TN status is both a blessing and a curse. It hasn't been updated in forever even during the USMCA negotiations it was left as is.
Pros:
- Uncapped
- Applications can be done at the US-Canadian border without an appointment if you're a Canadian citizen
- Lasts 3 years. Unlimited renewals (in theory).
Cons:
- Spouse does not get work authorization. What!? The US-Australian (E-3) visa allows this.
- CBP are really poor adjudicators of whether someone meets the requirements for the status
- Jobs list hasn't been updated in forever. Programmers are denied but Software Engineers are accepted (wth?). Having a Bachelor's of Science in Comp Sci can cause issues because it's not a Engineering degree. Really weird and arbitrary decision making by CBP all over Reddit and immigration message boards.
- Technically a single intent non-immmigrant visa but you can still apply for a Green Card on it anyway. Make it dual-intent already...
You might ask why I posted this to HN. You know how many programmers cross the Canadian border everyday from Windsor to work at Detroit area companies?
This particular tussle is a spat with a union over wages. So the hospital has hired Canadians at what is a higher wage for them but less than the hospital has to pay unionized workers.
But what is to stop the current or a future administration from using this law to block programmers from crossing the border?
I think living in one country and working in another is a blind spot not envisioned in the treaty. Someone who is from country A but both lives and works in country B has much less risk from encountering a grumpy border agent.
I've known TN visa holders that always flew instead of drove because of the belief that the American border agents at the airports were an order of magnitude more professional than those at the physical border crossings (this is probably true).
On the other hand, I have an extended family member that used to run a staffing firm for highly-skilled manufacturing technicians (not sure the exact job titles) in Detroit/Windsor. He had dozens of people crossing the border in both directions every single day and never heard of any issues with visa questions.
Does anyone work for a company in another country remotely? I'm not talking those who permanently travel, but say, a Canadian working remotely for a US firm. What happens there, pay income taxes twice?
I did this as a Canadian in Canada, and now I live in Taiwan and still work for a US company. I pay tax to whatever country I was physically present in while doing the work.
There was one year I spent 3 months in California and 9 in Canada so I filed multiple tax returns. Kinda like what a football player does, but less cool :P
We're a US company with a single Canadian client and a Canadian on-site rep. He has his own entirely separate payroll system for the Canadian side and gets Ontario taxes taken out.
Sending equipment across the border does get to be an interesting logistics challenge, though. Easier to just expense it and have him spec local.
Pros:
- Uncapped
- Applications can be done at the US-Canadian border without an appointment if you're a Canadian citizen
- Lasts 3 years. Unlimited renewals (in theory).
Cons:
- Spouse does not get work authorization. What!? The US-Australian (E-3) visa allows this.
- CBP are really poor adjudicators of whether someone meets the requirements for the status
- Jobs list hasn't been updated in forever. Programmers are denied but Software Engineers are accepted (wth?). Having a Bachelor's of Science in Comp Sci can cause issues because it's not a Engineering degree. Really weird and arbitrary decision making by CBP all over Reddit and immigration message boards.
- Technically a single intent non-immmigrant visa but you can still apply for a Green Card on it anyway. Make it dual-intent already...