Foreign independent worker moving to NYC? (rent, job market, landlords)

[GeorgeLucasLongLostChin]

First of all, I'm canadian who works in IT. My expertise is getting relatively rare so I'm confident I wouldn't have much trouble finding a job and visa in the US and make a decent salary. In a city as small as Quebec city, I make close to a 100k (or 90k in US dollars). My girlfriend makes about 150k, if not more, and she would easily get clients in her particular line of work.

Problem is we are both independent worker and intend to stay that way. Most of our spending is done by our respective companies while we only use personal salaries for groceries or personal spending. So our real declared personal combined salary is more around 50k, which is pretty low. We can't really prove we make the 40x rent.

My question is...is there a way to go around the 40x rent thing when you're independent worker? Would landlords take money for 3 months of rent and ignore our salaries or would they accept certified checks? Do landlords care about your job security? Most of my contracts last six months or less. Despite my confidence, nothing proves I will have work after the first job that gets me to NYC.

Second, this question is more general...but does anyone knows what are the corporate tax in the US for a small business and what are the personal tax brackets?

Third, for those who might know this, is the IT market in NYC in good shape or is it still hard to get your hands on a contract if you're a consultant?

Thank you in advance,

p.s. English is my second language. Please be indulgent :-)

[Viralmd]

Landlords care a GREAT DEAL about employment. And you can't legally work here just by relocating. You need the proper visa in order to work here.

[GeorgeLucasLongLostChin]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Landlords care a GREAT DEAL about employment. And you can't legally work here just by relocating. You need the proper visa in order to work here.

I know about the visa. That wasn't my question. If I get a job, it is likely I would get a visa with it. Anyway, I've already gather a lot of info on visa and working in the US.

The question is how to convince a landlord when you operate with a company since my declared personal income is not exactly realistic since I can deduct a lot of expenses under my company.

I also wanted to know about tax brackets and the health of the IT job market in NYC.

[bluedog2]

You can't expect a landlord to assume that because you tell him that once upon a time you had a job where you made twice or 3 times what you reported it will forever be that way.NY landlords generally like to deal with reality.

[oberon_1]

Maybe if you pay 1 year rent in advance, they will accept your application. That worked for someone I know. Other then that, you can always come for a visit to see things with your eyes and get a personal, direct impression.
Usually, I prefer getting first hand impressions over third party opinions.