handling this - most school districts can recommend a person they work with and this lawyer will be experienced in doing it this way.It will take 3-4 months after she gets an official job offer to process it. I don't know how it works if she first goes down there with a TD and then wants to switch. There are major hiring freezes going on in all school districts however, (except in special education and speech therapy), so it may be tricky. Now is the time of year where they are gearing up for their job fairs and doing interviews so it is prime time to investigate. Every school district has their salary schedule on their website so you can see how much she would make.