Consulting work in the US; tips?

[Dave Cramer]

On 24-Jul-07, at 5:54 AM, CLIFFORD ILKAY wrote:

> On Monday 23 July 2007 21:47, Madison Kelly wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>>    I've got an offer for three-days consulting work in the US. Has
>> anyone here had recent experience travel down south for work? Any
>> tips for a painless border crossing?
>
> 1. Be prepared for completely arbitrary interpretations of the (silly)
> NAFTA laws pertaining to IT consultancy. For instance, programmers
> are specifically excluded under NAFTA but "systems analysts",
> whatever those are, are covered. Have a backup plan in case you are
> refused entry. Even before 9/11, this was an area fraught with
> unpredictability. It is even more so now. Having had TN visas in the
> past, I speak from experience.
>
> 2. Have a written contract from your client and a mountain of
> documentation to support your TN visa claim. You will need an
> original copy of relevant degrees. In my specific case, I qualified
> under two categories, as a systems analyst or as a management
> consultant. I only discovered this after I was refused entry as a
> systems analyst because the client wrote that I would be
> doing "Programming and systems analysis" and the INS agent refused on
> the basis that since "Programming" was capitalized and "systems
> analysis" was not, I was a programmer and thus disqualified from
> entry. I returned the next day with an application as a management
> consultant and was granted the TN visa. Three months later, same
> contract, same documentation, that time I was rejected as a
> management consultant but accepted as a systems analyst. After that
> experience, I was always prepared with two TN applications in case
> one was refused and it was a toss up which one would be accepted.
>
> 3. You do not need a TN visa if you are going to the U.S. to service,
> support, or train users on a system that your company sold. That
> would be a B-1 visa. You will need to provide documentary evidence of
> the sale, support contract, and other pertinent details.
>
> 4. Be truthful in your answers. The consequences for being caught
> lying can be quite severe. (I do not speak from experience in this
> case.) Do not listen to people who tell you "Just say you are
> visiting friends." That is very bad advice.
> --  
> Regards,
>
Well, having been in pretty much the same situation. If you are  
determined to get the TN-1 then yes get all your ducks in a row and  
show up really early. They don't seem to care if you miss your  
flight. Be warned that if you are flying to the west coast you will  
likely have to fly to Vancouver and then apply there (been there done  
that, you have to apply at the border where you cross, you can't pre- 
qualify here in Toronto) and candidly it's easier in Vancouver. If  
it's really only for 3 days, getting a TN-1 is probably more trouble  
than it's worth. The TN-1 is only good for the one company. You need  
one for every company you are going to work for. As far as bad advice  
goes; after I did this I talked to quite a few people, and every one  
of them said, just tell them you are going for a meeting. This would  
be easier to arrange since presumably the company could verify your  
story if asked. Yes, I know you can be denied entry if caught lying,  
but it is considerably simpler.

Dave
> Clifford Ilkay
> Dinamis Corporation
> 3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1419
> Toronto, ON
> Canada  M4N 3P6
>
> <http://dinamis.com>
> +1 416-410-3326
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