Episode 72: Live Q&A - Sponsorship, Work Authorization, TN Applications & Border Denials

0:00Good morning. How are you doing today? Good morning. I'm great. How are you? I'm wonderful So it looks like you have some questions for me About working in the U.S. It looks like you're running into some Roadblocks so to speak with applying for jobs. Is that correct? Yeah, that is I'm kind of at an impass and I don't really know what to do Okay, so it tells a little bit about your situation. What are you running into? Yeah, so I'm a recent graduate of a PhD in the U.S. I'm originally from Canada And I'm currently working on post-completion OPT and so I'm at the point of now You know my OPT will run out later this year so I'm applying for jobs to start after that and I think TN is an option for me For both professor positions or psychologist positions And I'm looking up mostly professor jobs right now and some job postings will have various

1:07Notes about sponsorship or immigration And I don't always know what to answer So Sometimes I'll ask will you be needing sponsorship to work in the U.S Technically right now I don't I'm on OPT So could I say no do I have to say yes Sometimes they'll talk about having to provide proof of work authorization under a certain immigration act, which I'm not sure what that means Um, and yeah other times they'll ask if you can you're able to work for any employer I know with TN it's employer specific, but you have to get one per employer So do I say that doesn't apply to me? So yeah, there's a bit of confusion there and I'm scared that if I Answer that I need sponsorship. I might you know just get Xed off from jobs through HR too quickly

2:07Yeah, so this is a A common dilemma if you are not a U.S citizen and you're trying to find a job in the United States And you're going through the standard job application process So I feel feel what you're going through And we run into a lot of individuals that have the same question so The good thing about your situation is the way that you're going about working in the United States So you're getting your education you're becoming a qualified psychologist Which is step one right you need to make sure that you have the proper credentials You're going to be able to check that off And then that's not going to be a concern because you are qualified at that point And then the occupations of both teacher and psychologist are Qualifying occupations under the USMCA that would then allow you to work under TN status So you can put that in the back of your mind just you know finish your studies and you know become qualified

3:10And then that's a non-concern okay both of those jobs will will qualify no problem Now when it comes to the work authorization issue and and that's where this question lies is When you are going through those applications most of them ask are you qualified to work in the United States Or do you need sponsorship you know somewhere along those lines when they ask it and If you click no a lot of times it's going to automatically disqualify you and now you're out of the running for the position And you can't move forward right Well You're in a good situation because you have the OPT that you can rely on Now If it's me and I'm completing those job applications and I have OPT Well OPT OPT's blanket work authorization right as long as it's in the field of study Okay, it has to be related to your your studies

4:11So if you're going into the field that you were studying Then you do have blanket work authorization, okay, so I would say when you're completing those applications at this point then you should freely Be able to answer yes, I am authorized to work in the United States because you are with that OPT, okay, so you're answering truthfully And you don't need to answer ship at that point now Did you obtain a Social Security card or are you waiting for the OPT to get the Social Security? No, I already have a Social Security Okay, so you don't need a new one that Social Security number will be yours for life, okay Uh, throughout your immigration journey in the U.S You know, you move to a TN whatever it might be even the green card down the road You're going to always have the Social Security number which which actually helps you out in this job process Because it's one of the documents that they usually require for onboarding input new on payroll now

5:12This is where you some planning needs to Uh be taken is between your OPT in the next step Now what my OPT is coming to an end I no longer have authorization to work in the United States Well, hopefully and this is where OPT is great you get in a position with a company And you build a relationship with them where where they want to continue to employ you Okay, when you get onboarded, they're going to see that you have OPT They're going to see that it has an expiration date Okay So you would have that conversation at that time say yes, I know my OPT is limited It's going to expire on this state However, I'm Canadian and I qualify for a TN And that's where you would have the conversation with the HR individual and say Yeah, it's an easy process All I need is a support letter that lets the border know what my role is in the United States

6:17And then I apply for this on my own There's nothing that you need to do other than providing this support letter for me I would keep it as as simple as that And then you know, if you want to take all of the burden off your employer and say You know, I've already contacted an attorney You know, the process will be handled on my end You don't need to worry about anything and I'll take it from there And then have that conversation as early as possible after you start on OPT So that you have that transition in place And that's where we see this Successful most of the time is Coming in on that OPT on that employment authorization document Being a good employee, building a good relationship And then most employers once they know who you are Once they know your work ethic It's hard to find good people It's hard to find good workers And they're more than willing to assist you Especially a Canadian on a TN Because the process is so much simpler than these other immigration

7:18Like an H1B is so much more complicated Yeah, that's my understanding So there's a little bit of a difference for me where OPT that I'm on currently And the job that I'm having is ending in July And jobs I'm applying for are likely starting Like mid-August or September Oh, so you won't have authorization Yeah, I will not Yeah, so that I think is also like a bit of a tough one for me Because I'm kind of in between Or I'll be in between So by the time that I get job offers Or get to start job offers, it will not be under OPT Yeah, that creates a little bit of a problem So really what in today's You know job application world It's the humans are removed from the process Which can make this more complicated when you're doing this And it's electronic most of the time

8:20So where possible Getting the contact information from the recruiter The HR individual who is over the process Explaining their situation And then helping Have that person help you get through that initial application phase Being transparent as possible But that's where we see people get into the hiring discussion Is somehow getting around that electronic process Letting them know, hey, this is my situation I'm easily able to get authorization through a TN You know, how do I answer this question Or how do I move forward And frankly, we've seen people they just answered yes to that And this would be your This would be on on you and whether or not you decide to do that Then they get into the interview process The company really really wants them And then they say I'm Canadian I don't need traditional sponsorship like an H1B

9:21All I need is a support letter And I can go to the border and start working for you And then when they understand the TN process And then it's not as convoluted as the other processes Then their most employers are likely to assist with the TN process And don't have any issues with it So yeah, that's a tough one to overcome Especially if you're not able If there's no human connection in that interview process And you're just clicking a box Yeah You can't get past it Yeah, okay, so that's I mean, that's all helpful I think for certain jobs, that's what I did I like, since you know, emails try to explain And I think certain institutions are more familiar with TN Or like we'll have more institutional Like they have entire visa departments And other institutions I'm applying to are much smaller I think And I'm not a part of it So I'm trying to explain as best they can But that's helpful to know I think for some job applications

10:23I still have time to reach out in advance And just check in maybe with the HR person Or yeah, do it like a kind of Ask for forgiveness A little bit risky But Well, right now you do have authorization, right? So we do You can't answer that you do have it And that would get you through the door And then hopefully by the time you're to the point Where you start working for them You've already had the discussion And walked through the TN Application process and paperwork with them But I mean, right now you do have authorization to work in U.S So you're not lying at this point Once it expires, it's a different story But it's still there Yeah, for that question And of course there's like iterations I think that make it complicated It's helpful to think about it for the authorization question Sometimes they'll ask will you need Sponsorship So that becomes like a little bit of a tricky phrasing Um

11:23But I think yeah, you've given me a lot to Think about and waste their approach this So this is really helpful All right, well good luck in your job search Hopefully you're able to find an employer That's willing to assist you with the process You know a lot of them like I said Once they find out that it's a TN And they find out how simple the process is Compared to a sponsorship such as an H1B They're more than willing to assist you with that process So good luck with everything Hopefully you're able to find an employer And that's willing to sponsor you Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me And thanks for everything your resources Your website. It's all great Um, so I appreciate you contributing To helping folks in that way Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. We appreciate it. Have a great day You too. Bye Good morning. How are you doing today? Hi, good morning. How are you Mr. Richards? I'm wonderful How do you pronounce the partner's name?

12:25What was that? How do you pronounce your partner's name? That's a common question Jerusalem All right, so it looks like you have an interesting situation And you have some questions for me about that You've had a long history of living and working in the United States Um, so tell me about your situation and how can I help you so Let me just put in this closure and because I told us to Riley That so it is actually my husband who is the Canadian citizen So I'm doing this on behalf of him. Okay. That's what I am Yeah, and so he's actually right here next to me Um, but you know because of the immigration situation The political climate in the country I think that he was a little bit hesitant to you know Get on the podcast, but I'm like no, no, no, we we need to get this done. So um He's been here since February of 2015. He entered on a E2

13:29Visa working for a company and got a new employment right when COVID hit and they sponsored him for TN And they let him go During COVID like many jobs did and then he ended up getting another job during COVID on a TN visa And so he's been with that company from November 20th until November of 2025 And he got another job offered for a TN visa Early or mid-January, right? And so he left last week To get it renewed at Pearson Airport. He's a Toronto or Ontario native I don't know if it's Ontario and I'm sorry till uh, you're you're at the partner Shana that I don't know if that's the correct way you pronounce it But he's a native of Toronto and so we usually go in and out through Pearson because we have family there and they I can't say they officially denied The um They didn't officially deny it, but they did not approve of it

14:29And so what they allowed him to do was come in on a B1 visa until January 26 which is the start date of his job The officer let him know that there was some issues with the sponsoring letter Particularly regarding the remote status of a TN management consultant and also because the company is They have they don't have a physical location. It is an LLC, but you know the LLC is registered to the principal owners Residential address, you know for purposes of you know service with a registered agent So I think that there is a double whammy on the management consultant side of that being remote And then maybe the company not having an actual physical downtown office or anything. So that's where we are Okay What is his education?

15:30So some college but over 10 years in consulting So 10 years of experience as a consultant. Yes And what industry does he consult in? He has consulted in oil and gas and systems uh We are buying the ERP finance Sorry, I'm gonna call it coming in. Yeah, we've dealt with a lot of individuals consulting in that area All right, so Let me explain based on what you're telling me What I see going on here. Okay, so the first thing to understand is anytime you have an interaction at the border whether it's At the airport or a land port It's going to be permanently documented on your record. Okay So However you want to phrase it whether you want to phrase it as a denial or refusal or rejection There are different levels of rejections at the port of entry

16:33Um, in the end, I considered them all rejection denial to me. It's the same thing They're going to document your interaction And they're going to put notes in the system that are going to be permanent As to why they refused entry to the United States So in in this case, it sounds like they Had multiple issues with the with the situation So we'll go to the first one that you you you brought up and that is the remote work For a TN visa it does require in-person work in the United States There have there has to be a physical component. It can't be a 100% remote position If so and I think you can understand if it if it could be a 100% remote position Well, then you could do that from Canada. Why do you need a visa to be in the US if this is a 100% remote job Okay So there has to be a component of in-office work

17:37Client-site visits Whatever it might be that requires your physical presence in the United States on at the professional capacity To require a visa in the United States. So here there has to be some level of In-person consulting work that that needs to be done in the United States It cannot be a 100% remote Now you say some level sorry when you say some level what type of level could we be looking at because as we go back through the process of trying to do this again You know and the employer is understandable and willing to Help with you know saying you know not saying like it's not true But you know there are clients that are Texas-based. There are other employees in the Texas area But what are we looking at as far as the agents would say like you need a once a week meeting or you need to be there two out of three days or what So they don't have that in writing there is no system mount right um it's discretionary um so

18:41So How did this come up? Did they ask a question like how did the remote part come up? These that our home address is on the offer letter From the employee you're saying that that's where he would be doing his work Oh, okay, so on the offer letter It said that he would be working remote from his home in Canada From his home in in Texas. He's been here for years. Yeah, he's been a homeowner for five years As you know, I'm his wife and so we also have a five-year-old so he's pretty placed in Texas Okay, all right, so Yeah, it sounds like there was a paperwork issue then that actually led to this if the paperwork were done properly I think this could have all been avoided and that's Typically where the problem comes up is in the paperwork so the officer identified in the paperwork That this position

19:42was going to be a remote position from home And that's what brought it up as a concern so to answer the question It needs an in office component. You can't be doing it, you know Kind of a hundred percent remote in any indication that it would be um Then it that could lead to to a denial of the application if they think so um So To me that's what triggered this is it doesn't sound like the support letter or offer letter that you used was phrase properly And then that led to the line of questioning about the remote nature of the job um The other component sounds like an office issue So this company doesn't have a physical brick and mortar corporate office No, they do not the their corporate address when you link to it is a residence That's another problem So for immigration purposes they very much have an old school approach to what a business is and

20:50What a legitimate employer is and they require the employer to have a Physical location where if a USCIS officer showed up and knocked on the door That would have you know the Company's name address offices and people Manning that office and working at that office It doesn't mean they can't have people who go work remotely places You can still do that But they very much need to have a physical location That they call home and that is their corporate location So As we've moved to and I think this really happened around COVID with a lot of people Working remote and maybe even shutting down their physical locations and then even companies and the tech era Um, I don't want to say how do you get around that? But I mean there are business owners who may say that I don't need the brick and mortar anymore

21:52And I'm still a legitimate business Yeah So the government is not letting go of that Um What we see a lot of tech companies do is they will have Something such as a Regist location if you're familiar with that Where they do rent out an office space and they may have one person who works from that office or Or you know shared office type situation Where they share with other companies and they you know rent out to offices and um Meeting space when needed right but there is very much still that component of a requirement of in office A physical location for immigration purposes and there's no way around that they're not gonna allow it The only way that it is allowed is if the company is and I'll just Like a food truck right and it's a mobile location and it drives around Uh, if so if it's a mobile business like that then there's some understanding

22:52Um, but even in that case they still require a physical address where they can track you down Um, to do an audit and verify that this is a legitimate employer Uh, a hundred percent remote does not fly for immigration purposes Okay Okay, so I mean I don't want to say is it is it worth even put in and like I said the employer is You know wanting to give over the the clients that it will be in our state and Uh, the other employees and saying like meetings or something like that or need it But it's your position that the remote work of a consultant because it's two issues It's a remote working consultant and the lack of really a physical Office for the employer Um, are you saying that you have to have both really or would There be less of an issue with the employer not having a bit Frisco brick and mortar if that we can show that management consultancy is physically needed in Texas

23:58So here's what's going to be required at this point. Okay. It sounds like based on the interaction At at the airport that they said that they will not approve at the airport Um, and that you need to file by mail with the USCIS is that correct? That is correct that they said that okay, well they said that USCIS would better verify the employer Yeah, so it's an employment verification. Yeah, so it sounds like They're more concerned with the employer Then they are potentially with him and his qualifications Yeah, and they use a database Um, it's called the vibe system US or the border in USCIS use this system And that's for Employment verification to verify that it's a legitimate employer and they have access to tax documents Incorporation documents and things like that the verify that this is a legitimate employer in the United States If they go to the vibe system and they're not able to find this employer

25:00Inverify the legitimate Then They're not going to approve So that could be what happened here. They weren't able based on their Database to verify the legitimacy of this employer So and they have limited time in an airport or a port of entry Um to do this research So if they're not going to be if they can't find it rather quickly then they will turn you away and they don't want to deal with it And now it's in the hands of USCIS who has the time to do more research and verify the legitimacy of the business and using their databases So in this case that's what you're probably going to have to do is do a mail-in petition with USCIS to get pre-approval Then USCIS um will do this verification and USCIS is going to do Typically one of two things when you file with them. They're going to either

26:01One approve it based on the record or If they're going through what you've submitted and they identify these same issues that happened at the border then they could ask for Business records and verification that this is a legitimate US employer they could ask for lease agreements they could ask for quarterly wage reports for employees they could ask for proof of contracts They could ask for all of that to verify that this is a legitimate company before they approve If the company is not able to provide that type of documentation then you're not going to get passed USCIS either Okay, now you called it the vibe is that something that um people can look up online No, it's their database of that they use There's another one called And this one you can verify to see if the company's listed in there and it's part of the system they use it's called

27:02Duns in Bradstreet Yeah, I'm on that one. Yep And if you look the company up on there and they don't show up That's a red flag and you can actually get registered on there if you're not So if the company's not registered on done in Bradstreet then they can go in and submit their Proof of verification of business so that they will be listed on there. I would recommend doing that Um, if they're not on there, especially before you file with USCIS Because if you don't show up on there then you're definitely going to get a request for evidence Okay, now if the if the company is not willing to do the USCIS route um What do you suggest? We're going back to the border to redo it With more evidence maybe if we did have the done When I've done in Bradstreet listing and things like that With that be uh, we told you to do it this way or I mean, that's just one officer

28:06You correct and it doesn't mean you can't go to another port of entry I would say that this isn't that hard fast denial that where I would say Do not attempt at the border because you're going to get yourself in in trouble, right Um, it sounds like this was a hey you don't have the right documentation We can't find enough to on your employer to prove this uh, we can't do this today, right Uh, I would call it more of a soft denial or a soft refusal and in those cases It isn't out of the question to reformat your documents and return to a deported entry Um, and it some people believe you have to go back to the same one you went to know you do not Um, if you're going back based on their recommendation and that's how I would position this one Is you're going back with updated documents to address the concerns that they had with your previous application, right So as long as you go back with updated documents and updated proof

29:10To overcome the reasons for the refusal the first time you went then they're likely to to entertain your application again Okay, I definitely appreciate your time Mr. Richards and I thank you for talking to me on behalf of my husband So I hope this helps somebody out there. It's really unique that you do this. Thank you Yeah, well, we appreciate your time and thanks for calling in uh definitely understand your situation There's a lot of people that do run into this exact situation. So I'm glad you you called in today Hopefully we were able to help you out and we wish you the best of luck and everything okay Okay, thank you very much take care You too