I received a job offer from a company in Austin, Texas for an internship for the summer. I'm really interested in going to the US and working for the summer, I feel like it'd be a great opportunity.
I'm new to visas and whatnot, and I talked to the company about it. They mentioned that they consulted an immigration lawyer and she suggested that instead of going through the J-1 or H1-B (I can't do TN as I'm still in the middle of my degree) that it would be easiest just to come to the states as a normal Canadian citizen (which you can do for up to six months) and just work as a "contractor" more or less.
I'm totally fine with this, but I wanted to make sure it was indeed legal. For instance, when I get to the border and they ask my reason for visiting the states, what would I say?
My university has connections with Cultural Vistas I think, but it's $1,700 and takes 4-6 weeks to process, and I'd like to start work before then preferably.
Am I going to be in legal trouble if I take the "contractor" route?