Visa Help! Canadian Citizen. TN or L1

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and I see a lot of people here getting good help regarding visa woes. I'm 22 and a Canadian Citizen who has lived in Hong Kong most of his life, except for 2 odd years and another 4 years in University. I have family living in Canada though.

I have a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in finance with a minor(or its called a "concentration") in accounting. I'm hoping to get a in a hedgefund hopefully as a hedge fund analyst in the US.

here are some things i've read that i have questions about:


1. Do finance jobs such as working at hedgefunds count under TN-1?

2. What category do I/would i fit under?
Does accounting work? Some people said it would since finance is under accounting, does having a MINOR in accounting make me eligible?

A friend told me I need to take a minimum amount of accounting classes, ie. 8 accounting and 8 general business. I clearly have the 8 general business being a business major, and i took 8 accounting classes (2 though were mandatory for all students) would that count towards the 8 though?

3. Will me living out of Canada and even currently working in Hong Kong make it a problem?

I have around 7-8 months of work experience in finance from Hong Kong + another 4 months of finance summer internship in Hong Kong as well. I read somewhere that someone got denied for not having enough experience in finance, but my 7-8 months experience is as a trader, and not as an analyst.

4. Finally, this fund is unique in that it has offices in Hong Kong, Canada, London and the US. Am I eligible for an L-1 Visa if I either get hired in HK or Canada and then apply as a transfer employee. I read online that I have to work at least a year though in the subsidiary outside Canada so that seems like it might be a problem : /.

I need help desperately with this and I thank everyone ahead of time. I need to move to North America for jobs and this is my only realistic opportunity since most American companies wont even accept non-americans right now with the terrible economy since they would also have to apply for visas etc. Hoping to move there since my canadian gf is doing school in the US, although she also has American citizenship from being born there but im not looking to get married for a green card just yet .


Thanks a lot!

-- Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:35 am --

Side Note: I see a lot of people talking about the border crossing process, is it recommended to cross the border by car as compared to doing immigration at the airport? Thanks

1. Has to fit into a NAFTA job category, read 8 CFR 214.6 for the list of NAFTA occupations.

2. They only look at the degree, how many classes you've taken etc. doesn't matter, it's what qualification you got as a result that matters. So if you're going in as an accountant for example, they want to see degrees relevant to being an accountant, as described in 8 CFR 214.6

3. No. All that matters is that you're a Canadian citizen.

4. You might qualify for L-1, the most typically used one is L-1B which requires "specialized knowledge" which doesn't mean a degree, it means bespoke knowledge about how that company works someone off the street wouldn't have. But yes, you must have worked for a year at least for that company outside the US to qualify for it.

Where you enter the US isn't that important but bear in mind as a Canadian citizen the procedure is virtually unique, for example as a visitor you are not required to fill in an I-94. You do not require a visa for most non-immigrant categories, just the approved USCIS paperwork. For example for L-1 you would need the approved I-129 and/or I-797. For TN-1 you would need the job letter, proof of your qualifications etc. The application is made at the POE not through the embassy.

It may make sense to enter through Canada so if you have a problem with the paperwork you don't have to return all the way to Hong Kong.

Bear in mind having a US citizen as a girlfriend may indicate to the inspecting officer you do not have non-immigrant intent.

Thanks a lot Steve! I appreciate your helpful input.

1. I was wondering because my friend's girlfriend is going through a similar situation but she's taking a diploma in accounting. Does my concentration in accounting count for an accounting degree though?

2. Furthermore, if I'm going to be working their as a hedgefund analyst, could I fit under financial analyst since I WILL be studying financial statements and writing reports about companies based on these figures etc.

3. So I guess I shouldn't even mention having a gf at all then huh? Thanks a lot!

CBP basically are going to look at what it says on your degree, if it sounds like accounting, then they might accept it as accounting.

There's no NAFTA category for financial analyst, not sure what you're on about there. There was a guy on here awhile ago who went in as a mathematician to work for a hedge fund, but that was what he was doing, coming up with formulae to predict financial events.