Moving from Canada to USA
Hey everyone,
I’m a Canadian who ideally wants to move to and work in the US.
I’m a senior associate at a mid sized Canadian pension plan doing infrastructure direct co investments and fund investments. I’m also a CPA (from earlier in my career).
I would love to move to a pension in the US (I don’t care where) and wondering what the easiest visa path for me to take would be, and how easy actually getting hired down there would be?
Thanks!
As a Canadian you can get a TN. There’s TN economist - which excludes financial analysts, but lawyers find a way if the firm really likes you. But USCIS will look at your coursework and past experience and might disagree if there are very few econ courses/relevance.
Then, there’s TN accountant, which should be a plus for you given your CPA. But the lawyers need to change your job descriptions to look accounty.
If you want to work for a non-profit to start with, you can directly get a H1 visa without a lottery or anything. (This is the easiest way, I have seen kids take lower salaries to work at a non-profit because the immigration risk is not worth the differential pay.)
Otherwise, you start on a TN, and the firm will apply for your H1, I don’t remember how many times is allowed if you don’t get the lottery.
Getting a job in the US is easier than in Canada if you do your part. Canada has a lot of shit, gatekeepers, nepo, making extra seats rarely available.
But in the US, if you network, be persistent, and have a good personality, you impress people and you get interviews.
Thanks - I mean I’d be looking to do what I do now at a pension in USA, so the job description wouldn’t be accounting whatsoever.
Yes, but the USCIS does not care what you want to do. And if the firm applies with exactly what you do, guess what, you'll not get a visa.
So the lawyers always prop up the job description to make it match the easiest visa category for you to get, regardless of what your actual day to day responsibilities are. If it is easier by accounting, they'll make it look accounty. That's non-negotiable.
What you need to do on your part is cold email and network heavily - which is a lot easier in the US - and get a job at a sponsorship friendly firm first.
How often does this actually work? Like lawyers making a job description sound better and everything still getting approved?
That is immigration lawyers' bread and butter.
I once saw a lawyer get a helicopter pilot a religious worker visa by listing 9 different responsibilities of helping religiously and the 10th one basically "occassionally fly helicopters ...".
LMAO
Works as long as you don't mess up your visa interview doing exactly what you're doing right now.
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