How long does it take for a Canadian to get an American work visa or green card?

Question

How long does it take for a Canadian to get an American work visa or green card?

Answer 1

You cannot get a work visa.  Employers have to obtain work visas for their employees.  You would have to find a job with an employer willing and able to apply for a visa for you.  Unless you want to pick tomatoes, you need a university degree and experience to qualify for a work visa.  And the employer has to prove that there are no Americans qualified for the job.

This is the hang-up: the US unemployment rate is rising so rapidly (over 380,000 Americans per week are losing their jobs) and employers cutting back.  They aren't getting many new work permits, and many employers are not renewing existing permits or outright terminating them.

Immigration:  if you qualify, you can apply.  It will take a number of years to actually be allowed to enter the US.  There are about a billion people ahead of you in line.  It seems like half the world is trying to get into the US, Canada, UK, Australia looking for work.  But the only major economies that are actually growing are India and China.

Answer 2

Depends.  There are 2 work visas avail to Canadians, H1-B (which is hard to get due to limits to the number issued each year) or TN (Nafta Visa), available only to Canadians and some Mexicans.

TN visas require that the Canadian posses a job offer in a specific list of occupation(s).  Basically, once you have that, you can apply for TN status @ the border or upon landing @ the Airport.

Answer 3

A long time unless you have an employer to sponsor you are you marry an American.

http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/busines...