👋 Hello!

Congratulations on starting real-life! This is a guide to hopefully help you transition from being a student to working full-time in the tech industry in the US.

Adulting is hard and we’re all trying to figure it out, so hopefully by sharing our experiences in what we hope to be a semi-coherent guide, we can make it easier for the next wave of new grads to start their careers.

We’re not legal, tax, immigration, etc. professionals. We take no responsibility for anything here, so please contact a professional if you’re confused.

Another disclaimer: the authors are recent grads who are still figuring things out, we would welcome contributions from people with more experience and wisdom, of course!

🎒Finding a Job

Cool resources to help you land the right job for you if you don’t already have one arranged:

📝 Before You Sign…

These are generally outside of the scope of this guide, but we’re linking to a few useful resources to make sure you get the best offer possible!

💳 An aside on credit

If you happen to be reading this guide while interning in the US, great you can get started on full time preparation by building a credit history! The earlier you start the better. It may be hard to get started with credit in the US as your Canadian history do not transfer over, but there are a few ways to work around this.

Nova Credit is a service that lets you make use of your Canadian credit history to apply for credit cards in the US, specifically American Express cards. This is your best bet if you have a strong Canadian credit history.

RBC offers a US credit card that also takes into account your Canadian credit. It will be reported to American credit agencies and can help you avoid having to get a secured card.

TD Canada Trust does as well, through your US subsidary TD Bank, but you need to have residence on the east coast of the US as TD only operates there. If you aren’t on the East Coast, you’ll need to fill out this form and fax it in, though.

Secured cards are an option if you don’t have a strong Canadian credit score. The Discover it Secured credit card is considered by many to be one of the best beginner credit cards, since it is the only secured credit card that offers rewards, and Discover in general is very new credit history-friendly, making getting approved easier. Other options include the Capital One and Citi Secured Mastercards. None of these cards have an annual fee.

Also, rather surprisingly, the Apple credit card is another new (unsecured) option that has opened up, since Apple is being very lenient in approving this card, and for this card specifically, you can get check whether you are approved or not with just a soft inquiry (no impact to credit score); only accepting the offer does a hard inquiry. Hence, if have have an iPhone, you can keep checking for approval on the Apple card with no detrements. It also has no annual fee.

When applying for the first time, you would most probably be asked to send in proof of address (lease agreement, pay slip) and proof of ID (passport, driver’s license), since you won’t have any credit profile in the US. Read the things you should now about each card issuer for more details on the process of each card issuer. It’s also wise to monitor your credit for free across all three credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, using Credit Karma (for TransUnion and Equifax) and Experian’s own app, so that you know if you have the required score before you apply.

Try keeping your monthly credit card balance as close as possible to 0% (the 30% of your limit thing you read online is a fallacy, and staying close to 30% rather negatively impacts your credit). Pay your card off to the maximum extent before the statement closes, so that your card statement has a very low balance on it (this is what gets reported to the credit bureaus as credit utilization). Once you build your credit and get higher credit limits, you can leave higher balances and still have single-digit credit utilization. Don’t worry if your utilization goes higher in one month, since once you pay it off, it would go back down the next month. Also, some credit card issuers like Chase actually rereport your balance as zero as soon as you completely pay off your balance.

After getting your first card, apply for the next one after about 2-3 months. Target your spending habits and get credit cards that offer the best rewards for your biggest spending categories. In the mean time, try to stay within Chase’s 5/24 rule: Chase will auto-reject you for any of their cards if you have 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the 24-month period before your application. This could potentially lock you out of Chase altogether for several months, which is a shame since Chase is considered one of the best credit card companies in the US, offering the best service and the best perks and rewards.

It is usually recommended to have at least a year of credit history before applying to Chase, but you would have an easier time getting approved earlier if you have banking relationshop with them, through the recommendation of your banker. It is recommended to first apply for a no-annual fee card with Chase, like the Chase Freedom, waiting a month, then applying for premium/travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve, since Chase is paranoid about giving these cards out to new customers.

🇨🇦 While you wait for the job to start

🏠 Housing and Relocation

If you’re planning to move to SF, Bay Area, or NYC, be prepared to pay a lot. You’re going to be living in some of the most expensive and hottest real estate markets of today. You can look into what relocation benefits your employer provides. They might provide cash, a reimbursable amount, temporary housing, or a mixture of these benefits. They would at least make settling in a bit easier.

You should try to actually see the place before you sign a lease. This isn’t an internship anymore, you’ll be living there for more than four months and you’ll want to enjoy the space - a video tour can only do so much. If you can’t make it there though, try to send a friend for a tour at the least.

For companies that offer more than one relocation package, do some relocation calculations to see which one gives you more $$. For example, some lump sum amounts results in waaay more money than asking the company to ship stuff for you. (This is especially applicable if you already live relatively close to the state you’re traveling to and if you already have housing secured).

Some useful places to look for rentals are Zillow, Craigslist, Padmapper. Don’t hesitate to ask for a viewing, most agents are more than happy to accomodate.

For Seattle(WA) interns who are going to Microsoft, they can also look for places that are close to "connector" stops, which is a free shuttle service provided by MS. Here’s a map of the stops.

After settling in and getting comfortable, you should start planning to buying a house/apartment, since real estate is great form of investment, and why pay rent (read: pay off someone else’s mortgage) when you can pay your mortgage instead and build equity. This is especially the case in Seattle where population growth is through the roof, which has translated to exceptional real estate appreciation rates. For getting the lowest interest rates on home loans, you need a good credit history and a score above 740 (read the above section). You also want to avoid hard inquiries and new credit cards in the months leading up to keep your score high and to avoid lenders from considering you higher risk, since a hard inquiry roughly translates to “eagerly seeking for debt” in their eyes.

🎓 Degree fast-track

If your start date is close to your graduating date, you might need to ask the Registrar’s Office to fast-track your degree so that you can use it for your TN visa. Otherwise you have to wait until convocation when you receive your diploma.

You should aim to get the TN paperwork/petition process started two months before your employment start date. Use that time to travel! You could technically obtain a TN visa at the border without prior paperwork, but there’s been a history of issues from Waterloo grads trying it, so it is preferable to avoid that route unless you have to.

🛂 An aside on visas

No matter where you go and where you live, you need the appropriate visas or citizenship to work in that country. If you have American or dual citizenship/green card, feel free to skip this part as you should be covered!

Now for the rest of us, generally speaking you are not allowed to moonlight or do freelance work on a TN or H1-B visa as these visas only authorize you to work for a given employer over a specific time frame.

TN - The NAFTA visa

If you’re coming on a TN visa, you will need to have Canadian or Mexican citizenship, this is a nice option as H1-B visas are harder to get. You also need to have a job offer with a qualified job description (not all jobs are under TN, there is a list of jobs that qualify), and a degree that is relevant for that job. So unfortunately you cannot work as a designer if you have an AFM degree, for example, no matter your past work experience.

This visa is valid for a couple of years (up to 3), and can be renewed. Although it is not considered an immigration track visa (you’re a nonimmigrant resident alien), so they may start to question your immigration intent if you renew it too often. This visa is also not considered dual-intent (ie. you can’t apply for immigration status or green card and be on the TN visa at the same time, although there are many technicalities about this statement). Therefore, many people would consider doing a switch to H1-B while on the TN visa to work around these limitations. It’s definitively something you should talk about with your employer if you intend to stay in the US in the long term.

Also, consider setting your employment start date at least a month after your convocation date. While TN visa could technically be applied at the border with your offer letter and diploma, you risk getting rejected especially if the border agent think your degree is irrelevant for the job. This is especially common for Computer Science students with a Software Engineering job offer.

Most companies will sponsor your TN visa and file a petition on your behalf for a pre-approval, and if approved, you will receive a I-797B notice of action. This would increase your chance of success at the border significantly. The petition may take a few weeks to process, so starting a bit later would avoid potential headaches here.

If you’re applying at the border (rather than getting pre-approval from the US gov’t) and you’re from the Toronto area, the lawyers at EIG recommended going through Fort Erie, aka Peace Bridge, because Pearson and Detroit land crossing have a high rejection rate. I’ve been there and it’s pretty hectic so get there super early if you’re flying from Buffalo! Make sure to call ahead to see when the TN officers will be available, because sometimes they only work monday - friday 9-5 and if you arrive on the weekend, you’ll be there for a long time. There’s also a US CBP Deferred Inspection office in SF that will change your work status if they misclassify you at the border. This could happen mistakenly by untrained border agents, so make sure your visa stamp or your I-94 form correctly reflects your TN status. Some people have been admitted under TN but registered as B-2 (visitor visa) before.

IMPORTANT: If your company is providing a legal team to apply for a TN visa for you, ask for a status update 2 months (or at least a 1.5 months) before your start date. Even after they’ve collected all of your info, it could still take a long time for them to actually file the request for your visa, and it will then take another 15 days to hear back from the USCIS (this is NOT a guaranteed approval, they may ask for more evidence which will result in more time/delay). So you asking for a status update is just to make sure your legal team doesn’t uh.. ‘forget’ about you and file the visa request way too late. Some employers require you to receive your start authorization from the legal team a week prior to your start date, or else your start date will have to be pushed back.

Adjustment of Status from TN to Permanent Residency (Green Card) visa

**Permanent residency advantages**

**Permanent residency disadvantages**

**Nonimmigrant intent**

Although the TN is a nonimmigrant visa, it’s possible to adjust status after 90 days after the most recent entry to the US to that of a lawful permanent resident (green card holder). As a single intent visa holder, you are allowed to change your mind after 90 days when you’re in the US, so long as you genuinely had the original intention of leaving at the time of your latest entry. If you decide to apply for permanent residency, you’ll demonstrate immigrant intent which would prevent you from applying for another TN visa (or potentially another nonimmigrant visa in the future).

**Backlogged countries**

TLDR: If you’re born in mainland China or India, get the H-1B first, you likely can’t directly apply from TN to permanent residency, unless you’re born in Canada/rest of world.

The time required to directly adjusting status from TN to permanent residency varies depending on your country of birth (country of chargeability) and your preference category. For this guide we’re assuming you’re adjusting status based off of employment. The preference category likely applicable to you are the EB-2 (2nd preference) and EB-3 (3rd preference). EB-2 generally requires a bachelors along with either a US (or foreign equivalent) masters or 5 years of progressive experience (after the bachelors). EB-3 generally requires either a bachelors degree or just 2 years of experience. In order for you to apply for permanent residency and immigrant visa needs to be immediately available to you. People born in China face a 5+ year wait time and people born in India face a 10+ year wait time (even if you’re a Canadian citizen) which would exceed the validity of a single TN. Refer to the state department’s visa bulletin for the latest updates.

**Required Documents**

  1. Birth certificate
  2. All available passports used to enter the US
  3. Proof of maintaining status in the US if applicable, all I-94s available, all J-1 related documentation (DS-2019, I-797), all TN related documentation (I-797), etc.
  4. Police and court records if applicable
  5. Vaccination records
  6. Parents’ birth certificates (to reference information)
  7. University degree and transcripts
  8. US tax returns/transcripts
  9. US paystubs

For a full list refer to I-485 checklist.

**Steps**

  1. PERM
  2. Gathering employment verification letters
  3. File the I-140
  4. File the I-485
  5. File for the I-131
  6. File for the I-765
  7. Complete the medical exam
  8. File the I-693
  9. Attend your biometrics appointment
  10. Attend your interview (if scheduled)

**PERM**

Via Program Electronic Review Management (PERM), the Department of Labor must certify that there aren’t enough US workers able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the proposed job opportunity that you intend on taking permanently. Your employer will get the prevailing wage from the DOL, figure out the minimum requirements for the job, and advertise this job publicly to US workers. If a US worker is found, then this step needs to be restarted. If no workers are found, then form ETA 9089 (Application for Permanent Employment Certification)can be submitted to the DOL for certification. This step takes 160 days for PWD, 30-60 days for the ad campaign, ETA 9089 processing takes 6 months+. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent

**Gathering employment verification letters**

You’ll need to reach out to old employers to get employment verification letters prepared on company letterhead signed by your manager/supervisor at the time to provide details about your previous employment.

**File the I-140**

After the form ETA 9089 has been approved by the DOL, and you have your experience letters, you can file the I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, to USCIS. This form provides information about the proposed job duties, the worksite, and your relationship to the employer. This step takes 6 months+ in processing time, though you can pay a premium processing fee, $2,500, to get a decision within 2 weeks. If your I-140 is approved, this secures your priority date. Filing the I-140 might demonstrate that you have immigrant intent, check with your lawyer if you plan on leaving the US.

**File the I-1485**

On a visa bulletin, if your preference category EB-3, EB-2, is “current” or the date listed is after your priority date, you can file the I-485. If your priority date is not current you’ll have to wait. This wait time depends on your county of birth, i.e. people born in India have a 10 year+ wait and people in China have a 5+ year wait (despite being Canadian citizens). If you’re born in Canada, there’s generally no wait time. The I-485, is the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. This form will examine your entire immigration history to the US for inadmissabilities, ask for biographical information about you, ask for past residence and employment history, information about your parents, 60+ questions about crimes, i.e. prostitution, drugs, terrorism, murder etc. Filing the I-485 signals strong immigrant intent, so you can no longer renew a TN or depart the US (since you won’t be allowed back in).

**File the I-131**

The I-131, is the advanced parole (AP) document, granting you permission to exit the US and re-enter. Note, if you choose to depart the US you’ll reenter using AP, so you won’t be in TN status. This distinction is important, if your I-485 is denied, you’ll be immediatley out of status (deportable) since your AP is no longer valid, however, if you remain on your TN, then you still have a valid status. With an H-1B, a dual intent visa, you could freely depart the US and re-enter on an H-1B, unlike a TN, so the AP might not be necessary.

**File the I-765**

The I-765, is the employment authorization document (EAD), granting you unrestricted work authorization in the US. This is useful if your TN expires before your I-485 is approved/denied, so that you can continue employment.

**File the I-693/Go to the medical exam**

The I-693, is the medical examination and vaccination record, completed by a civil surgeon who will physically examine you for health issues. The civil surgeon will also check your vaccination records to see if it complies with US standards, if not, you might need to get some shots. The medical exam fee is around $300. https://my.uscis.gov/findadoctor

**Attend your biometrics appointment**

USCIS will schedule a biometrics appointment, to take photos of you and get your fingerprints. The photos taken will be the one printed on your green card. Missing your appointment could lead to the denial of your I-485 application, try to reschedule in advance if necessary.

**Attend your interview**

You might be interviewed under oath by a USCIS officer. The interview will go over your I-485 in detail and is an opportunity for you to make corrections/updates. Bring the suggested docs to your interview. Within a month, there should be a decision on your case, if approved, your green card will arrive in your mail within 2 weeks of case approval.

Caveats:

H1-B - The visa we keep hearing about in the news

H1-B is the other main type of visa that can be used to work in the US. This is mainly an option for people who are not eligible for TN.

L-1 - Transfer visa

Sometimes a company will hire you to work in another country for a while (Vancouver is a huge destination for this). This is so you can be transfered to the US under the L-1 visa.

💸 Repaying Student Loans

It’s generally a good idea to make plans and pay back your student loans ahead of time, before your time in Waterloo ends. Also, note that having outstanding student loans is considered a strong “tie” to Canada when the CRA determines your tax-residency status when you leave.

For OSAP, while you won’t have to make a repayment until 6 months after the end of your last academic term (likely April 30 + 6 mo, so October 31), interest will accrue on the Federal and Ontario portion once repayments begin (starting 2019, interest will accrue on the Ontario portion once the grace period starts)

Similar rules apply for loans from other provinces, for example, for Quebec’s AFE, the interest will accrue on your loan immediately after the completion of your studies, but you will benefit from a 6 month period deferral before repayments start.

🇺🇸 After arriving in the US

🚗 Driving License or State ID

Generally you need to get a resident state license ASAP in order to continue driving.

🤑 Tax

You become a US tax resident on the day you move, and will need to file 2 partial-year tax returns that year - an exit return in Canada and a resident return in the US. You’ll also need to file a second US non-resident tax return for the beginning of the year if you worked in the US on a co-op term that year before moving. Some good readings: Leaving Canada, Entering US.

🏥 Health insurance, wtf?

Generally, you’ll lose access to the Canadian healthcare the moment you move away from Canada, so from that point on your sole source of medical coverage would be from your employer-sponsored healthcare plan. You’ll enroll into a plan sometimes during your first month of work, and that coverage should apply retroactively from your start date.

But… WTF are all these acronyms? (EPO, PPO, High Deductible)

Types of Health Plans

👴(Retirement) Savings

It’s never too early to save for retirement / important investments such as a house later in life.

There are two broad categories of tax-sheltered accounts you’ll be looking at - 401k and IRAs. 401ks are typically tied to your employer, although you’ll be able to take the account with you (and convert to an IRA if you’d like) when you leave.

Various Pre-tax deductions

Keep in mind you can only change your FSA contributions during your benefit enrollment periods, so once you change your amounts you can’t change it until a major lifetime event or the next enrollment period (usually a year from now)!

Note: There is also a dependent-care FSA that is subject to different rules, which is not covered here, and FSAs are not available with all healthcare plans.

Normally, a special debit card will be provided, allowing you to pay for any qualified expenses directly from your HSA account Alternatively, you may reimburse yourself by withdrawing from your HSA bank account. This is useful when: 1) You forgot to pay with the HSA debit card or did not have it on you.

2) You have incurred international eligible expenses (exception: prescriptions drugs purchased abroad must be consumed abroad to be considered an eligible expense). Use an appropriate spot FX on the day of the payment for currency conversion purposes.

You may reimburse yourself retroactively for any eligible expenses that occurred after the establishment of the HSA. So there is no need to wait for your HSA to accumulate before buying that new pair of glasses or getting that massage.

You may invest the money in your HSA once it is over a certain threshold (e.g. 1k). Investment options will be similar to that of a 401k and would likely be limited to fixed income and indices.

Non eligible expenses will be subject to income tax plus a 20% withdrawn penalty.

Once you turn 65, there is no longer any penalty for withdrawing from your HSA for non-eligible expenses, although you will have to pay income taxes on the withdrawals (eligible expenses can still be withdrawn tax free)

Note: HSAs are usually only available with High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs).

Meetups, Conferences (PD, but useful)

🙏 Contributing

Did we miss something? Please help out by submitting issues or PRs over at Github! We’re looking especially for people who have lived in the US for a while and are more knowlegeable about taxes and saving tips, but anything you think would help out others would be good to have!

🙌 Wall of love

💖goes to: Yu Chen Hou, Deon Hua, Ruo Tai Sun, Rongzhao Li, Alex Madrzyk, Wendy Lu, Justin Paulin, Raymond Ji, Jacob Moore, Ambareesh Balaji, Yiteng Zhang for collaborating on this guide!

Made with ❤️ in beautiful, downtown, San Francisco.