I work for a small Canadian company. We have customers worldwide, but the plurality are in the U.S.
A few months ago I was assigned to visit a customer in the U.S. to fix some technical issues on an already-sold system. I was nervous about the customs check (*), having heard all kinds of rumors about customs officers denying entry if they suspect you’re going to work there. Because you can’t work in the U.S., as a non-citizen, without a green card or some other paperwork (uh, right?).
So the guys at work told me I had to say I was attending a “technical meeting” and to avoid the word “customer”. I got through customs (albeit with a hand-luggage check) after an awkward Q&A with the officer. I didn’t lie, but I kinda feel like I cheated.
Of course everybody wearing business suits and crossing the border is going there to work. Thousands a day, both ways. Most are not getting a paycheck from the company they’re visiting, of course. (I wasn’t paid by the customer in any way.) But many are sales people!
So, is that prohibited or not? If it is prohibited, how do other Canadian dopers manage to do it?
(*) For those who don’t know, a Canadian traveling by air to the U.S. goes through U.S. customs at the Canadian airport before departure.
I’ve gone to the US for work a few times over the last few years (I am a Canadian citizen and work for the Canadian business unit of an international company). They ask me the purpose of my trip and I say business. They ask me when I’m returning and I tell them. They stamp my passport and off I go. I’ve never had a problem.
By “work”, they mean going to the US and actually working for a US company on its payroll. For that, you need a green card or work visa or some such. Simply being in the US for a few days on business doesn’t constitute “work” for immigration purposes.
In your case, saying you are entering to attend business meetings with customers is perfectly fine.
The part where you say “fix some technical issues” indicates you’ll likely have the same problems we do when traveling to work at other facilities within the company. We have the same problem (and the same solution) as what you’re describing. If you say you’re going to fix something or have tools with you they will often give you a hard time. No one here has been turned back from the border but they’ve been delayed for quite a while and subjected to many many more questions when answering the “wrong” way. I would stick with the technical meeting explanation, which is going to be true anyway.
Strange. If I take my bag of tools to France to fix a customer’s machine, I would have no difficulty at the border at all. This was the case even before the ill begotten EU.
I understand that an American can come to Canada and get a temporary work permit at the border. I had a post-doc coming for a year who did that and he said no problem. I assume it is reciprocal. Of course you need some paperwork (for a post-doc it was just the invitation). Once I was driving to the US to give a talk somewhere and the border guard didn’t realize I was a US citizen. He asked me to go inside and fill out some paperwork, which turned out to be unnecessary. But it didn’t seem that it would have been any problem.
It works both ways.
I was almost turned away at the Canadian border, because I said I was going there to do some technical support. The Customs guy wanted to see a PO, so they could see if the correct taxes had been paid. I managed to wiggle out of that problem, and now I just say I’m going to make “sales calls.”
The word we used in several teams for international travel was “business”. If asked whether we were entering the country to work, we stated “no, not work, business, it’s a business meeting”. Work is you’re getting a job, business is… well, what you’re doing!
Yup, “business” is the key word. Travelling on business is routine and does not generally need a special visa. “Work” will get you pulled aside for questioning in a small room.
It’s not quite that simple - it only works for certain professions, and you need a written job offer at the very least (and proof of the necessary qualifications).