Resources – North America

You must hold a green card, employment authorisation, or work visa, in order to work in the USA. A green card provides the right to live and work permanently in the United States. A work visa such as the H1-B requires you to be hired by an American company and to work for the same employer over a three-year duration.

Below are links to other useful information sources:

• This is an official guide to U.S. Government information and services: https://www.usa.gov/
• You can find more information on immigrant visas for work at the U.S. Department of State website
• Before coming to the USA for work, you will need to apply for and get a visa from the US embassy or consulate in your country, or nation closest to yours. Here is a full directory of US embassies and consular services around the world.

You must be eligible to work in Canada as a foreigner before seeking employment there. The country is actively seeking foreign professionals, and there is an Express Entry initiative for skilled workers. However, a work permit is needed in most cases. There is a useful outline of employment scenarios that apply in Canada here.

You can find out more about working in Canada at these links

• The Canadian Government portal provides general information about Canada, including a link to job information
• Determine whether you are eligible to work in Canada, find out the steps to follow, and read tips about what to do before applying here: www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp
• Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship ministry has published a workbook for anyone intending to work in Canada: www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/workbook-national.pdf.