Warning: Mega complicated question

[DamselinNYC 0]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing.

I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered...

Anyway, forget the boyfriend, I'm still living here (states) and have a question. A friend wants to hire me as a consultant at his company. He says I just have to pay taxes at the end of the year, at which point I'd be issued a ITIN. So: do I have to go back to Canada to open a bank account and register myself as an independent contractor or is there a way of doing it all remotely from here? Also, is it possible for a Canadian to open a bank account in the US without a SSN?

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

[DamselinNYC 0]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing.

I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered...

Anyway, forget the boyfriend, I'm still living here (states) and have a question. A friend wants to hire me as a consultant at his company. He says I just have to pay taxes at the end of the year, at which point I'd be issued a ITIN. So: do I have to go back to Canada to open a bank account and register myself as an independent contractor or is there a way of doing it all remotely from here? Also, is it possible for a Canadian to open a bank account in the US without a SSN?

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

...and might I add that I find all this slightly annoying as my dad was born literally 5 minutes away from the border. I just want to be able to stay in New York, really.

[minnew 4]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing.

I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered...

Anyway, forget the boyfriend, I'm still living here (states) and have a question. A friend wants to hire me as a consultant at his company. He says I just have to pay taxes at the end of the year, at which point I'd be issued a ITIN. So: do I have to go back to Canada to open a bank account and register myself as an independent contractor or is there a way of doing it all remotely from here? Also, is it possible for a Canadian to open a bank account in the US without a SSN?

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

It sounds like to me that you have overstayed in the U.S.A because you did not go back to Canada after your 6 months of visiting was up. If you go back to Canada and attempt to reenter the U.S. you will most likely be denied entry, and given a ban from entering the U.S. It depends on the length of time you have overstayed, someone else more knowledgeable about bans and waivers can help you out on this. Yes they do have records of your arrival and departures. After June 1, 2009 you will not be able to go back to Canada due to new passport rules for land borders,as you said you do not have a Canadian or British passport. You will need to renew your passport if you attempt to go back to Canada or decide to apply for immigration benefits.

Are you still with your boyfriend? Do you have any intentions of getting married to him now? You stated that you did not have any intentions to marry him when you entered 2 years ago and that is ok if you decide to get married to him now and apply for AOS within the U.S. Please someone correct me if I am wrong, but the overstay will be forgiven when it comes time for the greencard to be approved, you will also have to appear for an interview at your nearest USCIS field office. That is the only way given your situation that you may stay in the U.S.A legally and also be able to work legally in the U.S.A.

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing.

I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered...

Anyway, forget the boyfriend, I'm still living here (states) and have a question. A friend wants to hire me as a consultant at his company. He says I just have to pay taxes at the end of the year, at which point I'd be issued a ITIN. So: do I have to go back to Canada to open a bank account and register myself as an independent contractor or is there a way of doing it all remotely from here? Also, is it possible for a Canadian to open a bank account in the US without a SSN?

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

...and might I add that I find all this slightly annoying as my dad was born literally 5 minutes away from the border. I just want to be able to stay in New York, really.

I understand your frustration, but Canada and the U.S.A are two different countries and there are procedures to go through in order to legally stay in the U.S.A.

Edited May 15, 2009 by minnew

[warlord 73]

Yes you are in the danger area of risking if found out a good 2-10 year ban from the US at this point. Also is this working in Canada or is this working for a US job? If it's a US job you now would risk even further penalties including deportation and a good long ban from the US for illegally working there.

You need to get back to Canada and start working on the details to get you to the US legally otherwise eventually INS will catch up and you could find yourself being locked out of the US for a good long time if not permanently...

[payxibka 10,048]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing.

I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered...

Anyway, forget the boyfriend, I'm still living here (states) and have a question. A friend wants to hire me as a consultant at his company. He says I just have to pay taxes at the end of the year, at which point I'd be issued a ITIN. So: do I have to go back to Canada to open a bank account and register myself as an independent contractor or is there a way of doing it all remotely from here? Also, is it possible for a Canadian to open a bank account in the US without a SSN?

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

on a tourist visit you are not authorized to work.... You have many complications already and working will just add to the pile...

You have accrued more than 365 days of overstay which will result in a 10 year re-entry ban if/when you depart

[thetreble 19]

She doesn't need a tourist visa.

Honestly, you are kind of screwed. Not to sound harsh but if you start to work, you are working 100% illegally, whether your friend who has offered you the job fudges the info and the numbers or not!

You need to find a legal path to the US, whether that be marriage of working. However, if the former isn't an option for you right now, you need to go back to Canada and sort out how you can get back into the US legally with a legal path to working and staying there.

But even that, unfortunately, will see you run the risk of denied entry.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Like others have mentioned, you have overstayed your welcome in the USA. Even if your friend wants to give you a job, you will need to get a work visa - which are not only very difficult to get,with the current recession, they are even harder than they have ever been. Considering you've been in the USA longer than you're allowed, I don't even think you would qualify. Your potential employer and yourself would need to get in touch with a lawyer, which would be costly and who knows if that would even help you.

Are you still with your bf? Are there wedding bells in your near future? That is basically your only way out of this without getting a ban of some kind.

You are basically an illegal alien right now. Your legal options are limited. I would look into seeing a lawyer.

[thetreble 19]

That's a good point, Sapphire. You actually probably won't even qualify for a work visa because of your overstay.

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

A> Canadians who overstay the 6 months allowed, do NOT get a ban from reentering the US. It's different, because you do not get a visa with a specific date that you have to leave.

B> You will not be able to open a US bank account, without an ITIN or SSN.

C> If you go back to Canada, you will not be able to reenter the US as a tourist to work and will be required to get the approprite VISA (maybe a TN under NAFTA, not sure of your educational background).

Anyway, your whole situation sounds complex. It's a bad idea for you work in the US without first attaining the appropriate work VISA. Your friend could get in trouble as well, seeing as he hired someone without verifying that they could legally work in the US. Is your friend planning to assist you with getting the appropriate VISA?

You could apply for a passport from the US, just check out the Canadian passport site, or go to the Canadian embassy and report that you lost yours.

You don't need to go back to Canada to file as an independent contractor or open a Canadian bank account. Are you even filing Canadian taxes? You could just declare the income on your Canadian tax return, but seeing as you are not living in Canada and haven't been a resident there, I don't know if you would even be required to file a tax return, you would have to check the CRA website.

Edited May 15, 2009 by jane2005

[thetreble 19]

A> Canadians who overstay the 6 months allowed, do NOT get a ban from reentering the US. It's different, because you do not get a visa with a specific date that you have to leave.

Not true. We can give you links to a plethora of cases in which Canadians were denied Re-entry to the US. We are treated NO differently than any other country.

B> You will not be able to open a US bank account, without an ITIN or SSN.

Not true. I obtained a bank account in the US before I even moved here and did not have an ITIN or SSN. They took my passport number as evidence.

C> If you go back to Canada, you will not be able to reenter the US as a tourist to work and will be required to get the approprite VISA (maybe a TN under NAFTA, not sure of your educational background).

There are so very few people who qualify under NAFTA and any work visa is hard to obtain in the US right now because of the economy. 9 out of 10 sectors is probably laying off. The OP has also been in the US illegally for way too long to probably qualify successfully.

It's a bad idea for you work in the US without first attaining the appropriate work VISA. Your friend could get in trouble as well, seeing as he hired someone without verifying that they could legally work in the US. Is your friend planning to assist you with getting the appropriate VISA?

You could apply for a passport from the US, just check out the Canadian passport site, or go to the Canadian embassy and report that you lost yours.

Agreed.

[bowflex 0]

A> Canadians who overstay the 6 months allowed, do NOT get a ban from reentering the US. It's different, because you do not get a visa with a specific date that you have to leave.

I'm sorry but this could not be more wrong. Any overstay is serious business and if it's over 180 days there is an automatic 10year ban that would require a waiver to get by. My wife and I had to deal with this and she wasn't even actually illegal as her family's case was pending but we had to go with the I-212 waiver.

I am very sorry to say but I think you're going to have to return to Canada and either wait out the ban or file a waiver and hope for it's approval. The only problem I see with this is they want a very good reason for the overstay and proof that the ban will create a very real hardship in your life. With what you've provided so far I fear this most likely will not be granted.

With all this being said, good luck to you, I hope everything works out!!

Edited May 15, 2009 by bowflex

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I will add one point that has not been brought up - how will they know? There are several ways, including information in their own systems, but more importantly is that in the immigration process there will always be application forms to fill out. Virtually all of these forms want to know when you were in the US. If you lie - and they find out which is highly likely - then you risk a ban for life from the US for misrepresentation - there is no waiver available. So, even though admitting the overstay would result in a ban you need to admit the correct information because the consequences of failing to disclose that information or lying about that information would be a life-time ban.

People mention seeing a lawyer - that would probably just be a waste of money because a lawyer cannot fix the fact that you are here illegally and the only allowable option to fix your out of status time and remain in the US is by marriage. Marriage fraud, however, can also result in a permanent ban so it needs to be a bona-fide marriage - you are required a number of times in the process to prove that the marriage is a real one and not for immigrant benefit.

Good luck to you. Your situation is difficult as there doesn't appear to be a way for you to remain legally in the US and accept this job offer.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Kathryn41

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Agreed with what everyone else said. The OP is indeed out of status and subject to deportation and ban for some serious overstay. Not only that, but the idea of working knowing it is against the law makes my skin crawl.

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

[Sprailenes 47]

Or you could just remain in the states and be a gypsy... thats ALWAYS fun!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Or you could just remain in the states and be a gypsy... thats ALWAYS fun!