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Episode 88: Exploring Work Visas Cross-border Strategies for Professionals to Canada and the U.S.

Podcast posted on by Evelyn Ackah

Episode 88: Exploring Work Visas Cross-border Strategies for Professionals to Canada and the U.S.

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On the Ask Canada Immigration Lawyer Evelyn Ackah podcast, host Evelyn Ackah shares insights from a recent webinar on navigating work visa options for Canadian professionals seeking opportunities in the United States. In this episode, Evelyn explores the visa categories and strategies that help Canadian professionals cross borders seamlessly. She covers everything you need to know about the implications of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the TN Visa for skilled professionals, and other work visa options like the L1A and E1. Whether you're professional planning to work in the U.S. or an employer seeking to understand cross-border immigration solutions, this episode offers practical guidance and expert advice. Join Evelyn as she breaks down visa requirements, discusses application strategies, and provides tips for a smooth border-crossing experience.

Need immigration help? Book An Initial Call With Our Client Engagement Coordinator

Here are the key points from Evelyn Ackah's podcast:

The podcast webinar delves into the specific requirements and nuances of each visa category:

    • B1 Business Visitor Visa: This visa facilitates short-term business activities like meetings and conferences but strictly prohibits work. Evelyn stresses the importance of accurate representation to U.S. immigration officials, as any mention of "work," even unpaid, can jeopardize the visa and impact future travel. Employers share the responsibility of preparing their employees for travel by providing clear instructions and necessary documentation.
    • TN Professional Visa: This visa caters to professionals with a four-year degree in a designated profession. While renewable indefinitely, it does not typically lead to a green card. The few exceptions to the degree requirement include management consultants, who need at least five years of proven experience, and scientific technicians/technologists, who must work under a degreed professional's supervision. Notably, applicants must present original documents, including degrees and contracts.
    • L1 Intracompany Transfer Visa: Designed for employees moving from a Canadian company to its related U.S. entity, the L1 visa mandates at least 12 months of prior employment with the Canadian company. It branches into two subcategories:
      • L1A: This visa applies to executives, managers and functional managers who oversee essential functions even without direct reports.
      • L1B: This visa accommodates specialized knowledge workers possessing unique skills and knowledge vital to the U.S. business.
    • E1 and E2 Treaty Trader Visas: These visas, based on trade or investment activities, require a longer processing time through the U.S. embassy, taking 4-8 months.
      • E1: Designed for treaty traders with substantial trade volume between the U.S. and Canada.
      • E2: This visa requires a significant investment in a U.S. business, often exceeding $150,000.

    Additional tips Evelyn shared:

    • Renewals for TN and L1 visas are best handled at the port of entry to avoid processing delays.
    • Applicants should disclose any past criminal offences to avoid potential issues with admissibility.
    • Dependents' visa requirements and work eligibility vary based on the primary applicant's visa category.
    • Thorough preparation is key, including documentation, understanding the process, and maintaining a courteous demeanour throughout.

        About Calgary Immigration Lawyer Evelyn Ackah

        Evelyn Ackah is the Founder and Managing Lawyer at Ackah Business Immigration Law. With offices in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver, we work with individuals and business owners from all over the world who want to cross borders seamlessly. For more information on immigration to Canada or the United States, Ask Evelyn Ackah at Ackah Business Immigration Law today at (587) 854‑3821 or email Evelyn directly at contact@ackahlaw.com.

        The Ask Canada Immigration Lawyer Evelyn Ackah podcast, hosted by Calgary Immigration Lawyer Evelyn Ackah, was named the #1 Best Canada Immigration Podcast in 2023 by Feedspot.

        Need immigration help? Book An Initial Call With Our Client Engagement Coordinator

        00:07

        Good day, everyone. This is Evelyn Ackah from ACKAH Business Immigration Law.

        00:11

        I'd like to thank you so much for joining me today on our live webinar focused on Canadian professionals moving to the United States for work and talking about all their visa options.

        00:23

        I'm very, very grateful to have you here, and hopefully you'll get some great information.

        00:28

        And if you have any questions along the way, feel free to put up your hand, put a question in the chat bot, and we'll be able to respond.

        00:37

        And after, if you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you as well.

        00:41

        So I'm going to start the presentation now.

        00:43

        Again, thank you so much for joining me today.

        00:47

        Um So here we go.

        00:55

        This is our overview of what we're going to be talking about today.

        00:58

        We'll be focused on talking about our little bit of introduction to ACKAH law.

        01:04

        And then as well, there'll be the discussion about the USMCA, the new NAFTA, as what I call it.

        01:11

        We'll be focused as well on the business visitor categories for NAFTA professionals to go into the United States for business purposes without requiring a work permit.

        01:23

        As well, we'll be talking about the NAFTA professional TN visa, the L-1A, L-1B, the E-1 and E-2 visas, and then I'm going to provide you with some practical pointers on what to expect and how to best prepare for going to the port of entry or submitting your application.

        01:44

        So a little bit about me and the Ackah Law team.

        01:47

        We have an incredible team of highly experienced and knowledgeable lawyers, consultants, and legal professionals, legal assistants, and paralegals who work with us and provide immigration expertise.

        02:01

        We love what we do.

        02:02

        We have a passion for immigration law, and many of us are immigrants, and we have probably 50 plus years of combined experience in immigration law, so we know what we're doing and we love it.

        02:13

        We focus on Canadian and US cross-border immigration law.

        02:17

        We also have a team of US attorneys that are on contract that work with us, that help us with the non-port of entry applications.

        02:25

        So we can provide the full service of US immigration from entry, working, all the way to naturalization and citizenship for the US.

        02:36

        Again, my name is Evelyn Ackah.

        02:37

        I'm the founder and managing lawyer of the firm, and we've been in operation for 14 years.

        02:43

        And I've been practicing law for 24 years.

        02:47

        So one of our main taglines is crossing borders seamlessly.

        02:51

        And the reason that we love that tagline is we'd like to be able to tell people that, you know, we can help them get over the border.

        03:00

        We can help them participate in business meetings, training in the US with as little stress as possible.

        03:08

        So we want the borders to feelseamless and for you to be able to travel and do what you need to do.

        03:14

        And for more than 24 years, I've been practicing immigration law, working at large law firms, global law firms.

        03:21

        I was a partner at a global law firm before I started my own firm 14 years ago, and I wanted the flexibility and I wanted to offer even better service at a flat rate and provide clients with simple billing and accessibility that sometimes a large global firm isn't able to provide.

        03:40

        And so that's why we started.

        03:42

        The goal of ACKAH law is to simplify and expedite the immigration process so that you can open your doors to new opportunities, new jobs, new businesses, new education, new school opportunities.

        04:00

        So let's get started.

        04:01

        So most people know that NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, is the treaty that binds Canada, US, and Mexico when it comes to trade of goods and in terms of competition, and also it's used for movement of professionals and people.

        04:20

        And so it was, it's the main tool we use for Canadians to go to the U.S.

        04:26

        because it's already in place, and it's the simpler process that allows Canadians to apply for their status right at the airport or the border as they're entering the United States.

        04:39

        So the original NAFTA was established in 1994, and it's focused on economic and trade relationships between Canada, the US, and Mexico.

        04:47

        Many people don't realize that it's also about competition between the three countries and to help reduce the friction of business and trade and goods and people crossing the border.

        05:00

        So it was updated after many years, after 1994, it was updated in 2020 and the name was changed and it's now called the USMCA, the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement.

        05:13

        And And we I just called the new NAFTA because very little changed except for the name and a few other provisions, but nothing changed with respect to the immigration requirements under NAFTA.

        05:25

        The benefit of NAFTA for moving Canadians to the US is that it allows for highly skilled professionals to do business, to do work, to take on jobs, to provide consulting expertise.

        05:39

        It makes it easier for professionals to move, but there are limits on who can go down under NAFTA, and we'll talk about it.

        05:47

        One of the main requirements is you must be a Canadian citizen.

        05:52

        You cannot be a permanent resident of Canada and benefit from NAFTA.

        05:56

        You must hold a Canadian passport.

        05:58

        So sometimes people come to us and they say, I've been here for all these years.

        06:01

        I wanna go down and and work under NAFTA.

        06:04

        And they have a permanent residence card for Canada and they don't qualify.

        06:09

        If they wanna get any work permits in the U.S.

        06:11

        or authorization, they will have to process through the U.S.

        06:15

        consulates or embassies.

        06:17

        before they can get their approvals and travel, and that will take months before it's approved.

        06:22

        Whereas for Canadian citizens, Canadian passport holders, they're able to take their entire package that their legal professional puts together for them and preps them for, and then they're able to make their applications at the airport entering the United States wherever they have their preflight clearance.

        06:43

        So I just want you to be aware of that all of this is related, this whole conversation focused on those that are um Canadian citizens and not permanent residents.

        06:54

        If you have questions and you are a permanent resident, you feel free to contact me after and we can discuss your options.

        07:00

        All right, so back to the USMCA.

        07:02

        It's interesting because the USMCA is what we refer to going into the US.

        07:07

        But when Americans come to Canada or Mexicans come to Canada, we refer to it as CUSMA, Canada, US, Mexico agreement.

        07:14

        And so it has both titles based on which way you're going into the country.

        07:20

        So NAFTA is the preferred method to facilitate cross-border travel.

        07:24

        As I said, it's used for temporary entry.

        07:27

        It's not permanent.

        07:28

        All of these work permit and entry categories are temporary.

        07:32

        They have terms.

        07:33

        They may be renewable, but they're not permanent residents and you're not getting US citizenship.

        07:39

        All right.

        07:39

        So the three main categories we're going to focus on is the NAFTA business visitor, the B1, the professional NAFTA under TN, treaty NAFTA visa, and the L1A, L1B, that's for intercompany transfers.

        07:54

        We'll be focused on those primarily.

        07:57

        before we get to other areas.

        08:02

        So what's a business visitor?

        08:03

        Many people ask me this question and they say, oh, I'm going down for a trade show, or I'm going down to work.

        08:10

        You can't go down to work as a business visitor.

        08:15

        You as a Canadian could go down to the United States to participate in meetings with clients, to do sales activity, business development, to see if you can develop some workthat will then lead to you getting a work permit.

        08:29

        But initially you can go down for meetings, for training, if it's internal, to attend a conference.

        08:36

        Those are all business visitor, legitimate activities under the the B1 category of NAFTA.

        08:42

        So it's meant for short-term entry.

        08:45

        You know, go for a week, go for a few days, come back.

        08:48

        There's no long-term intention and you cannot be doing work.

        08:52

        And so sometimes people will say,I'm going down to work, but they're not getting paid and they think it's okay.

        08:58

        You can not say work.

        09:00

        I always tell everybody work is a four letter word in the bad sense.

        09:04

        It's not meant to be used this way.

        09:07

        If you're going to work and you say you're going to work, you need a work permit.

        09:11

        The minute you say work to US immigration officials, they're gonna be looking for your work permit.

        09:16

        So you need to be very sophisticated and understand exactly what it means to say work versus I'm going for business meetings.

        09:25

        I'm going to see a client.

        09:26

        I'm going to look at a site.

        09:28

        I'm going to look at office space.

        09:30

        So we always recommend that if you are an employer, and you're sending people to the Us.

        09:35

        That you must make sure they're well prepared.

        09:38

        They know what they're saying.

        09:40

        They have a letter as well that verifies what they're saying.

        09:43

        So we always recommend employers not to send your employees to the Us.

        09:48

        Without a lettersomething that says is going down, works for the Canadian company, just going down to say say hi to a client, attend a client meeting or internal training, or they're going to a trade show or a conference.

        10:01

        It needs to be verifiable in a letterhead from your Canadian employer so that immigration, if they ask more questions, you have information to give them.

        10:12

        So it's not just enough for the employee to say, I'm going for meetings.

        10:15

        They don't always believe.

        10:16

        And then the problem with that is if you have trouble going in and you're not prepared, it could affect the employee's personal travel as well, which is the B2 category.

        10:26

        B1 is the business visitor for business meetings.

        10:31

        B2 is the tourist visa.

        10:33

        So if you, as an employee, get into trouble going to the US under your B1 because your employer didn't prepare you,didn't give you a letter, didn't tell you what to say, what not to say, and limit your scope of activity to just business visitor, and then you get barred from the US or they refuse you, it will lead to you possibly being affected when you wanna go down to Disneyland with your family or take a vacation.

        10:58

        So it's very important that you don't get into trouble entering as a business visitor.

        11:03

        So I always say, know what to say and know what not to say.

        11:07

        You cannot say I'm working.

        11:08

        as a B1 business visitor, you need a work permit.

        11:12

        So hopefully that's really clear.

        11:14

        I want employers especially to know you have an obligation to your employees to ensure they're prepared for travel when you are sending them down.

        11:23

        Please do always prepare them, make sure they have the documentation and that they understand that, you know, the impact of what they say and what they're doing, and it has to be consistent.

        11:34

        Okay.

        11:35

        So people will say that, well, I can go down for up to six months.

        11:38

        I would say that's not very good.

        11:40

        I wouldn't want to see a business visitor down in the States for that long.

        11:43

        You can't ostensibly stay there that long, but you have to be able to show why you need to be there for so long.

        11:49

        How much training are you doing?

        11:51

        Is there a training plan?

        11:52

        Are you going back and forth?

        11:54

        Are you staying in the States?

        11:56

        Those all affect your credibility for US immigration and your likelihood of success.

        12:03

        So we definitely want you to reach out to us before you travel so we can help prepare you so that you don't get into trouble at the border.

        12:10

        It's very hard to fix the problem after the fact.

        12:13

        Next, we're gonna talk now about the NAFTA professional.

        12:17

        We do these every day, all day.

        12:19

        This is something that I really love doing.

        12:22

        Um We have a very high success rate.

        12:24

        If everything is done right, you should have no trouble with your TN visa so long as you have used a professional and put it all together.

        12:33

        Properly.

        12:34

        So this what's great about this is it.

        12:36

        You can get three years at a time.

        12:38

        The Tn visa.

        12:39

        If you meet the criteria and get the work permit, you're able to be in the States to live there for three years and bring your family with you, or you can be a cross-border employee and go back and forth as needed.

        12:50

        So the Tn visa is renewable indefinitely.

        12:54

        I always tell the story that I have a very good friend from law school who's been living in the States, working for an organization that unfortunately can't get her green card.

        13:03

        And so um so she has had probably a TN visa for 20 years, and every three years we renew it and update it and improve it so she can continue working in the US under the TN category as a lawyer.

        13:17

        The criteria for the TN professional is very much education based.

        13:22

        And that means that it's based on people who have four year degrees and the four year degrees are professional based.

        13:29

        So you'll see as we move through the deck, the kind of professions, lawyer, accountant, economist, you know professor,Those are the types of titles and positions that NAFTA references.

        13:44

        And it's unfortunate because they're kind of old school.

        13:47

        It does not contemplate the new economy, the new gig economy, the new technology.

        13:54

        It's very much old school professional designations.

        13:57

        So the reason you wanna get professional support on this is to fit your job responsibilities as best as possible into the list of about 66 plus professions.

        14:10

        This list includes engineers, which coming from Alberta, Canada, we do a lot of engineers to the US as TNs, geoscientists, and scientific technician technologists.

        14:20

        Titles like manager, director, president, CEO, they're not listed because they're not profession specific.

        14:28

        They need to be based on a degree.

        14:31

        So theseare some of the titles under NAFTA professional, accountant, architect, computer systems analyst.

        14:38

        And you can see this long, long list includes lawyer.

        14:42

        Umm Lots of different professions are listed here.

        14:46

        And then they also have professions that are also in the scientific and medical quasi roles as well.

        14:54

        So you can see the scientists, agriculturists, breeders,Lots of different opportunities are here for people who fit the criteria.

        15:03

        The most important thing you need to know when it comes to the TN visa is you need to have a four-year degree.

        15:11

        Almost all of the titles require four-year degree minimum.

        15:16

        So there are a few that don't, and we'll talk about those exceptions and what you need to do if you don't have a four-year degree to try to qualify for a visa.

        15:28

        So one thing you should know is that again, as I said earlier, the TN visa is not immigrant.

        15:33

        It is generally not what visa that will take you to green card status.

        15:38

        If you're able to sometimes, depending on the position, you can work for years with one of our attorneys and it'll take a long time.

        15:46

        There are options to get green card, but it's not meant to be a bridge from TN to green card.

        15:52

        It's very difficult and it takes many, many years.

        15:55

        um It's sometimes possible.

        15:57

        There are ways to move from the TN visa to the H-1B, which is the lottery visa for skilled workers that caps out every year in the States, and then from H-1B to green card.

        16:10

        So those are going to be things to consider when you're going down.

        16:13

        What is your intention?

        16:15

        Do you want to live in the States permanently, or are you just happy to work in the States for three years, six years, 12 years?

        16:22

        Or do you want to become a permanent resident and eventually a dual citizen?

        16:26

        So that's something you need to consider upfront.

        16:29

        And we discuss that with you before we initiate.

        16:31

        What's your goal?

        16:32

        What's your intention?

        16:33

        What are your prospects to get a long-term permanent resident status?

        16:38

        So to qualify for TN status, you must be on the list of professions and you must actually perform professional level services in the US.

        16:49

        And so, as I said, almost all of them require a degree.

        16:53

        The only exceptions are management consultant, said scientific technician technologist, technical publications writer, and medical lab technologist.

        17:04

        I want to talk about the management consultant and the technician technologist most.

        17:09

        These, especially the management consultant, I always say is the most misused category.

        17:14

        This is the category that if you are doing this on your own, alarms will go off with Us.

        17:20

        Immigration, because they are trained to look at your application with so much scrutiny, because everybody tries to fit into that category when they don't fit intoum the normal professional four-year degrees.

        17:34

        I always say everybody from basket weavers, dancers, artists, everybody tries to fit into consultant of some sort.

        17:41

        And so it's very important that the package be done right and that you give US immigration every opportunity to give you a successful application and give you approval.

        17:52

        So to be a management consultant, you have to have at least five years of experience in your profession.

        18:00

        that we can prove, and that's a minimum.

        18:02

        So if you don't have the degree, you need to have at least five years experience, and you need to be able to have reference letters that show and prove that you do have this experience from people you've worked with, other clients.

        18:17

        And then we need to be able to have a US client that has given you a consulting agreement to bring your professional expertise to benefit them by advising management onwhat to do, how to improve the business, how to deal with strategy, or whatever it is your expertise is in.

        18:35

        You're there to guide and give recommendations to management of the organization.

        18:40

        But you're not there to do and implement the work.

        18:43

        This is very important.

        18:44

        And so when we do a management consultant application at Ackah Law, we need to make sure it's bulletproof.

        18:50

        Because we do not want you to be refused because immediately US immigration is going to be looking for reasons to say no.

        18:57

        And so our job is to make it as strong as possible.

        19:00

        And so when people try it on their own and they come back to us refused again, it makes it harder because we have to try to fix their mistake.

        19:08

        And sometimes you can't.

        19:10

        So that's the one for people.

        19:11

        A lot of times we use this for people who have tons of experience, maybe people who've worked in construction for 30 years or have a unique background that has led them to having their own consulting firm, but they don't have a formal four-year degree.

        19:25

        This is the category for them.

        19:27

        As long as they have a US client with the consulting agreement, we can help qualify them and put the rest of the package together.

        19:33

        The other category where you don't need a degree is the scientific technician technologist.

        19:38

        We do a lot of these as well, of course, coming from Canada and Alberta, in particular, lots of people working in oil and gas.

        19:46

        Many of them have a two year diploma in technician or electrical or engineering technician type of work.

        19:53

        And so they want to go and do work on the rigs or the ways they can use their education.

        19:58

        So to qualify for this category without a degree, they must be working under a degreed professional.

        20:05

        So that means that if they are a technician technologist, engineering technician or technologist, they are working under the supervision of an engineer, a degreed engineer.

        20:18

        That has to be in alignment with their background.

        20:20

        That is what that has to be.

        20:22

        And so this one we usually end up having to provide as well all the credentials of that engineer or that degreed professional that they'll be working under or that's supervising their work.

        20:32

        Occasionally, we've been very creative and we've been able to use the experience evaluator companies that will look at somebody's 25 years of experience and give an evaluation that the experience is equivalent to either a two-year diploma as a technologist or a four-year degree as an engineer.

        20:50

        And then we've been able to use that document to help get the TN visa.

        20:55

        So we can be very creative, we don't want people not to get to the US to do their work, but we want to make sure it's as strong as possible.

        21:03

        So that is the TN visa category.

        21:06

        And now I'm going to move into the NAFTA intercompany transfer for L-1s.

        21:13

        So the TN visa category is usually a category that we can put together internally, maybe in two, three weeks, assuming we get everything we need.

        21:22

        The other thing that US immigration really likes, everything must be original.

        21:26

        So when we talk about the degrees for the TN, before we start on the L1, they literally have to bring their degrees.

        21:32

        And so I always tell clients, take it off the wall, keep it in the frame, and you take that original degree with you when you make your first application.

        21:40

        I know it's crazy, but it's true.

        21:42

        They also want every letter and contract, everything that we use to rely upon to be in signed in original blue ink.

        21:50

        Cannot have copies.

        21:52

        So that's very important for the the tn that you have access to your actual degree, that you bring it for that first application, and that they're comfortable that everything is an original and no photocopies and no, no blue, no black ink.

        22:07

        Everything has to be blue and original.

        22:10

        So it's very interesting.

        22:11

        The other category we do a lot of here at ACKAH Law is the L-1 visa.

        22:15

        Been doing these for 25 years almost.

        22:18

        And this is a great category for people that fit.

        22:22

        So the way that the intercompany category works is that if you have a Canadian company now and you're operating and you have employees and you're running a business successfully, and now you want to expand to the US or you have US clients that want you to be there working for them, this is one option, the L-1 visa.

        22:41

        That's the intercompany.

        22:42

        So that means that you have also a US entity that you've created.

        22:46

        You've got your Canadian business, and now you incorporate a US business.

        22:49

        And then we're gonna be transferring you to the US so that you can work on your behalf of the company that is sponsoring you, your own company that's related to you.

        23:01

        To qualify for the L-1, you must have worked for the Canadian entity for at least 12 months, and it must be documented.

        23:10

        We have to be able to prove that your employer is in Canada and that you are on payroll.

        23:15

        Also, if you're an owner and you're the president, let's say CEO, we can usually find other ways to show how you've been on payroll, how you've taken money.

        23:22

        But at the end of the day, we have to show that you are working for the related entity and the companies are related and that the top level, the ownership is similar.

        23:32

        Whether it's another company that owns both or the person at the top owns both companies, it has to have a commonality of corporate relationship.

        23:40

        So the the main ones we do are L1As.

        23:43

        That's the executive category.

        23:45

        To be considered an executive in Canada, moving to the US to work, you must have a team below you, and you must be directing and managing that team or a major function of the organization.

        23:57

        Something that shows that you're driving the leadership, you're creating the business, you know you have discretionary decision-making, you can hire and fire, and that you have people reporting to you that are also senior level.

        24:11

        That's the executive.

        24:13

        And NAFTA, L1A and L1B are the options.

        24:17

        We'll talk about L1A is the executive and manager.

        24:21

        Those are L-1A.

        24:22

        And again, a manager doesn't have to be an executive, but they have to be managing a department or function, supervising people and have authority to fire and hire, making decisions on salary, et cetera.

        24:34

        That's the manager.

        24:36

        So those two are considered L-1A.

        24:40

        Most recently, US Immigration added a functional manager category.

        24:44

        We don't use this a lot, but this is essentially somebody who manages an essential function, but they may not manage staff.

        24:51

        And this was created because people were not fitting perfectly into the L1a executive or manager if you didn't have people below you.

        24:59

        That's why we always ask for the corporate structure chart.

        25:02

        Do you have people below you that you manage?

        25:04

        And in this case, it was determined that they did not have people below them.

        25:09

        And so then we created immigration, created the functional manager where they're showing that you do havea management role, but you're not managing people.

        25:19

        And so, and that your your role was essential and critical.

        25:22

        So these are the L1As, executive, manager, sometimes I say senior manager or manager, and then the functional manager.

        25:32

        Next is the L1B.

        25:36

        And this is really interesting category.

        25:37

        This is for specialized knowledge workers.

        25:40

        We use this a lot.

        25:41

        So just keep in mind for the L1, you do not need to have a degree.

        25:46

        You do not need to have a certain level of training or anything.

        25:49

        You just need to have worked for the related Canadian company for 12 months or more.

        25:54

        And then our job is to show that your role is specialized, highly specialized knowledge.

        26:00

        We've done a number of these for companies where people don't have anything more than high school, but they have unique experience, they work on patented technology or systems,or they have lots of experience with a Canadian business and we can show they can't just find an American off the street to do this job.

        26:16

        So the specialized knowledge is one where you have to really make the case that your employee may not be managerial or executive, but they bring a really unique skillset that's specialized and we have to show the value of that and what happens if you're not able to get that person in, what's the impact if you can't bring that specialized knowledge worker, will you lose business in the States?

        26:39

        So we have to really focus a lot of times on what do they know?

        26:43

        Are they planning on sharing that specialized knowledge with American employees you're going to hire?

        26:48

        And what is the impact of them not being successful?

        26:51

        So this is one where, you know just to give you some background, we've been able to bring people who are laborers on some level, but they have unique skill sets, or they've worked in dealing with special fire technology, or they have unique drill experience for 25 years, but they don't have a degree, but they have significant expertise and they may manage or lead other people in the organization and share their knowledge.

        27:18

        We've actually brought people even who maybe even work in the agricultural industry.

        27:22

        Again, they have unique skill sets for breeding, managing farms, et cetera.

        27:27

        So it's used for those people who don't fit into the TN box, and that would be a TN as a new hire, or they have worked for the Canadian company for 12 months or more, and we can find a way to strategize their unique expertise.

        27:42

        That's the L1.

        27:44

        And so, you know for instance, if you have somebody who doesn't fit into the TN and they haven't worked with the L1 for very long for the 12 months, it's very difficult to bring them to the US unless we can try for consulting.

        27:56

        Those are the two ideals would be TN where they have the degree or L1 where they have at least one year.

        28:02

        If not, we're looking at consulting.

        28:05

        If we can make that case that they're bringing unique skills, that's gonna help the US business.

        28:10

        All right.

        28:11

        So now i'm gonna do a quick overview of the E1 and E2 visas, so that we can show you that this is another option for you.

        28:21

        If, for instance, you don't fit into Tn.

        28:24

        Or you don't want that you don't want to rely on the Us.

        28:26

        Employer or the L.

        28:28

        One, which is your business, and you don't fit maybe 12 months.

        28:32

        of employment yet.

        28:33

        That's another option.

        28:35

        Then the E1 E2 is another treaty entry for Canadian citizens.

        28:40

        So both you must be a Canadian citizen and the employee of a Canadian citizen, and there is a treaty trader visa that is based on your citizenship and the relationship with Canada.

        28:52

        You can get this the difference with the other visas, and this one isThe E ones and E twos have to be processed through the Us.

        29:00

        Embassy, so they take significantly longer.

        29:02

        They're not applications that can be done in two weeks or a month or six weeks, and then you go to the border.

        29:08

        These applications, even if we do all of our work quickly.

        29:12

        Getting the appointment at the US consulate right now is taking months, anywhere from four to eight months, depending on which city you wanna go to make your application.

        29:20

        Usually it's Toronto, you have to go for the first one.

        29:23

        So you need to plan ahead.

        29:24

        If you're thinking of the E, the benefit of this is you might have clients already in the States and you're doing a significant volume of work in the US.

        29:32

        You wanna get that, it gives you up to five years so you can continue doing your cross-border activity.

        29:38

        So it's a great visa.

        29:40

        Umthat allows for people to do work under the E1 or E2, and you don't have to necessarily invest in the E1.

        29:47

        The E2 is where you have to invest a certain amount.

        29:50

        They want to see, maybe at least one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of investment, sometimes more, to show the activity that you're doing so that you canpursue that business goal.

        30:03

        So sometimes clients will buy a business, invest in a franchise, or they're going to bring equipment down or buy a building to start doing their business in the States.

        30:13

        The government needs to see where the money has come from, the chain of the finances, and then what the business activity is and the amount of your investment.

        30:22

        As I said, these categories can take up to six to eight months sometimes to get.

        30:27

        But when you get the first one and the employer company is qualified for the E-1 or E-2, what's great about it is then you get your five-year visa, you can live down there, go down there, bring your family.

        30:39

        And then the subsequent supplementary E's for your employees that you wanna bring, they don't have to have degrees, they don't have to have worked for you for 12 months, and you can also get them.

        30:50

        Five year visas because the company's already been approved.

        30:54

        So then the focus of their visa application is on them and their backgrounds and what they do for the business in Canada and why you want them in the US.

        31:04

        So these definitely are more extensive visas, the E-1 and E-2.

        31:08

        They like to probe into where the monies come from, what kind of business, showing the US business activities, clients you have, contracts you have.

        31:18

        So these definitely take longer.

        31:19

        They're not ones that can be done at the port of entry, but they're very valuable if you're able to do them.

        31:24

        It's a great opportunity to move a bunch of your staff to the US as well as yourself for expansion of the business.

        31:33

        So now that I've gone through the B1, B2, TN, L1A, L1B, E1, and E2, I call it, this is like the alphabet soup of of immigration in the US.

        31:45

        It literally is A to Z.

        31:46

        They have visa Q, T, it's crazy, U, all the way up and down the alphabet, and they all are different categories.

        31:54

        But for Canadians, the ones we focused on here in this presentation are really the main ones Canadians can benefit from.

        32:01

        I also want to just share that when you get your initial TN and L1 and they're renewable, the L1 is renewable.

        32:08

        If you're an L1A, you can have a total of seven years.

        32:12

        So you might get three years your first, maybe one year your first, if it truly is a new office.

        32:17

        We always like to ask for three.

        32:19

        And if you get the three years, you can renew for two-year increments up to seven years if you're an L1A.

        32:25

        If you're an L-1B, you get your first year or three years and you can renew up to five years total, get two-year renewal.

        32:32

        Keep in mind, if you're not spending full-time and you haven't moved to the US, any time spent outside of the US, we can recapture.

        32:41

        So that means if you're really a cross-border employee, you don't live in the US full-time, we can get you up to nine years possibly on L-1A and maybe up to seven years, depends how much physical time you spend.

        32:52

        So we keep track of that, and we tell you to do the same.

        32:55

        All right.

        32:56

        Those are the main things I wanted to share.

        32:58

        The other thing is for doing your renewals.

        33:00

        They don't really treat them as renewals or extensions.

        33:03

        They're treated like your brand new application again at the port of entry.

        33:07

        And we want Canadians to continue to do the renewals at the port of entry, because if you know anything about us immigration.

        33:13

        When it goes to a processing center, it goes into an abyss.

        33:17

        And next thing you know, you get a request for evidence and you may not be approved when you have somebody who's got weeks and weeks to review and drill down and ask all kinds of questions and send you, you know, a 15 page request for evidence for more information.

        33:31

        Canadians have the benefit of processing again at the port.

        33:34

        So I highly recommend to our clients, travel back.

        33:39

        Put your package together, let us help you do it again, and then do your application again.

        33:43

        Because at the port of entry, they literally have an hour to two hours to review your application.

        33:47

        They don't have three weeks to dig into it.

        33:50

        And so they're looking at it at a high level and you meet the criteria.

        33:53

        So why put yourself through that fear of possibly not getting extended when you can do it in person?

        33:59

        You can explain to the officer what you do and why you're the best at it, and it makes it more likely you're going to be successful for a further term.

        34:07

        Okay, I've got some tips to share on what to expect when you get to the border and what to say.

        34:14

        So one thing we see a lot is sometimes people have criminality they aren't even aware of.

        34:20

        The DUI from 20 years ago that didn't show up before is now showing up.

        34:25

        And this is because US immigration and the police services in Canada, RCMP and the FBI, they're sharing more information with each other and it's more electronic now, so you have the opportunity that they can find out thingsThat happened.

        34:38

        We had a grandmother who goes down every year in Arizona and one year out of the blue she had a place down there even she was stopped and she was told you're inadmissible.

        34:49

        You have something from when you were 24 and she she was in her late 60s.

        34:53

        She completely forgotten and it never.

        34:56

        posed a problem until now, because now they're seeing and sharing information, and that that winter she missed her season in Arizona because we had to do a U.S.

        35:06

        visa waiver for her so she could go back to the States.

        35:09

        So you need to know, and you need to make sure you tell your lawyer if there's anything we need to know, we ask the question so that you don't go down and find out there's a problem.

        35:18

        Very rarely there's inadmissibility due to medical inadmissibility.

        35:22

        It's very rare.

        35:23

        It must be a very high threshold of significant illness or something that is considered communicable that is very serious, very rare.

        35:33

        We also think it's very important that you know what the entry visa requirements are for before you go, know and be prepared.

        35:40

        Don't go down and get a refusal or withdrawal 'cause then you're on the US system now and every time you go through for quite a while, you will be flagged.

        35:48

        It's very important.

        35:49

        If you have accompanying dependents that are coming with you, you need to know if they're Canadian citizens because green card permanent residents will require the US visas.

        35:58

        They can't just go down because you got your visa if they're not Canadian citizens either.

        36:03

        So you need to know, is your spouse able to work?

        36:06

        Spouses are able to work under the L-1 if they can get an employment authorization document, which is great, but not under the TN.

        36:14

        Dependents get what's called the TD visa, TD dependent.

        36:18

        They cannot work.

        36:19

        And so you need to know and be prepared for what that means for you and your family.

        36:23

        Kids can go to school under any of the visa categories as dependents of their parents.

        36:28

        The other thing is the law keeps changing so regularly.

        36:32

        So you need to make sure you're fully prepared and you know what the current state of affairs are.

        36:36

        Some ports of entry require you to book an appointment if it's a driving boarder.

        36:41

        to make your application, and others you can just go through and do it right then and there.

        36:45

        So you need to know what the rules and expectations are before you go.

        36:50

        Your job when you're making the application after we've done our job and putting the whole package together and prepping you and being on call when you travel is you need to do your best job of educating the border officials.

        37:02

        If they ask you questions about your job, your responsibilities, you need to know how to verbalize it and share it so that they understand what you do and that you can show them why you meet the criteria.

        37:14

        You need to know where you're going, where you're gonna stay, how long you're going for.

        37:18

        And as always, I say, be courteous, tell the truth, give them respect because they can make life difficult for you if you come in with an attitude and you're rude.

        37:27

        You want to get this visa so you can get on with business and with your profession.

        37:32

        So you need them.

        37:33

        Make sure you're not misrepresenting and be kind and respectful.

        37:38

        It'll make the whole process go much smoother.

        37:41

        Another tip to think about is make sure you've got all the documentation you need.

        37:45

        As I've mentioned before, even if you're going for business travel, make sure you have a letter from your employer.

        37:50

        Make sure you don't say work.

        37:52

        We recommend our clients travel during business hours, Monday to Friday, because we want them to have the most experienced people on.

        38:00

        And usually those people are on Monday to Friday business hours.

        38:04

        Supervisors are there that have lots of experience.

        38:06

        So please try to do that.

        38:08

        And if there's a problem and they're not comfortable giving you the approval, you can always say, that's okay, I'll go back and talk to my lawyer, ask to withdraw, it's better to withdraw than to get a refusal in your application.

        38:22

        All right, definitely be kind and they can let you come back, no problem at all.

        38:27

        So this is what I wanna talk to you about in terms of how we can assist you.

        38:30

        All of these on this deck here are the kinds of applications we do.

        38:34

        We work for people coming all over the world to Canada.

        38:38

        So everything from work permits, study permits, permanent residence, citizenship, investment, entrepreneur, everything, starter visas, we help people who are inadmissible to Canada because of criminality.

        38:50

        And then we also help people in the US who are doing all the same things that they're doing for Canadians going to the US.

        38:58

        So I hope this has been informative and helpful.

        39:01

        We're here to answer any of your questions.

        39:04

        If you have any questions, feel free to share them in the question panel.

        39:08

        And if not, I'd like to say, I'd like to thank you so much for joining our ACKAH Law webinar.

        39:14

        It truly is a pleasure to share my passion and knowledge.

        39:18

        and what we do all day, every day.

        39:20

        So if you'd like to learn more about whether you have options to work in the States or to do cross-border business in the States, please do reach out to us, and we'd love to help you cross-border seamlessly.

        39:32

        Thank you so much for joining us, and I'll wish you a great day.

        39:36

        Bye-bye.


        Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B.

        Founder/Managing Lawyer

        Ms. Ackah is passionate about immigration law because it focuses on people and relationships, which are at the core of her personal values. Starting her legal career as a corporate/commercial ...

        More About Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B.

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