171–180 of 208 posts
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Why would a Congressman go to bat for a foreigner who can't get entry into the US? I mean, I guess their office could push the gov't for an actual decision, but I can't see them fighting for approval.
To attract talented professionals to their state
I’m sad to hear it. A lot of people are denied entry to the US for their entire lifetimes; I am sad for all of them.
It's getting to the point where one must ask why someone wealthy enough to fly internationally would want the hassle of entering the US. It's been bad since 9/11, but it's insane now. I can't imagine the TSA is treating people better than they did pre-Trump. Maybe things will be better next year.
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You do. The US does not do "sterile transit". That was a major hazzle for (former) colleagues from South Africa.
That is really bizarre. From an outsiders view, sterile transit seems extremely intuitive; forcing people to buy a visa if their plane gets fuel in the US just seems annoying.
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Hmm, becoming Canadian just to enter the USA seems like a difficult and roundabout way of going about it.... I'm reading Daniel's page and it seems to me that a number of commenters here are confusing his intent, which is "visiting", not "immigration". I've noticed that in the US, people tend to use the word "immigrate" for anyone trying to get into the country, whereas the word immigrate has a much more specific mea…
Has Daniel applied for a non-ESTA visa? How long has that been waiting?
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Unless you're a billionaire who can actually get a Congressperson on the phone, you're burning cycles. They've got an army of staff that do nothing but write stock replies, print and sign documents with stamps and mail them back to constituents. That's what involvement in our government has become in America - a bunch of people shouting into an endless void, and the people in power doing more or less whatever fits th…
> They've got an army of staff that do nothing but write stock replies, print and sign documents with stamps and mail them back to constituents. While this is certainly true and billionaires have far more sway than a random citizen, I don't think it's quite as dire as you say. I've heard from multiple people who work in politics that letters like these are tracked by the staff and the tallies considered by the repres…
Every US Congressman has staff who get letters like this everyday. They send them to the appropriate agency, and track them. It's the standard process in the US to deal with the bureaucracy when it gets stuck, it is somewhat like the ombudsman role in other systems. There is no guarantee, but there is a chance.
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I had a friend who worked in constituent services for a US Senator, and...yeah, if you can get someone's attention in that setting, they can make stuff happen that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks. Been awhile since I heard stories, but one came to mind was someone getting the right visa for his bride in time for the wedding. Another one had to do with getting some kind of medal for a soldier. Not sure…
Oh when it comes to immigration issues for the family of US citizens, yes, calling your Congressman can definitely move things along. But a foreigner whose visa is denied? Not sure why the Congressman would bother unless it somehow impacted the US.
I live near DC, so I guess I assume others know more about the US system than is common knowledge. My apologies. Please let me explain.
Of course the congressman will not actually read the letter. That's not the point. The point is that every congressman has a mechanism for accepting requests from constituents, routing them to the correct agency, and tracking them to make sure they are resolved. You fill in a web form, prove that you are a constituent, and then the information gets routed to their staff. My daughter was did this job a few years ago, there are small armies that do it. It's just part of the US system.
There's absolutely no guarantee that this will be resolved the way I want, but this is the standard US mechanism for dealing with stuck bureaucracies.
Other US citizens could do the same. It might be a good idea, because with multiple complaints, then the US state department would get the clue that this is important and needs to get worked on.
Canada is benefiting substantially from the recent US immigration policies. My Ai team at Microsoft Canada was stacked with talent, all immigrants, and most expressed to me that they would have “normally gone to the US.” I don’t have to remind this community of the laundry list of tech giants started by immigrants. However, if anyone outside the US is reading this we’d love to have you in Canada. Come here, please.
The current approval time for residency applications is 49 months. I'm sure it's less for straight-up worker visas, though. EDIT: I was not sufficiently precise. I'm not speaking of Express Entry / skills-based applications here. If you have a high score in the CRS system, you are eligible for other programs which may be much faster.
It is pretty straight-up for worker visas, honestly.
Permanent Residency (PR) only matters if you want to stay. There are short term (2) year work permits available, Express Entry permits if you're young-ish and have skills and degrees.
There is also the NAFTA "TN visa" which is just for US/CAN/MEX which is basically one you apply for at the border if you have a valid job offer. It's good for 3 years, can be renewed an unlimited number of times, but it's not a path to PR. As in, you'll have to move to another visa and then follow the steps to get PR that way... but it's quick and easy, and is a decent idea if you don't want to live here forever but do want to do something different for a while.
You could also go to school or marry a local.
There are also a few other more obscure work permits, like Provincial Nomination -- the province needs jobs filled, often in rural areas, so they'll sponsor for somethings. Often these are surprising, as in I knew someone who got sponsored to be a barber in rural AB.
There are also "investor" visas -- aka buying your way in at around 400k -- and a start-up visa, though that requires funding from a handful of approved start-up/VC related groups in Canada. I know tons of folks with a PR, all of whom came in different ways, but I don't know any who did the start-up visa :/
Also keep in mind that the CAD is tied heavily to oil prices, and that salaries in STEM are just, all around, not as high as the US. I'm in AB, and compared to the 2 states that I used to live in the most (VA and WA) the taxes are crazy high -- but they're the lowest in Canada. Investing rules (the dreaded PFIC) and cross-border taxes are also a PITA, and are ones that never really came up when I lived other places overseas.
I could go back to NoVA or Greater Seattle and get a 30-50k USD pay raise... and if the US wasn't under the thumb of Trump, I'd seriously consider it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You do. The US does not do "sterile transit". That was a major hazzle for (former) colleagues from South Africa.
That is really bizarre. From an outsiders view, sterile transit seems extremely intuitive; forcing people to buy a visa if their plane gets fuel in the US just seems annoying.
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If this trend continues US will likely see this as an act of aggression by Canada. They can't just "take all the talent". Canada should be careful or US will push for annexation.
I doubt that would be the tipping point; probably oil or access to the Arctic. But Trump is super popular in rural Canada.
When the locals find out you're from the US they immediately want to ask you about politics.
Rural AB (and a lot of rural Canada) is basically no different than rural Kansas, save for a different passport and the Queen on their dollars.