I'm a Canadian citizen with a four year computer science degree. I've gotten a TN work permit twice, with two different companies over the past three years.
If I started a company with an American citizen and they opened it up, could they then hire me as a Computer System Analyst? Is there a minimum salary they'd have to pay me (e.g. could I get a TN and still only get paid $10/hour)? Is this a common way for Canadian co-founders to enter the United States or is there a better route?
I'm not the OP, but as I understand it a founder of a company would be eligible for immigration on an EB-5 visa. From this website ( https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-job/gree... ), they would be eligible if they plan to create/preserve 10 jobs and invest $1m (or $500k in a "targeted high employment area". This is pretty similar to most developed nations--provide enough investment money and you can immigrate without much question.
(recalling verbatim from a friend): TN-1s are not available for "owners" of a business. Technically, ownership is defined as > X% of a business (X is some number I can't recall like 30 or 40). Recently, some Canadian founders have had their TN-1 revoked at the border at the discretion of the officer because they were founders, even though they didn't have sufficient % of shares to be owners as per the definition.
Excellent and important issue. Ownership in and of itself is not a bar to TN classification - to be a bar the ownership is supposed to rise to the level of controlling - but USCBP (at the "border") and even USCIS sometimes (and more and more) take the position that it is or conclude that if one is a founder or has an ownership interest, one is a "manager" and not an "engineer" and therefore ineligible for TN classification because there's no NAFTA occupation for managers.
Not necessarily because the law is clear that a minority non-controlling interest is not a bar to TN classification (and where the law is on your side, it's usually worth pursuing/arguing).
I'm a Canadian citizen with a four year computer science degree. I've gotten a TN work permit twice, with two different companies over the past three years.
If I started a company with an American citizen and they opened it up, could they then hire me as a Computer System Analyst? Is there a minimum salary they'd have to pay me (e.g. could I get a TN and still only get paid $10/hour)? Is this a common way for Canadian co-founders to enter the United States or is there a better route?