This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
QUESTION:
I work for a Canadian Oilfield Company in Mexico, I've been doing this for 4 years.
This year I moved to Mexico and then Costa Rica so my family could see the world (they think they've see enough and want to move to Arizona
now).
How can I enter the U.S. and have my children in school. I would be in the states every other month, but my wife and kids would be there full time.
I have a Bachelors in Business operations and my foreign income fully supports us, but if we like it there what options could I have to stay. I'm not worried about having to pay taxes if due, but I do want to be legally in the Country.
My wife wants to look into attending school as well. What are my options (My father was adopted and my Grandfather was An American but I would
still have to try to get his birth registry to prove).
BXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
======================================================
david ingram replies:
There is no legal way for you to get your family into the US as residents or immigrants under the scenario you have put forward, However, I am also putting this out to a "list" to see if someone else has a comment to make.
You could apply for and get student visas for your wife and children to attend school in the US and those schools could be in Arizona and you could visit them later.
Better to apply for a job in the USA and get into the US on an H1B visa which your degree would qualify you for. There are a fair number of my clients working in mining in Arizona and Nevada and Montana and the oil business in Texas and Louisiana and Oklahoma..
An H1B visa gives you the right to apply for resident alien status (green card) in the US and you can even go on to US citizenship without giving up your Canadian Citizenship.
Do NOT consider a TN visa if you look for a job in the USA. A TN does NOT give you the right to apply for a green card (although some do and get away with it) and every time you cross the US border, you would risk having that TN visa taken away. TN stands for Treaty NAFTA and I presume you have an FM-3 visa to work in Mexico and are there under the terms of the NAFTA (North American Free trade Agreement).
Go to www.centa.com and click on [Entering the US] for an idea of what visas you might qualify for.
Another solution which would be more elegant and allow your wife to work as well would be for your company to open up a US office and transfer you to the US under an L1 visa. You could then be based in Phoenix and trot across the border to Mexico to work some of the time. An L-1 also allows you to apply for a green card.
If you can prove your grandfather's citizenship, your father is likely also an American Citizen. If he is alive, it is possible his citizenship could be used to sponsor the family as well. He would have to be living in the US and making at least $30,000 a year US to sponsor your family. He would also have to bring old US tax returns up to date. However, it could be worth your while to move dad to Phoenix and get the student visas now. While dad is there, he can start the sponsor ship process.
Let me know if our office can help. We are one of the few offices which offers tax and immigration advice in the same location (which is in the process of moving at the moment).
Check out [US/Canada Taxation] at www.centa.com for some of the tax information.
Also, make sure your Mexican return is done. I hate to say it but most Canadians who are working in Mexico are NOT filing their Mexican returns and it will catch up to them.
Hoping this helps. We do consultations by phone - minimum charge $350 at a rate of $350.00 per hour.
If you would like such a consultation, send a cheque (check) for $350.00 CDN to the address below. Email me your major concerns to this address and you should likely send me a copy of your last couple of Mexican and Canadian returns when you send the check.
David Ingram's US/Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Res (604) 980-3578 Cell (604) 657-8451
(604) 980-0321
New email to [email protected]
www.centa.com www.david-ingram.com
Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist in connection with personal or business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included."
Be ALERT, the world needs more "lerts"
This from "ask an income tax and immigration expert" from www.centa.com or www.jurock.com or www.featureweb.com. Canadian David Ingram deals daily with tax returns dealing with expatriate:
multi jurisdictional cross and trans border expatriate problems for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, New Zealand, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, Georgia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii, Florida, Montana, Morocco, Israel, Iraq, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali, Bangkok, Greenland, Iceland, Cuba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, St Vincent, Grenada,, Virgin Islands, US, UK, GB, American and Canadian and Mexican and any of the 43 states with state tax returns, etc.
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.centa.com/CEN-TAPEDE/centapede/attachments/78b5e697/attachment.htm
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
What's Related