Everybody is linking to this story by a Canadian who claims to have lost his tenure-track position because of an error by an HR employee that made it impossible for him to get a green card.
Given that my sister heads a recruitment agency, I spend hours each week listening to horror stories about the incompetence of HR people. Still, the linked story makes absolutely no sense. I’m also a citizen of Canada who got the green card through my university, and this guy’s story sounds completely fake. Nobody re-advertises your position if you don’t apply for a green card immediately. As a citizen of Canada, you can continue working in the US for years on work visas or TN visas.
The real reason for this person’s troubles is, I believe, that he refused to pay for his own green card process. Universities normally don’t pay for employees’ green card application process these days. I had to pay for my own and believe that my university did more than in enough in sponsoring me.
I have no idea why the university in question was so eager to get rid of an employee they initially liked well enough to let him apply for early tenure. My guess is that they were put off by his dishonesty. When he says,
In the end, bottom line, because someone in HR missed a deadline, my job was taken away,
this is simply a lie contradicted by the information contained in his own post.
The linked post claims to have as its goal helping non-American academics in the US. The only thing that will help us, though, is knowing the following: those of us who want a green card, should prepare to pay for it with our own money. There are exceptions but they are very very few and getting fewer.
Clarissa's Blog 
How much does the green card process cost and why should employers pay for it?
My best guess: They wanted to get rid of him for some other real or imagined reason and when that’s the case, one excuse is as good as any other. I’m almost disinclined to believe an HR person was responsible (or fired).
A year or two ago a colleague of mine was removed from his job by a senior administrator (who decided he didn’t like him against the wishes of those more directly responsible for his employment). The process was nasty, and kind of protracted but he had the sympathy of colleagues and wasn’t shunned at all (a number of people went through significant efforts to help him land on his feet as much as possible).
I detect less dishonesty and more a general… entitled attitude. That may be unfair and/or wrong, in which I apologize, but it’s the main thing that leaps out at me from the link.
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Yes, there is definitely a lot of entitlement going on here.
The green card process is expensive. It ends up being anywhere between $7,000 and $10,000. It lasts between 18 months and 5 years. While the process continues, nobody gives one’s job away if there is no other reason for the university to want to get rid of one.
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wow, one good reason not to ever entertain the idea of looking for a job in the US in spite of the earning potential.
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The only people who are welcomed as immigrants in the US are religious fanatics or mail-order brides. Everybody else has to jump through endless and expensive hoops to be able to stay and pay taxes.
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I’ll read the piece to get a take on this guy but; because of the expense, more universities used to pay green card costs or even just have the university lawyer do it. Here, I have just discovered they still do it for the higher paid colleges, e.g. Engineering. It’s a benefit, a perk, an enticement,
My X was almost too late on applying. Swears he did not know about it but I do not see how.
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If this guy were from any other country but Canada I might believe him. But Canadians do not need Green Cards to teach at American universities.
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Really? Tell me more. You mean work visas can be renewed indefinitely???? For everyone else they can only be renewed a certain number of times, or so I understand it, for which reason green card applications need to start soon enough so that one will have the green card before or at least when the last time-limited visa expires. This does not apply to Canadians????
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Yes, the TN visa can be renewed indefinitely in 3-year increments. It’s also very easy to get.
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That is utterly fascinating. So I know of some more Canadians who are bluffing on this. Hmmm!!!
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It’s supposed to work for Mexicans, too although I don’t know anybody from Mexico on a TN visa.
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I looked at the rules for Mexicans, and they are more complicated than the ones for Canadians, and are impractical to apply in real life; this is why Mexicans go for green cards.
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This is what I suspected.
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TN can be renewed indefinitively in 3-year increments provided that you are hired for a non-permanent job. Therefore, I think that if you are on a TT a TN visa will not be helpful. Clarissa, you had a TN status even if you were on TT? Really?
I have been on a TN visa for 3 years and it takes 30 minutes to get such a visa at customs. You only need to show a letter of support from your employer, your diploma, and your CV. Mexican people can also apply but it is much, much more complicated.
It costs about $55 USD, hopefully always paid by the employer.
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“Clarissa, you had a TN status even if you were on TT? Really?”
– Yes, this was my visa until I got the green card. And the only reason I applied for the green card was that N has a Russian passport and couldn’t work in the US without a green card. On my own I wouldn’t have applied. The expense is huge and the benefits are non-existent. Plus the application process is very demeaning.
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You are right! I had a look at the website and TN visa also applies to permanent jobs. It is good to know that, had I stayed in the US, I would not have needed a green card.
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I don’t know the law regarding Canadians, but in fact, by law, for any other foreigner, the university is required to pay everything up to the I-485 (the last step). Not everybody knows this (specially HR in universities), but the university is the one who has to pay to file the I -140. When I was hired, I was told that I would have to pay everything myself, but when I tried to start the process, the lawyers for my university discovered that they had to pay the initial filing fees. My guess is that their HR discovered the same and did not want to pony up the mobey
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Universities do pay for I-140s but a green card is not required to work in the US, so it’s one’s own choice whether to apply for one.
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Link: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/employers-obligations-workers-being-sponsored-green-card.html
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Canadians don’t need green cards?
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We can work in the US based on the NAFTA agreement.
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You learn something everyday. Thanks
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Utterly fascinating.
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Talking about jobs in the US, the MLA JIL is indescribably bad so far this year.
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I haven’t looked at the list for years because I’m still traumatized form the 2 years I spent learning it by heart.
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