TN Visa for recent Canadian grad with HF experience?

Hi Grace388,

I was wondering if you could share more on Visa requirements and application process for HK.

Sorry for the late reply! Are you currently based in HK? Best to be in the area for the job hunt process, but many firms will fly you in if you are in the Asia area. I targeted smaller buyside firms and applying online worked fine for me. I didn’t network but highly suggest it. Camaraderie in finance there was great

Thank you for your reply on the Visa process! In your situation, did receive an offer while still in Canada or where you already based in the US when you were applying?

I ended up back in Canada and am at one of the CPPIB/OTPP/OMERS firms now. Clocking in some time before I consider heading off again

"TorontoMonkey1328"

Just saw this and noticed no one actually answered your question. Thought I'd weigh in if it's not too late as I've been through the process before.

TN Visa is a NAFTA Visa for certain categories of workers so by definition it only works for people with citizenship in Canada and Mexico. The most common category for finance is Economist. Job descriptions will be critically reviewed at the border to see if they qualify.

You also need to get Academic equivalency saying your undergraduate degree is equivalent to an four-year U.S. undergraduate economics degree. Most common is for people with other backgrounds (finance/math) to highlight courses which are explicitly econ and then highlighting anti-requisite courses ("I took finance math which is equivalent to economics math" or "my finance / arts / science classes could be considered electives to an econ degree").

It is supposed to be on a "temporary" basis, and generally is for one to three years although it can be technically renewed indefinitely. However, each time you renew, your run the risk of a customs officer questioning the "temporariness" of your Visa.

While this is usually easy to get, I would recommend getting pre-approval from USCIS before crossing the border. While the border guard has final say, this usually greases the wheels to they give you less scrutiny. You have to pay a small processing fee at the border (can't remember what it was, but I want to say c. $50).

Once you are hired, I'd check with your company's legal team / immigration counsel about the appropriate steps.

One thing you'll want to consider also is you'll want to eventually switch to H1-B (dual intent Visa). Allows you to eventually apply for green card. TN does not. However, H1-B is done on a lottery system.

Very much agreed on the pre-approval route. It will take a little bit longer but should de-risk the Visa process from your perspective and makes it much easier to come and go from the US.

Best of luck.

Does a Canadian MBA with CFA & FRM count towards TN Visa-Economist?