I was wondering: Would a Canadian citizen need a green card to "work" in a prop firm in the USA? Technically I guess he would pay taxes in the US on his capital gains, which I assume requires a US SSN... Does he need to have a green card for that? thanks
Thanks Traderzone but I am still unsure if trading at a prop firm would be considered an employment considering basically you trade your own money. It states: * Activity in which the applicant shall be engaged; * Purpose of entry; * Anticipated length of stay; * Educational qualifications or appropriate credentials demonstrating professional status; * Evidence of compliance with DHS regulations, and/or state laws; and * Arrangements for pay. * Although not required, proof of licensure to practice a given profession in the United States may be offered along with a job offer letter, or other documentation in support of a TN visa application. I am pretty sure prop trading does not qualify in that respect lol! So does that mean one cannot under any circonstances use a prop firm in the US if he his Canadian?
You are also trading the firm's money. So I don't think that is an issue related to crossing borders. Whatever it is "called" in Canada is probably what you need to figure out. A partnership? employment? contractor? self-employed? Dunno. I never used a prop firm, so cannot assist...
All of this depends where you live. If you want to live in the states you need a permit. You can prop trade in Canada. Actually from a taxation and regulation perspective you are better off in Canada. Canada is easier than the States, and the liabilities are lower. Don't even think of living in the states and proptrading there without the proper permit. The US does not take kindly to those that do the wrong things. I know people who did the wrong thing and lived to regret it. For example whenever I am in the US since I am there for business I write business. Then they ask me what my business is and all goes ok. The UBS people went to the US on pleasure permits and it was found out that they did business and now UBS is paying dearly for that f**k up. BTW your permit would probably fall under the TN types. Or you have to prove to the authorities that you are some kind of superstar and hence could apply for an O type permit.
What??? UBS was caught teaching their wealthy American clients how to intentionally evade taxes and offshore money to beat the legal system. For example "hide diamonds in your toothpaste." They admit to this in the many thousands. Remember a $780 million dollar settlement? Their own managers were complaining internally that UBS was intentionally trying to pawn off worthless CDS and other stuff on their own clients until the very last minute. Instead of taking their losses professionally Have you read the huge amounts of money they have had to pony up to cover their terrible business decisions? They were practically the worst of all the IBs.
First you are not correct in all of your facts. ***** http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/2008/Jun/20/UBS_banker_'smuggled_diamonds_in_a_toothpaste_tube'.html On one occasion, the banker even agreed to buy diamonds for an American client - and to smuggle them out of the country in a toothpaste tube. ***** The problem here is that UBS did what others were doing and that is telling people to do things that can be construed as tax evasion. Whether or not that was the case is a decision in a court of law. My point is that you need a court of law. Whereas the crossing of the American border and not saying that you were to do business is in fact a very clear cut illegal act. The ramifications of it can be quite dramatic. I live in the country and I am quite aware of what is going on. And I happen to work in the financial field so I know with the drama on what is going on. UBS was not the worst of the IB's. They were the ones that got caught! Your statement is making the assumption that by getting caught and seeing how extensive things were that they were the worst and nobody else was as bad. The real problem at hand is that UBS should have put a wall between their American subsidiary and the rest of the world. Had they done that then they could give a nice wave to the American government and told them to bugger off. Additionally they should not have taken American money and moved it to Switzerland. That was asking for trouble.