TN and K1 Visas at the same time. -

[email protected] wrote:

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From:           XXXX
My_question_is: Applicable to both US and Canada
Subject:        TN and K1 Visas
Expert:         [email protected]
Date:           Friday May 16, 2008
Time:           09:26 PM -0000

QUESTION:

Hi, please forgive me for my naivety about this website but I stumbled across this  blog because I have the very same situation in that, being Canadian, I am on the last stage of my K1 Visa which is in Montreal awaiting an interview date but I am told it could be 4-6 months before they give me one which for all I know could  be months after that and simultaneously I am offered a GREAT job in the states!!!
 
You mentioned that it has been known that Customs has granted the TN visa  despite the K1 pending status.  My question is:  are there any websites that might give further proof of that as I would love to give the Customs agent some physical proof of such!!!!
 
Many thanks.........M
 

  
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david ingram replies:

In this case it is better to have had your TN BEFORE applying for the Fiancée visa but all is not lost.

I could give you the names of 179 people who have had a TN while the Fiancée visa is being processed and it would have no bearing on your situation because everyone is different.

It is unlikely that they will agree but if you can convince the Homeland security at the border that you are going down for this job on a temporary basis and are NOT trying to move there on a permanent basis in the meantime, the officer can grant you a TN visa. 

My suggestion is that you ask for a short term TN visa of maybe 6 months rather than a year.  Since 99 out of a 100 TN applications are for a year, a six moth visa tends to be granted easier in dicey situations because it has less time problems. 

Even asking for a three month visa would get you started and then renew it for another 3 months would likely work but there is no guarantee.

Joe Grasmick at www.grasmick.com is likely the best person to talk to.  He charges $295 for a half hour phone conversation but he also wrote the TN handbook for US Canada situations and I think every practitioner but me has a copy.  I only have half a copy because when I bought it two years ago, only half downloaded and i never got around to trying to get the rest.

Anyway go to www.grasmick.com and book one of his prepaid TN consultations to get a very good lawyer involved.  He may have a completely different idea and even say I am nuts for my answer.   I will accept that because he is the accepted expert on this subject.  I only know what i have seen happen.

If you do get the TN, do NOT cross the border again.  When it comes time for the renewal, do it by mail.

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I also suggest that you do NOT live with your fiancée in the meantime.  That will make it look like you are trying to go and live with her sooner and that is what you are not supposed to be doing with a TN.
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In other words, if your TN was for a job 1,000 miles away from your fiancée, it would be better for the application.
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SUGGESTED PRICE GUIDELINES - May 17, 2008

david ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325

Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week  Vancouver (LA) time -  (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) expert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service help.
pert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service and help.
David Ingram gives expert income tax service & immigration help to non-resident Americans & Canadians from New York to California to Mexico  family, estate, income trust trusts Cross border, dual citizen - out of country investments are all handled with competence & authority.
 
Phone consultations are $450 for 15 minutes to 50 minutes (professional hour). Please note that GST is added if product remains in Canada or is to be returned to Canada or a phone consultation is in Canada. ($472.50 with GST for in person or if you are on the telephone in Canada) expert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service and help.
This is not intended to be definitive but in general I am quoting $900 to $3,000 for a dual country tax return.

$900 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two interest slips and you lived in one country only (but were filing both countries) - no self employment or rentals or capital gains - you did not move into or out of the country in this year.
 
$1,200 would be the same with one rental
 
$1,300 would be the same with one business no rental
 
$1,300 would be the minimum with a move in or out of the country. These are complicated because of the back and forth foreign tax credits. - The IRS says a foreign tax credit takes 1 hour and 53 minutes.
 
$1,600 would be the minimum with a rental or two in the country you do not live in or a rental and a business and foreign tax credits  no move in or out

$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries

$3,000 would be all of the above and you moved in and out of the country.
 
This is just a guideline for US / Canadian returns
 
We will still prepare Canadian only (lives in Canada, no US connection period) with two or three slips and no capital gains, etc. for $200.00 up. However, if you have a stack of 1099, or T3 or T4A or T5 or K1 reporting forms, expect to pay an average of $10.00 each with up to $50.00 for a K1 or T5013 or T5008 or T101 --- Income trusts with amounts in box 42 are an even larger problem and will be more expensive. - i.e. 20 information slips will be at least $350.00
 
With a Rental for $400, two or three rentals for $550 to $700 (i.e. $150 per rental) First year Rental - plus $250.
 
A Business for $400 - Rental and business likely $550 to $700
 
And an American only (lives in the US with no Canadian income or filing period) with about the same things in the same range with a little bit more if there is a state return.
 
Moving in or out of the country or part year earnings in the US will ALWAYS be $900 and up.
 
TDF 90-22.1 forms are $50 for the first and $25.00 each after that when part of a tax return.
 
8891 forms are generally $50.00 to $100.00 each.
 
18 RRSPs would be $900.00 - (maybe amalgamate a couple)
 
Capital gains *sales)  are likely $50.00 for the first and $20.00 each after that.

Catch - up returns for the US where we use the Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to $600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be informational rather than taxable.  In fact, if there are children involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years.  We have done several catch-ups where the client has received as much as $6,000 back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over $12,000 refund. 

Email and Faxed information is convenient for the sender but very time consuming and hard to keep track of when they come in multiple files.  As of May 1, 2008, we will charge or be charging a surcharge for information that comes in more than two files.  It can take us a valuable hour or more  to try and put together the file when someone sends 10 emails or 15 attachments, etc. We had one return with over 50 faxes and emails for instance. 

This is a guideline not etched in stone.  If you do your own TDF-90 forms, it is to your advantage. However, if we put them in the first year, the computer carries them forward beautifully.
 






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