Hi all. hope everyone is well and having a great start to 2019.
So I’m really hoping for some advice. I’m going to start by being completely honest and say i havnt even got a clue where to start with visas etc etc.
I’ve wanted to drive trucks long haul in America since I passed my class 1 but have only recently come to a position in life that will allow me to do it.
The problem is I have no idea where to even start, I don’t know anyone that’s done it personally.
I’m 27 reasonable amount of funds in the bank and single.
So absolutely any advice will be greatly appreciated by you chaps in the know. Thanks.
Don’t shoot the messenger but it wont happen for long haul , you could try some harvest work which of course is temporary ,or marry an American . Those are about your only options , unless you move to Canada and run cross border ,plenty of threads on here regards doing that .
What flat to the mat says.
I live in Canada one hour from the US border and mostly run to Texas, Arizona, California and Florida so obviously the vast majority of my driving time is in the US. You don’t need to live there or even be based in the US.
Thanks for the replies it is appreciated.
That sounds like my dream job even based in Canada and running across the boarder.
So without sounding to clueless where would I start searching for a job like that based in Canada? All searches on the web just seem to be wild goose chases with nothing but visa companies offering to assist with visas etc then bombarding my email with junk mail.
Baldy91:
Thanks for the replies it is appreciated.
That sounds like my dream job even based in Canada and running across the boarder.
So without sounding to clueless where would I start searching for a job like that based in Canada? All searches on the web just seem to be wild goose chases with nothing but visa companies offering to assist with visas etc then bombarding my email with junk mail.
You could start by wading through the last decade and a half of posts on this site , it’s all here both good and bad .
I hesitate to give advice as i came here in 1974 and the requirements have changed so much. I married an American girl in the UK so just needed a green card for my permanent residency and a form filled out from a sponsor (my father-in-law) who said he’d support me if i couldn’t get a job. (Thanks Dad )
I rented a tractor trailer to get my commercial driving licence but it took me a year to find a driving job, i worked in a warehouse in the meantime. The big trucking companies are always looking for drivers and a lot have their own training program to get a CDL.
Working for a Canadian company and driving into the US seems to me to be the best bet as Canadian drivers would bring a load in then get a load back and not get screwed around delivering local loads like could happen with a US carrier but this may have changed.
Not sure where you would look for a good gig in Canada regarding emigration nowadays. I have been here a long time and it’s been a while since I had to go through the process myself but I will say that if you want real long haul then here in Manitoba would be a good choice regarding which province to choose I reckon.
Always seems that most of the fellow Canadians I encounter in the furthest away from home States are from either from Manitoba or Alberta and to a smaller degree BC and Ontario also.
Another thing to consider is the fact that the real good to work for type of companies don’t generally need to recruit from halfway round the world in order to get drivers and the ones that do, well, I am sure you can work that part out.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but unless you marry a US citizen like I did, you don’t stand a cat in hells chance of doing it, in any case it’s not what people think, it’s a ■■■■ life, very bad working conditions, hardly any vacation pay, if you get sick over here you are completely screwed.
People thought I married my wife for the green card but I married her because I love her and have been with her over 19 years.
Don’t even think about doing it unless you really think things through. Immigration here are not stupid, they look into everything when it comes to guys marrying US citizens, they investigated me for 18 months before I got my green card.
Canada is your best bet, look out for the Manitoba Nominee Programme, and companies coming to the UK to recruit.
Once you get PR, you can change companies if you’re not happy where you are.
Alberta is dead in the water as far as LMIA’s are concerned, so MB is your best chance.
There are some recentish posts on the Manitoba scheme if you look no too far away.
Remember SGT,Saint Germain Transport is in Quebec,so a knowledge of French is useful if you want to be treated at all well.In any case its not so easy to get a job for them,lots of bureaucracy.I worked as a subbie for them.
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