Canadians working for US company remotely?

28 points by zippy786 9 years ago | 19 comments

How many of you are in Canada but working for US company remotely ? If possible, please include

- How much are you making ?

- How did you find the company ?

- Name of the company.

I've hired Canadians to work oh fully remote engineering teams. We didn't try to get a good deal, just tried to find good talent. We kept them as contractors for legal reasons but treated them like employees. We paid between 120k and 160k USD depending on ability. SF Series B Startup.

cylinder 9 years ago | |

>We kept them as contractors for legal reasons but treated them like employees

That's exactly what you don't want to be doing

brianwawok 9 years ago | | |

That's true for US w2 vs 1099. Is that also true for international hires? I think the rules are a bit different? I would ask a lawyer.

panbhatt 9 years ago | |

Hi, I recently shifted from US to Canada and now wanted to work for a US firm, as bored of low paying salaries here in Canada with low quality work. Can you please connect me to some recruiters. Part=time/full time both will be ok. My email is panbhatt attherateof gmail.com

allenleee 9 years ago | |

Can you leave your email? I would love to apply.

hourislate 9 years ago | |

My God you could have paid them 1/2 of that or hired twice as many. You understand that there is a 30%-35% premium on USD? You also understand it isn't difficult to find good talent since there is a shortage of work and most are under employed.

zerr 9 years ago | | |

You should look at it from another side - those who look for (and are able to do) remote work, have more options compared to "local competitive" market.

coralreef 9 years ago | | |

Not really, Canadians know their market rate. And its not like there isn't competition for remote workers.

kohanz 9 years ago | | |

And what about when the dollar was on par not too long ago? Difficult to factor in exchange rate.

hackermailman 9 years ago |

I work remotely for a US company but they are a 100% remote company so everybody is scattered across the globe there, I found them a few years ago in a Who's Hiring thread posted here. I make far more than what a local company would ever pay me, and in USD. I set up a federal corporation, hire somebody to do taxes every year and have a USD local business account to receive wires because any bank will pillage you in fees to exchange wires otherwise.

The only problem is dealing with both sides of the border when you tell them you're going down/returning for something work related. It can range from an hour long interrogation to being waived through so I stopped attending any kind of work related conferences or meetings if they are in the US. Others also had problems so we generally do this in the UK now.

gesman 9 years ago |

I used to (1996-2000) work remotely for IBM Watson Research (as a consultant).

Visiting IBM once a month or so for a few days to communicate with team.

I had rather specific rare set of skills (malware and security research and investigation experience).

Basically having rare set of skills - not necessarily in high demand - will help.

Been paid in US dollars at a higher rate than Canadian employer would pay, plus exchange rate was favorable too.

Worked in a corp-to-corp arrangement through canadian-based consulting company.

ryptophan 9 years ago |

Ooo this has been on my mind as well. To add, if I may, off the top of my head:

- How do your taxes work (I would assume not deducted by payroll, etc)

- If you enter USA for any work-related thing, do you need a work visa? (I assume the answer is yes, but maybe it's more nuanced?)

To the general HN community: has anyone seen/heard of US companies hiring up north to try and get a 'discount' on talent, based on the currently weak CAD?

kspaans 9 years ago | |

I'm a Canadian working for a US company in the US, but I can say (having worked remotely in the past), that you'd very likely be paid as a consultant or contractor, so your taxes would work like you're self-employed.

And my understanding is that the work visa issue is nuanced. Generally speaking, if you are doing paid/productive work in the US, you need a work visa. But I think if you make special arrangements, as a contractor, you can enter on a tourist visa for some purposes. For example, if you are engaged in training and your employer pays for the travel (it may just happen to be expensive travel equal to your weekly pay), then you technically aren't engaged in paid, productive work while you're in the US. (I am not an immigration lawyer, this is not legal advice. :P)

cdhdc 9 years ago | | |

Attending conferences and training isn't a problem. But eventually if you follow kspaans advice you'll get turned away at the border and it will be a huge hassle from then forward. For most Canadians it is relatively easy to get a TN status (not a visa but the ability to work in US for a specific employer) with the appropriate documentation. Or you might need to investigate getting a B1 (business visa).

panbhatt 9 years ago | | |

Hi, Can you please help me with some of the contacts to get work at US based companies. I am based out of TORONTO and believe me, its really hard to find what I use to get at US. I will definitely appreciate your help. My email is panbhatt attherateof gmail.com