Getting Your Work Visa (Information supplied on this topic is from experience only, and in no way reflects policies, regulations, or laws from either Canada, USA, Manitoba, or Minnesota.

General:
Getting your work visa can be one of three things: A very simple straight-forward process (TN visa), a two to three month process (H1 visa), or a 4 to 5 year process (Green Card). I will assume you want the simple straight-forward process. The question becomes one of eligibility. In a nut-shell, if you are a professional with a 4 year bachelor degree, your job is one of those listed on the Qualifying TN Professions, and you have a job offer on company letterhead, your best bet is to get what is called a TN-1 visa. If you have a degree, but your profession is not listed on this list, you may have to consider the H1-B visa.

For those of you who have a specific question for the INS, the Pembina North Dakota DIRECT number is 701-825-6722.  Expect busy signals.  Once the phone actually rings, an INS official will answer.  Remember, these guys/girls are on the phone ALL day, so be polite, and have your specific question well thought out.  If you were planning on having a detailed conversation with him/her, do not call.  Instead, ask for his/her name, when they are on shift at the Pembina location, and make the one hour trip to the POE (Point of Entry) station.   People that I have dealt with were always friendly, polite, knowledgeable, and patient. 

INS border officers will not provide guarantees on any particular visa situation when asking over the phone, or in person.  They can only make such an evaluation when applying for the visa itself.   Do NOT ask the INS official to break the rules (which are, by the way, immigration LAWS).  In other words, if you are trying to get a TN visa as a SYSTEMS ANALYST and you have a 1 year "certificate", or Novell Certification, or MS Certification and 5 years experience, there is a 100% chance you will NOT be granted a TN visa.  The same with having a 2 year diploma and 2.5 years experience - again - look carefully at the requirements (shown at the end of the page).  If you meet the requirements, you will be granted a visa.  If you are "borderline", or your definition of experience differs from theirs, then you might have a problem. 

I get e-mails from people daily stating that they want to move to the USA "really badly", but simply put, will not be granted a visa based on either education requirements, or work experience requirements.  Getting a work visa (TN visa specifically) is not like trying to convince an employer that you are really good at what you do.  It is a process that tries to determine whether you meet a set of criteria which is part of immigration law.  (Interpretation of such immigration laws is the very reason we have immigration Attorneys!).  If you feel, or are unsure if you will obtain such a visa, post your question to a very well know immigration website:  Joseph Grasmick's Immigration Forum.  This forum is monitored by Joe himself (an immigration lawyer) as well as many other knowledgeable people.  Do not expect free specific legal advise.  However, most answers posted here are accurate and correct.

If you are not sure if you would qualify for a TN visa, or would like to explore obtaining a different visa (such as the H1-B visa), I can recommend the following immigration lawyer. Do not call him for free advise. However, his rates are reasonable. He works just outside of the Minneapolis area:

TN visas are once again being issued to nurses for a full 1 year.  For a short period, they were only being granted for 6 months at a time.  As far as I know, 6 month restrictions are still be placed on physiotherapists, and other medical fields. 

TN-1 Visas:
A listing of jobs that qualify for TN-1 visas can be found below. You may also want to check out some NAFTA notes found at The Law Offices of Joseph C. Grasmick's WEB site. It contains some very clear information. The TN-1 Visa is obtained right at the border crossing. If you meet this criteria, there is no need to travel to the border in advance of your actual move to the USA. In fact, they will not issue TN-1 visas any earlier than 2 weeks prior to you starting work. You do NOT need a lawyer to do any work for you if you are getting a TN-1 visa. Both Brenda and myself currently reside in Minneapolis on TN-1 visas. You may elect to travel down to the Emerson border crossing a week or two before you are actually scheduled to move. When one refers to getting a TN-1 visa, you actually receive a document labeled an "I-94". On this I-94 card (sample shown below), they will stamp your arrival to the USA (current date), and mark "class: TN", with an expiry date 364 days forward. On the reverse of this card, it will list the authorized place of employment. This card is normally stapled to a page within your Canadian passport.

The actual NAFTA document (for TN's and TD's) is available online at the INS WEB site

I have received a few e-mails from people who otherwise would have been offered employment with a US-based firm, but instead were brushed off because such companies felt they had to deal with a "visa situation". If you, yourself, have determined that you qualify to obtain a TN-1 visa (simply check the table shown below), there really is no work involved for the employer. Your employer MUST be informed that you will be working for them on a temporary work visa though. A true statement to give to your potential employer could be:

"Due to my professional standing, no special visas are required for me for this position. I will require a standard offer letter stating the start date of the position, the position description, and the wage. The offer letter must also state that there are no current or anticipated labour disputes, and must state it is for a 1 year term."

The potential employer may question the part about the "1 year term", but simply reply that you must obtain a new I-94 entry card once per year, and will require a new letter once per year. The position itself can be permanent, but the employment offering on a TN visa can only be in one year increments. You will be able to work continuously for this firm, without work stoppage, etc. You will need to return to the Canada-USA border to get your new I-94 (showing "TN-1 status") before 365 days have past. Normally, most people from Minneapolis drive up to Pembina on a given weekend, get the new visa, and then go to Winnipeg for a weekend visit. Alternatively, you can renew your visa by mail.

Only the person obtaining the work visa may work.  Trade Dependant visas (TD) are issued to any other remaining family members (married spouses and children 21 years and under).  This entitles such dependants to reside in the USA for as long as the person working has a valid TN visa.  Under the current rules of NAFTA (chapter 16), trade dependants simply can NOT work in the USA.  Special "F" type visas may be granted to TD children of the TN parent(s) that are attending a university of college if such work is at the college.  Careful consideration should be made, and the questions asked:  Will my spouse want to work?  Are my kids approaching an age where they would want to work part-time after school?  A solution to this is to first obtain a TN visa, move to the USA, and they have your company sponsor you for a Green Card.  A Green Card, when obtained (expect to wait 2-4 years for processing!), is a family unit visa showing permanent residence - and allows all family members to freely seek employment while in the USA. Also note that the INS does NOT recognize a "common-law spouse". You will be asked to provide proof of marriage (marriage certificate) and birth certificates for children, or other official documents proving you are the legal guardians.

TN Checklist - Make sure you bring the following (for each person WORKING):

• Passport, or other primary identification (such as birth certificate) - no photocopies
• Offer of Employment (original, on company's letterhead).  Specific TN-1 details, and a sample letter found here!
  • Must be dated
  • Good idea to state "There are no current or anticipate labor disputes at..."
  • Must state your wage, and wage period (ie weekly, annually) including any possible bonuses, etc
  • Must state the employment offer is temporary, starting on start date and ending on end date. The total period can not exceed 1 year.
  • Start date must be within two weeks of your application for this TN-1 visa. (Different border INS officials seem to have different rules. Ours told us specifically "2 weeks". However, we have heard from other people that if it is raining outside, with a light west wind, this time frame can be 3, 2, or even 1 week)
  • Must state the position. This position MUST be exactly as one of the positions shown in the table of qualifying TN positions shown below. "Computer Systems Analyst" would qualify. "Computer Programmer" would NOT qualify. Make sure this is correct or the offer letter is useless.
  • It is a good idea for the letter to include a paragraph briefly describing your duties. These duties should coincide with the duties normally expected of that professional job. The INS uses something called DOT (Dictionary of Occupational Titles) descriptions for jobs. A short list of the most common jobs that are being used for TN visas are available at Grasmick.Com.
  • An optional letter, commonly called a "Letter of Support", addressed to US Immigration can be helpful to describe the exact duties of your position, if such duties are not clearly described in your Offer of Employment. This letter would be written by the employer. If the position you will be working in is clearly defined in the offer letter, this optional letter is not normally needed.
• $56.00 U$D (cash) per TN visa (price subject to change) who is working
• Proof of education and qualifications (original degree certificate, and/or original college/university transcript). I highly recommend having your transcript available.
• Any other requirements, dependant on position shown in TN-1 table below.
• IMPORTANT: Remember, if you are applying for a TN visa, your intentions on residing in the USA are temporary. A common question asked by an INS official at the border might be "What are you planning on doing after your 1 year TN visa runs out?" - The correct answer is "Return to Canada, unless the company offers to extend the position after the 1 year has passed.". If you reply "Hmmm, I plan on buying a house, and staying there permanently by getting my Green Card..." - they can, and WILL actually DENY your entry based on this intention. Be VERY CAREFUL when replying to such questions

WARNING: Jobs classified as COMPUTER PROGRAMMER do NOT qualify for a TN-1 visa. If you have accepted a position for such work, your offer of employment must state the position to be for a COMPUTER SYSTEMS ANALYST, and your duties must be that of a Systems Analyst. A Systems Analyst (DOT definition) is currently the only IT related position that qualifies for a TN-1 visa.

That's it! If you have a specific question regarding obtaining a TN via, e-mail me at the address shown below, and I will try and answer.

TIP: Your offer of employment MUST indicate that the job you are to be doing is one of the qualifying jobs, and it must state the starting and ending date (for a period of no longer than one year), and state the salary (or hourly) wage. Once I find my old letter, I will post it here as a sample. The letter must also state that "there are no current labour disputes ..."

• TN-1 Advantages: They are cheap. They are instant at the border crossing. They require virtually no paperwork or lawyers. Even though they are not "renewable", you can easily get a new one each year.
• TN-1 Disadvantages: They are only good for 1 year. After one year, you must return to Canada (or at least the border!), and obtain a new TN-1 visa. You can do this for years on end though. You do not actually get the TN-1 visa until you are at border, which can be a cause for some anxiety (at least it was for us!)

Sample TN Offer Letter:

H1-B Visas:
I am going to be honest here - I am not an expert on getting H1-B visas. All I do know is that they are expensive (expect to involve a lawyer) - and will cost you (or if you get your potential employer to pay the whole shot, great!) about $1,000 to $2,000 (or more) depending on complications. My advise for this is to go with the TN-1 visa IF YOU QUALIFY FOR ONE. When you arrive in the Twin Cities, and have established yourself, THEN look at starting the H1-B or Green Card process. If this is not possible, and you absolutely need to get an H1-B visa (in other words, only if you do not qualify for the TN-1 visa), read up on the information found on this WEB site. But keep in mind, information found here is provided by a lawyer, and they are obviously going to make it sound like a complicated processes. TIP: When you are considering offers of employment, get them to commit to paying for processing your Green Card (this is worth about $3,000 is INS and legal fees). Many employers in the Twin Cities (larger ones, at least) already have the legal staff on hand to process these for you.

Loosing your Job IMPORTANT:
Something that is many times overlooked. What happens if I get fired when I am on a TN-1 or H1-B visa? What are my rights? As a TN or H1 visa holder, you have no special rights over and above any other US resident or citizen. On the other hand, you have no LESS rights either. Your employer can not single you out during a layoff just because you are on a temporary visa with the intention of "keeping jobs for people who are US citizens". NAFTA allows you an equal opportunity. However, an employer can (and many will) let a visa expire and opt not to renew it. Many TN's run into this situation - and sometimes it comes as quite a surprise when you approach your employer a week or so before you TN expires to get a new offer letter - and they simply decline. To avoid this, discuss your expiring visa 2 or 3 months BEFORE it is to expire and get them to commit to doing a MAIL RENEWAL of your TN visa.

What to do? First, understand, that you normally have 10 days to permanently LEAVE the USA from the last day of employment or the last day your visa expires (which ever is less). Legally, during this period, you can not "look for work" while in the USA. However, if your intention is to try to secure NEW employment, before even considering looking - GET YOUR VISA CHANGED IMMEDIATELY to a B2 (Visitor) visa. This can be done with a I-539 "Requesting a Change of Status". You must do it almost instantly your TN is terminated, because it must be in the hands of the INS before the 10 days is up. It should include a note from you to indicate the reason you are requesting a change to visitor, such as "need some additional time to sell my house and wind up my affairs here after which time I will be returning to Canada". Do NOT state you are using this extra time to look for a job!

After filing the I-539 to change your status to "B2" (sent by RETURN RECEIPT MAIL, and enclosing the required check - $70 for first person, $10 for each other person on same app), now you can start looking around for your new job (or wind up your affairs if you actually plan on leaving). You should receive a "receipt" letter in a few weeks. About 3-4 months later, you will receive a response (ie denied or approved). During this waiting period, and because the INS received your I-539 request BEFORE your visa expired or WITHIN 10 days from termination of your previous employment, you are "in status" and can continue to legally reside in the USA until a decision is made.

If you find yourself a new job, return to the CANADA-USA border (which incidentally, invalidates your I-539 "Change of Status" application because the INS now consider that process abandoned when you leave US soil!) with your new offer letter, supporting docs and ID and get your new TN (and TD if applicable) visas.

*** - Systems Analyst (DOT definition) - a post secondary diploma of at least 2 years of study is required. The Red River Community College 2 year program Computer/Analyst Programmer qualifies. In addition, you MUST have 3 full years of experience in this same field, either before, during, or after your schooling has completed if you only have a diploma. (Persons with a 4 year university degree do not require any work experience.) Work experience obtained during your study period can qualify if such a position is a paid position, and you have a letter, or documents proving such work experience was related to this field of study. Be prepared to show proof of your three years experience by providing original documents such as employment records, letters of recommendation showing time/date range worked, etc. Your experience must be stated as a Computer Systems Analyst (or Programmer/Analyst). Experience as a "Programmer" may require immigration officials to determine if such experience, on an individual basis, relates to a Computer Systems Analyst. If they determine that such experience as a programmer does not "close enough" fit the description (as per actual NAFTA documents and regulations) of Computer Systems Analyst, they can and will deny you your TN-1 VISA.

TIP: If your experience has been strictly as a software developer (ie "Programmer"), have your current and previous employers state in the recommendation letter, or letter of employment that one of your duties was to "perform analysis...". This will clarify your role, and increase the chance of your TN-1 VISA being accepted

I-94 Sample showing "TN" approval:

You can contact Neil Marriott at