this is kind of tangential, but as a Canadian Clojurian watching "remote, U.S.-only" jobs go by, I wonder: has anyone out there had success applying to such a job anyway?

One data point. Yes, we hired a couple Canadians. Key is to make it easy for the employer. In our case (probably typical), it's employment and tax trouble we don't want to deal with. A couple options that would convince us. 1. if you have a US SSN and US bank account, then that's almost a no-brainer. I'm actually Canadian myself but work remotely with a US company as a US tax payer. 2. if you have neither, then open a business account in the US and register as a company for the employer to contract to your US business. (am not an accountant or anything. check with your accountant)

> I'm actually Canadian myself but work remotely with a US company as a US tax payer. @quantisan...from within Canada?

FWIW, we're in process of hiring an Australian even though our CEO wants US-only. Compatible Clojure devs are hard to find. Especially in this hot market. I'd say, ride the bull market wave and go for it. What's the harm in applying. 🤷

You can apply for a TIN instead of SSN as a foreigner and then open a US bank account with the TIN. Additional note I forget: open a PO box in the US. you'll need it for banking etc. Plenty of online services for PO boxes. Look into services catering to American digital nomads abroad. Same needs.

Ah, good shout. My American bank account has been tied to an out-of-date address for... a decade, maybe. I don't know why I'd never considered a PO Box service.

I actually have a SSN and US bank account from my days as an intern in university. I worked a couple of terms in the US in 2008-9. I met my wife in California on the latter term, and she's a Canadian PR, but I don't have any current immigration status in the US.

but okay, that broad picture is about what I expected. that is they don't actually care but don't want to deal with too many headaches. so if I have US ID numbers and will deal with my own taxes, then they have little to lose.

@braden.shepherdson Do you have any idea how this tax situation plays out in reality? I've been living between the US, Canada, and India for about 15 years and for the one or two years where it was actually unclear where "home" was, my company's accountants had me fill out a form which declared where I was on each individual day (with a resolution of half-days, actually). I'm working for JUXT in the UK at the moment, and the solution there has been for me to play the role of "international contractor" on paper and "self-employed" within Canada. I'm less clear about how this would work while actually employed by an international firm (UK, US, or otherwise) while physically resident in Canada.

(caveat: I'm definitely no expert on this; this isn't legal advice.) for Canada and US specifically, the tax treaties are set up so that if eg. living temporarily and working in the US, you pay normal US taxes (usual withholding, etc.) and then also run the income tax numbers in Canada and pay any difference, if they would have taken more.

I don't know whether that's based on the location of your meat bag, or on the job, though.

that is always an "out", though: set up a private company, sole proprietorship or whatever in the country where you live, and have your "employer" engage that firm to provide a contract software developer on some terms. then you sidestep all the cross-border employment stuff.

broadly speaking I think the taxes are based on your physical location and residence, while employment laws and such are based on the job. but I haven't really researched that in detail.

Yeah, that last point (physical location) is always how I've understood this. All these laws still tend to be written as though we're likely to live in one house working one job for the vast majority of our lives.

"Fun" anecdote from this week: I couldn't convince SGI (driver's licenses in Saskatchewan) to give me a license, even though I've been driving in Canada for 25 years. My current driver's license is from the state of Karnataka, in India, which Canada doesn't have a reciprocal agreement with. So I get to relive my teenaged years and take a road test sometime in the next couple of months.

Lesson learned: Always maintain a fake Canadian address, no matter where I "live." :face_with_rolling_eyes: