working in Canada after the move to US

[chris11xb 0]

Hi all,

I was just curious if any of you who either moved to a border city, or telecommute to work currently, continued to work in Canada or for a Canadian employer after your move? If so, was there anything special you had to plan for?

I'm basically a border city girl now and will be moving to the other side of the border, and I know I have opportunities to continue some contract work after my move. I just wonder what I need to prepare for, if anything.

I did call Service Canada to ask if my SIN remains active, and of course it does. They said I could continue to work in Canada after becoming a legal permanent resident of the US. But, perhaps some of you have experienced this in reality, and can share something from the viewpoint of the other side of the border?

Also, I am assuming - feel free to clarify - that even though I may be entitled to work in Canada after my move, I likely am not able to earn Canadian wages while waiting for my US EAD, correct? I figure that it's likely best to just not earn any income from anywhere while waiting on that and my adjustment.

I am aware of obvious things like travel and advanced parole, and the taxation side of things. But if anyone has anything to add about a personal experience with working or freelancing in Canada after your move, I'd love to hear your responses.

Thanks!

Lori (and Chris)

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You can continue at your Canadian job and earning Canadian dollars after you move to the US and before you get the EAD. There will be a problem though as you will not be allowed across the border from the time you activate your K-1 until you receive either the Advance Parole or your green card. If you are able to telecommute for that time you should be fine.

You should PM Neiks - she is a cross border working Canadian living in the US and working in Canada. She would be able to give you the specifics about what you can and cannot do and taxation considerations.

[chris11xb 0]

Thanks Kathryn!

I also PM'd Neiks.

[LindaB 0]

I got my permanent resident card this past July and still commute to Canada every day. (Washington up to B.C.) I was on a CR1 visa so able to travel back and forth right away. I haven't had any trouble at the border. I have a Nexus card so really helps on my way home (Nexus is not open yet on my way to work). I am interested to see how all the tax stuff works out when I do my taxes in a few months.

If you have any questions, you can PM me also.

Happy New Year!

[Flames9_RN 358]

If your considering this route, which other VJ members successfully have, i would go for the CR-1 visa, saves you a lot of hassle!!

[neiks 19]

Answered your PM!

[Krikit 1,164]

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to post the question and response in this thread so that others can reference it. Unless it's personal and contains gory details, that is. If that's the case, we definitely want to hear all about it.

[chris11xb 0]

Actually, my only question is for others to share their experiences of working casually in Canada when living in the US, and if there were any quirks they experienced one may not necessarily consider.

In particular, I am mostly interested in hearing about freelance or contract work in Canada, once in the US, as that's what I do. I know there are some bigger things to plan for when you're actually working 40 hours a week, so that's why I am more geared to hear about any casual or freelancers out there, if any.

Taxes are easy, in my opinion, so I am not so concerned about that. Then again, I have been doing my self-employment taxes with US and Canadian taxes forever, so I am used to those ins and outs.

It's more... trying to foresee the unforeseen I guess. Ha. Which is not always so easy.

Generally, I do most of my work from home, so it's not a matter of considering the physical border crossing part of taxation. But, occassionally, I do have a short term contract in Canada, so I was just thinking ahead for that. I imagine I'll not have as much Canadian source income in the future, but I'd like to have an idea of what to plan for if I do take on something. So, all hypotheticals for now, and thus I'm happy to hear about others' expeirences.

Anyways, I appreciate the feedback thus far and I look forward to anything else others can add.

Thanks!

Lori (and Chris)

[Krikit 1,164]

Oh, okay. Well, in my case I did contract work for my former employer after moving here. I just made sure they taxed me at the non-resident rate. If you do a search you'll find a few threads where members have verbally ripped me to shreds because I did it without an EAD, but it's legal if you're not working for an American employer.