Which just says that you do not need a visa before you travel to the US: you can get one at the border. You still need a visa.
Believe me, I would be in Dallas or Phoenix or Charlotte right now if it were so easy.
Yeah, the exchange rates are another issue to add to the mix. I still have student loans in Canada, so I feel a bit of pain with the falling ratio of Euros to loonies even as I feel a bit of pride in the loony.
Well it’s not all that hard.
You probably qualify for a US work visa without realizing it.
Any company that operates in both Canada and the US can declare you "needed" in the US.
They simply have to state that an American citizen who can step in and fill the position is not available.
Any technical specialty or management position pretty much qualifies.
After two years of residency you qualify for a green card.
I was transferred to Dallas, Texas as "management" by a technical services firm when I had just turned 30.
I decided to drop that position after getting serious pressure from Mother Corp on applying for permanent residency.
The second route is NAFTA as Petros has argued.
That too is relatively simple.
Under NAFTA almost anyone with a hard science, engineering or technical background gets a work visa.
And that’s just the undergrads.
I would think anyone in grad school would get an automatic walk.
Granted the paperwork is a bit of a chore.
But it’s just the usual bureaucratic paper game.
I ended up for a while as a "go to guy" on setting up work visas for a Canadian company sending workers south.
I learned to drop into a Canadian airport that had an American Customs office.
Try to make an advance appointment or get the agent handling the visa's in question direct phone number and extension (this is actually quite difficult to do).
Politely find out EXACTLY how they would like the paperwork handled.
Once the paperwork is tuned to what the US customs guys want to see it is a complete cakewalk.
In my case, later in life, because of my petroleum engineering background I was able to consult at will in the US under NAFTA.
The problem was the Americans wanted me to become an American.
They demanded I accept and use a green card.
Two years of that and you become one of the Borg.
I declined.
Then they hit me with a US tax-filing deadline.
That cost me a grand to file.
And I have not worked in the US since.
I just do not want to become an American.
But luckily I hold both a Canadian and a UK passport.
And just like Niflmir says I can walk into any European country at will and work anywhere I choose with absolutely no hassles or hindrances.
Once you hold a European passport the country-to-country borders and regulations over there are far more transparent than any North American ones.
In reality it is probably easier to seek employment in different European countries than it is to move from Canadian province to province seeking work.
Certainly if you are a European journeyman tradesman, doctor or dentist it is easier to move from an Euro country to country than it is for a Canadian to relocate and work in a different province.
