Recent Canadian Citizens Moving to the US
Hi, I became a Canadian permanent resident last year and have to stay another 1.5 years in Canada before I can apply for my Canadian citizenship and then move to the US on TN visa. I'd like to do PE in the US and ideally would want to move asap but hard to get H1B sponsorship (I am a citizen of a developed country)
I did both undergrad and grad school in the US (I went to a top 5 grad school), so that's where most of my personal and business relationships are concentrated. I moved to Canada because it's straight forward to get Canadian citizenship and then use the TN visa to move (vs. relying on H1B).
I am wondering if any one from Canada has recently become a citizen and then moved to the US to work on TN visa. Specifically I am wondering how tough / easy was the move? Push backs from employers?
It's not easy to convince employers to hire you for a TN visa, mostly cause there's a lot of overqualified Americans who can do the job. Most Canadians who were successful in obtaining a TN went to either Queen's, Ivey, UBC, or McGill where there's a strong alumni presence in the NYC/SF. Since there's no actual category for finance roles on the TN list, most enter on an economist title, but its gotten tricky since 2017 to do that. Lots of people are getting rejected at the border recently. Some PE firms will sponsor H1B but that's if they really want you and you have relevant experience, H1B is also a lottery and there's a limit so you might not get it.
Since you went to school in the U.S., it can theoretically be a bit easier for you but some firms have recently changed their sponsorship policies. The hardest part won't be the actual move but finding a firm that's willing to sponsor you.
Thank you. But I assume it's easier to get sponsored by a bank for IB roles?
Yes, most Canadians who have gone down to the U.S. did for IB roles. But given current economic situations, some firms are now changing their policy on sponsorship. It's costly and banks usually don't want to deal with the hassle of it.
Understood, appreciate your response. Thanks! Do you have any idea whether bank's willingness to sponsor varies based on the experience one might have? For instance, I have 3.5 yrs of BB IB exp, 1 yr of MM PE, and 2 yr of Strategic Finance
Oh definitely makes you more competitive given your experience. The only problem I might see is that banks might not be sure where to place you, example: associate or VP, since you have too much experience to be an analyst and maybe not enough yet to be a VP but could totally see VP be possible. Make sure you have a why NYC/SF answer when they ask why you're looking to make the shift to the U.S. since banks worry that you might get home sick and leave after a year or two.
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