2022 Immigration Roundup: Cross-Border Visa Processing Delays Require Preplanning
Cross-border travel and business have made a significant comeback with life largely returning to normal in the post-COVID-19 world. Canadian businesses and United States (U.S.) businesses employing Canadian nationals should be aware of the post-pandemic U.S. immigration processing times for Canadian nationals and formal and informal policy changes impacting certain visas frequently used by companies for cross-border business. These include:
Guest Author | Oct 05, 2022
9 Steps to hiring your first U.S.-based employee
Canadian business expansion to the U.S. and Buffalo Niagara typically includes hiring a U.S.-based employee. Perhaps this will be an operations person, charged with getting the U.S. site going, or perhaps it will be a sales employee tasked with growing the U.S. customer base. Either way, consider these items before you find your perfect candidate. Don’t lose your top choice U.S.-based employee because of a delay in the logistics of becoming a U.S. employer!
Guest Author | Jan 20, 2022
Blue Jays migrate to Buffalo, your company can too
While travel over the Can-Am border remains restricted, the Toronto Blue Jays have decided to call downtown Buffalo their home for the time being. This new American headquarters for the Blue Jays allows for easier travel between cities and a home base for its players.
Olivia Hill | Jun 09, 2021
Wayfair and remote seller considerations
It has been over two years now since the U.S Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in the South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. case and every state that imposes sales & use tax has enacted economic nexus thresholds for “remote sellers” with the exceptions of Florida and Missouri. A remote seller is any seller (foreign or domestic) that does not have physical presence in a state but who sells products or services for delivery to customers into that state.
Guest Author | Oct 13, 2020
HR Differences between Canada and the U.S.
Buffalo Niagara’s proximity to the Canadian border sometimes makes it easy to forget our communities are in separate countries as we visit, shop, and attend sporting events across the border with relative ease. However, as Canadian business owners consider Buffalo Niagara for U.S. expansion, it is important to remember there are many HR differences between our two countries. Understanding these differences is key to finding and retaining good talent and successfully running operations on both sides of the border. We cover many of these differences and other HR related topics in our Canadian Guide to Business Expansion Vol. 3: Workforce and Workplace but I thought I’d highlight a few of the major differences between HR in the U.S. and Canada below.
Olivia Hill | Aug 13, 2020
Can-Am Business Expansion Through Acquisition
Frank Ralphs, a company out of Montreal, manufactures composite panels used predominantly in the rail industry as well as other industrial applications. Companies in the rail industry find that having a “Made in the U.S.A.” label can be beneficial to growing their business and sales in the U.S. There are many opportunities for U.S. government contracts for public transit projects. Frank Ralphs was interested in capturing more of this business and adding final assembly in the U.S. to their offerings.
Olivia Hill | Jan 08, 2020
Attracting top talent in an employee-market
To attract top talent, an employer must be able to provide the job seeker with compelling reasons to join your organization and be creative in ways to attract to candidates.
Guest Author | Dec 05, 2019
How to protect information on your electronic devices at the border
If you plan on crossing the border with an electronic device, it’s important to know your rights and to take precautions to keep your information safe. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers have far greater ability to conduct searches at the border than they would inside of the U.S. CBP can search the contents of your electronic devices like phones, tablets, cameras, and laptops without probable cause that you are doing something wrong, and without your permission.
Guest Author | Dec 05, 2019
2019 Can-Am expansion roundup
For Canadian companies, and specifically those in southern Ontario, interested in the U.S. market, Buffalo Niagara is the natural front door. These companies can leverage the size of the U.S. market, Made in the U.S.A labels, and much more all from a U.S. location close to their Canadian headquarters.
Carolyn Powell | Dec 05, 2019
5 tips for maintaining a positive manufacturing team culture
Words by John H. Bradley
Guest Author | Nov 08, 2019
4 common mistakes Canadian companies make when expanding to the U.S. (and how to prevent them)
We've helped over 100 Canadian companies expand to the Buffalo Niagara region. We know the process-- the steps to take and order in which those things must happen.
Olivia Hill | Aug 16, 2019
Top 7 reasons Canadian companies expand into the U.S.
I have been working with Canadian companies looking to expand into the U.S. market for over 11 years. Many of the companies I work with are manufacturers or warehouse/distribution operations in the Southern Ontario area. They tend to be small to medium size companies that have some percentage of U.S. sales and/or are purchasing U.S. based raw materials.
Carolyn Powell | May 14, 2019