ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area US WORK PERMIT

ANYBODY GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO GET A WORK PERMIT FOR THE US ME BEING CANADIAN AND IF NAFTA HAS MADE IT ANY EASIER

Hi,

When I went out to the U.S. my prospective employer had to apply to the State Dept. of Labor (Nebraska in my case) with tons of paperwork to show that they had tried to hire a U.S. citizen/resident alien locally and been unable to find anyone suitable. Then the whole file went to the local INS office and finally over to the U.S. Embassy in London.

The whole process took almost 12 months to complete! That was an application for permanent residence (i.e. to get a "green card"), so it may be a little quicker and easier for just a work permit. If I recall correctly from the paperwork I had, it may also be quite a bit simpler for Canadian citizens.

Good Luck. You would think that being a "friendly" neighbor would make things easier but that is not the case. I could not find one contractor who wants to go through the "hassle" and cost of a permit. Granted we are put through a four year apprenticeship and need licsences to do electrical in Canada. Not the case here. Almost every contractor was very intested but wanted me to do the "legwork" for the permit.I spent many hours doing research on the internet, to no avail. If by chance you are in the Union you can "travel" to places that have no one on the books but the Unions, at least down this way, are very slow. NAFTA has helped Canadians with workpermits but not the construction trade. If by chance you have a bachelors degree you are half way there. You could then go for a TN Visa. Some electricians have made it through on that Visa but we technically are not on the list. You would apply for that right at the border. Good Luck.

[This message has been edited by elektrikguy (edited 07-17-2002).]

[This message has been edited by elektrikguy (edited 07-17-2002).]

i know lots of guys working both sides of the border here in the windor/detroit area for the auto companies.it depends if work for a company and how long you will be there.to get a visa you will have to get an I68 i think.where are you located?

I went into Canada in 89 to "supervise" work done to a manufacturing line built by a US company. I got the third degree at customs because I declared a tool box. I said I was only to supervise and it was just a normal habit to carry my tool box, as I knew not where I may be going fom there. It ended up that I had to do actual hands on work, but as I was receiving my paycheck back in the States, the Immigration people had no documentation to clue them in. I don't know if they do random visits to check for unauthorized aliens doing work. I also went to Mainland China in 88 and 89 as a Start-Up Engineer on a busines type visa and did no hands on work. The Chinese workers will ensure no outsider does work there.

I have worked with a lot of foreigners (is that term still politically correct?)in the US and don't think they had to get work visas if they were employed and paid by companies in their home country. Some of them only supervised and some actually did hands on work.

Gerald Powell