Hi,
What are the
differences in income tax rates between the
Best regards,
XCXXX
XXXX
------------------------------------------
-----Original
Message-----
From: US / Canada
Income Tax Help - CEN-TAPEDE [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 12:39
AM
To: CENTAPEDE-ca;
centapede-us; CENTAPEDE; jurock
Subject: US CANADA expat services for US
citizens living in Canada? - david ingram expert cross border non-resident
income tax help and preparation by five tax experts with years of experience
with Canada, Panama, American and Mexican income tax
Hi David:
We just spoke
on the phone. I'm a US citizen just arrived in
Vancouver BC to live
with my Canadian citizen wife of 7 years. I am
applying for Permanent
Resident status.
My immediate question is the name of the US Govt office
that provides
services and info to folks like me.
Thanks for any info
you can
provide.
------------------------------------------------
david ingram
replies:
I think that you meant to ask about a Canadian government
office. If you need help as a US citizen in Canada in Vancouver, you would
usually go to the US Consul General Office at
US
Consulate
2100-1095 Pender Street West
Vancouver, BC,
Canada, V6E
2M6
(604) 685-4311 (corrected number)
You can find general
information about just about anything if you search deep enough at http://www.state.gov/
-------------
As far
as Immigration to Canada and in particular, being sponsored by your Canadian
wife, you need to fill in the following documents. Just in case you have a
recognized profession under NAFTA, I have included these rules as
well.
:------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/assess/index.html
This is the self-assessment test for an
individual to determine his or her
eligibility to immigrate to Canada without
being sponsored by a spouse.
This will likely take you two
years.
And / or, your spouse can sponsor you as
follows:
You can start
the process by going to:
1. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3910e.pdf
This is a guide for sponsoring a US
citizen spouse into
Canada.
Publication 3910E
2. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM1344EA.pdf
This is the application form to sponsor -
form IMM-1344A
3. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM1344EB.pdf
This is the sponsorship agreement - Form
IMM-1344B
4. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5481E.PDF
This is the Sponsorship Evaluation Form
IMM-5481
5. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5409E.PDF
This is a statutory declaration of a
common-law marriage - FORM IMM-5409
6. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5540E.PDF
This is the Sponsor Questionnaire - Form
IMM-5540
7. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5540E.PDF
This is an authority to release
information - FORM IMM-5540
8. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5491E.PDF
This is a document Checklist - Form
IMM-5491
9. http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/docp/CIC/bin/hpm-e.asp
This is where you order your official
receipt
10. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/imm0008egen.pdf
This is your actual Application for
Permanent Residence - FORM IMM-0008GEN
11.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/imm0008_1e.pdf
This is your Background Declaration -
FORM IMM-008_1
12. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5406E.PDF
This is your additional family
information - FORM IMM-5406
13. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5490E.PDF
This is your spouse or conjugal partner
questionnaire -= FORM IMM-5490
14. The Above PLUS a
police report from your local police station (See
the guide for details)
applies to those being sponsored from the UNITED
STATES. There is a separate
brochure for every country. If you are reading
this and are from any
other country (Australia, Brunei, Austria, Venezuela,
etc)
goto
14a http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/fc.html for other
country
guides.
15. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/assess/index.html
This is the self-assessment test for an
individual to determine his or her
eligibility to immigrate to Canada without
being sponsored by a
spouse.
-----------------------------------------
In addition, a
company can sponsor you under the equivalent of a US H1 visa. However,
this will take months and is not necessary when you qualify for a visa under
NAFTA.
-----------------------------------------------
The equivalent is
what I have written about getting a TN Visa for the US. It is a
tri-lateral treaty and the same rules apply when you want to come to Canada or
go to Mexican
---------
On
December 8, 1993, President Clinton signed the NAFTA Agreement, which took
effect on January 1, 1994 under
101(a)(15).
TD
- Spouse or Child of NAFTA Professional under 214(e)(2) (TN
holder)
TN
- NAFTA Professional - (North America Free Trade Agreement) PROFESSIONAL
BUSINESS PERSON
A
professional is defined as a person with a minimum of a bachelor's degree, who
applies for a position, which requires a degree as its minimum entry-level
requirement unless otherwise specified.
This
is the one we heard about in the news. To meet this classification which is
unique to Canadians, you must have a bone fide job offer and all licenses and
degrees in place for your profession.
CHECK
LIST
for the TN Visa
* An applicant for admission must establish Canadian or Mexican or American
citizenship
* The applicant must be entering the United States or Canada or Mexico to engage
in a profession or occupation at a professional level under
NAFTA
* The applicant must be in possession of an offer or contract of employment
from a United States, Canadian or Mexican employer
stating:
1) The professional
activity to be engaged in
2) Purpose of
entry
3)
Remuneration
4) That the position
is temporary in nature and will not exceed one year (although it can
be renewed)
*
The applicant must provide documentation of his or her educational degree or
professional qualifications
*
The applicant must meet all licensing
requirements
*
Employment need not be full-time
*
Permanent residence abroad is not a
prerequisite
*
Maximum period of admission of a TN is one year
*
TN Dependants accompanying the principal TN will be admitted under
the "TD" classification for the same amount of time as the
principal
*
A $56 U.S. fee is required ($85.00 for renewal by
mail)
*
TN applicants are not permitted to enter as a professional to participate
in any way to circumvent a strike
*
SELF EMPLOYMENT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE
The
following is a partial list of some who qualify under a TN Visa. Please note
that extensive experience can equal a degree in many cases. All need a Bachelor
or Baccalaureate degree unless otherwise noted. In some cases, 3 or 4
years of practical work in a discipline can count for one year of a University
degree. Therefore if the University BA requires 3 years, you need 9 or 12
years of work experience to qualify.
*
Accountants - RIA or SIA or CPA or CGA or CMA or
CA
**
Actuaries (this is one of two classifications added since
1989)
*
Agriculturalists
*
Agronomists
*
Animal Breeders
*
Animal Scientists
*
Apiculturist
*
Architects - BA or state / provincial license
*
Astronomers
*
Biochemists
*
Biologists
*
Botanists
*
Chemists
*
Computer Systems Analyst - BA or Post-secondary Diploma or Post-secondary
certificate and three years of practical experience. This does not get you to
the USA, if your job is programming a computer. An Analyst might spend a
day a month working on some modifications (in a testing mode for instance), but
they better not be thought of as a "programmer" within the
company.
****
Computer Software Engineer *** This is NOT
here as an approved occupation. However, Jackie Bednarz (US head of the
NAFTA Section 16 Working group in Washington stated specifically that if a
recognized University was to offer the degree, she would consider computer
software engineers under the ENGINEER classification when a recognized
University granted the degree. My understanding is that SFU and McGill are
now granting such degrees and that the Professional Engineers of British
Columbia have recognized graduates as members of their professional
society. Note that TC and TN's were being granted for this category on a
sporadic basis until the INS realized that no such "official" degree
existed.
Jackie Bednarz
also pointed out (She was part of the original negotiating team when the
original FTA (Free Trade Agreement) was being negotiated in 1985, 86, 87 and 88,
there was no such thing as the INTERNET, "web masters" and "web sites". When
negotiating the job titles, no thought was given to the computer revolution,
other than the computer system analyst designation, which at the time meant a
main frame analyst for a $1,000,000 computer.
(Thanks to
Stuart Lynne and Richard Pitt) (www.fireplug.net), the CEN-TA Group was an official
member of the Internet as far back as 1986 and thanks to Bill Gates himself (he
told me to use Microsoft Xenix as my operating system) and Radio Shack Model 16
computers, CEN-TA was using "email" between offices in Toronto, Ottawa and
Vancouver as early as 1983.
As
another aside, Stuart Lynne and Richard Pitt went on to found WIMSEY, the FIRST
ISP in CANADA. Bill Gates became quite famous as well.
*
Dairy Scientists
*
Dentists - DDS, DMD, or state / provincial
license
*
Dental Technicians
*
Dietitian
*
Disaster Relief Insurance Claim Specialists - (claims
adjuster employed by an insurance company located in the territory of a party or
an independent claims adjuster) - BA and successful completion of training in
the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief
claims; or, three years experience in claims adjustment and successful
completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment
pertaining to disaster relief claims
*
Doctors - (see physician further on)
*
Economists
*
Engineers - BA or state / provincial licensing
*
Entomologists
*
Epidemiologists
*
Forester - BA or state / provincial licensing
*
Geneticists
*
Geochemist
*
Geologist
*
Geophysicists (including Oceanographer in the United States)
*
Graphic Designer - BA or post-secondary diploma and three
years experience.
*
Hotel Managers - BA in hotel / restaurant management;
or, post-secondary diploma or post-secondary
certificate in hotel / restaurant management and three years experience in hotel
/ restaurant management
*
Horticulturist
*
Industrial Designer - BA or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate
and three years experience
*
Interior Designer - BA or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate
and three years experience
*
Journalist BA plus three years experience - (This category is no longer valid
and has been left in to explain the circumstances. As I understand it,
journalists in general took it as an insult that they had to have a BA degree,
because, "most, if not all," of the best known journalists do not have a BA
degree.)
*
Land Surveyor - BA or state / provincial
licenses
*
Landscape Architect
*
Lawyer (including notary in the Province of Quebec) - LLB, JD, LLL, BCL degree
(five years); or membership in a state or provincial
bar
*
Librarians - MLS or BLS (for which another BA was a
prerequisite)
*
Management Consultants - BA; or
equivalent professional experience as established by statement or professional
credential attesting to five years experience as a management consultant, or
five years experience in a field of specialty relating to the consulting
agreement. I must make it clear here. A Management Consultant is NOT
a manager. The surest way to lose your management consultant renewal is to
show up at the border with a business card with the title General Manager,
Western Region, or Human Resources Manager, or, or, or. A management
consultant could consult with the actual sales manager about sales techniques or
about selling into Canada. A management consultant could be advising the
actual human resources manager in hiring techniques or even suggesting that one
candidate is a better fit than another one. A management consultant can do
market research, gather and assemble data and write a report to give to the
manager. This is likely the hardest TN visa to get but is also a very important
one when it comes to serving the needs of the US
company.
Note that the
management consultant does NOT need a degree, just five years experience.
This is the perfect job description for the person with 23 years of job
experience who has never gone through the formal process of getting a university
degree in the discipline.
*
Mathematician (including statistician)
*
Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada) / Medical Technologist (U.S.) - BA; or
post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate and three years
experience
*
Meteorologist
*
Nutritionist
*
Occupational Therapist - BA; or state / provincial
license
*
Organic Chemist
*
Pharmacologist (Pharmacist) - BA; or state / provincial
license
*
Physician - (teaching or research only), MD or state /provincial license. To
work as MD, a doctor must pass his MLE (medical licensing exam), which has
three, parts written over a year. After passing, he or she would enter the
U.S. under an H-1A.
*
Physicist (including oceanographer in Canada)
*
Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist - BA; or state
/provincial license
*
Plant Breeder
**
Plant Pathologists (This is one of two professions added since 1989)
*
Poultry Scientist
*
Professional (most recognized professions)
*
Psychologists - state / provincial license
*
Range Conservationist
*
Recreational Therapist
*
Registered Nurse - state / provincial license
*
Research Assistant (working in post-secondary educational
institution)
-
*
Scientific Technician - Possession of:
(a) theoretical knowledge of any of the disciplines: agricultural sciences,
astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics,
meteorology, or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any
of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those
disciplines to basic or applied research.
*
Social Worker
*
Soil Scientist
*
Sylviculturist
*
Teacher (College, Seminary, or University) (Post Secondary level only)
*
Technical Publication Writer - BA, or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary
certificate, and three years experience
*
Urban Planner (including geographer)
*
Veterinarian
*
Vocational Counselor
*
Zoologist
http://www.centa.com/article.php/CanWeekofMon20080922000922.html