Someone told me that Canadian citizens can emmigrate to the USA easily. I just wanted to know if this was true? And if so, how?

I don't see how it can be that easy as America is a really tough country to get into.

We don't have any plans to do this as we feel Canada is a far safer option and a nicer place to raise our potential children. Plus we have family in Canada.

I would be grateful if someone could clear this up though.

Thanks!!

Is it true? Yes and no.

Canadian citizens can go work in the US under Nafta pretty easily.


But its not a permanent residence visa class, need to be renewed at the border periodically, and comes with no guarantees that the IO will grant readmittance. It does not lead to residence or citizenship the way a canadian work permit can, its strictly a temporary proposition is my understanding.

Im not particularly sure of the rights of spouses and children under a Nafta visa either.

You can go directly from TN to Green Card if the employer plays along and files an I-140. In theory, I suppose this shouldn't happen because TN is not a "dual intent" status, but in practice, I-140s are approved for TN workers. Dependents of the TN worker cannot work.

Iain's got it pretty much right. It's a common misconception that Canadians can very easily immigrate to the US. NAFTA does make things somewhat easier for certain professionals, though. And because Canadians visiting the US normally aren't issued an I-94, it's easier for Canadians to avoid negatives such as overstays and unlawful presence. So Canadians enjoy some advantages over the rest of the world wrt US immigration, it still isn't all that easy.

Just wanted to add that in my opinion, the notion that Canada is far safer than the US is another popular myth. While there are bad areas in both places, they are vast countries and the overwhelming majority of their communities are perfectly safe.

And just to add that the list of occupations eligible for NAFTA is actually pretty short, so for most people being a Canadian citizen doesn't make it any easier at all to work in the US.

I have heard and read that the US has a murder rate 3 times higher that than it Canada. Is this not true then?

It might be, but Canada's murder rate is higher per capita than the UK..........and you're still moving there!!

I would guess it's the same as anywhere really - if you choose to live in Washington DC (just as an example) then it's probably much more dangerous than where you are heading in Canada (and that's when the stats you've read would probably be true), but you could choose to live in rural Wyoming, which is probably much safer (and hence the stats wouldn't apply in that case).

As Bill said, both Canada and the US are huge countries, and both have areas that are very safe and free of crime, and areas that are not. It just depends on where you go.

Thanks for clearing that up everyone!