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Comment by bfkwlfkjf | Hacker News Reader

ELI5 - Canadians can just cross the border and get a job in the USA? No need for work visa? Is that by virtue of being Canadian citizens? What are the legals?

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TN1 visa allows Canadians to work in the US indefinitely in most professional-type roles e.g. teacher, engineer, accountant, etc. It doesn’t require much more than a job offer to get the visa.

It is a non-immigration visa so it isn’t a path to citizenship, just an American job. Many Canadians take advantage of this.

There was a pathway to citizenship until last week.

Immigrant intent on a TN is a big no-no

Plenty of people have filed an I-485 and been awarded Green Cards on a TN status. That was a completely acceptable path until last week.

Peter Roberts the immigration attorney that regularly posts here can validate that.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36913448

“Completely acceptable” is not accurate. I’d wager that for any success story there are many stories of heartbreak due to timing and travel for TN renewal. A risk I wouldn’t advise a friend to take. But, yes, doesn’t matter anymore after last week.

Sure timing is an issue and so are the resulting travel implications of showing immigrant intent but it was 100% legal and therefore an acceptable route.

EAD/AP shows up in around 4-5 months for most people and those restrictions are then no longer a concern.

The US makes it relatively easy to get a work visa if you have a science degree from a university.

Science degree from a US university you mean? I'm not trolling, genuine question.

Canadian university degree is fine. Look up TN 1 visa if you want more details.

Any university degree is fine but if it's not from a NAFTA country it needs a Foreign Equivalency Certification.

But from non-nafta it's not TN, right? What's the approach there? Skilled something?

No you can get a TN with it. I used my British degree.

Edit: You still need to be a Mexican or Canadian citizen.

Thank you!

No problem https://www.wes.org can certify your degree.

It's easier to get a job for a company in the U.S than it is to cross the border with a job in the U.S. If you have a degree and a job, great, otherwise no

TN visa

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