The point is, I have sent wire transfers before, and they took as little as 12 hours when everything goes smoothly. As for the sending bank, it is impossible for me to reach a call center agent because no one ever picks up.

This question is resolved. My sister obtained a Chinese ID illegally by failing to disclose her Canadian citizenship, and all of the money is either withdrawn as cash and brought back to Canada, or wire transferred out (for a very high, 2% transfer fee).

I am asking about this just because a lot of Canadians remotely work as independent contractors for US companies in the IT industry. They pay no Social Security, Medicare or State tax for the State the company is based in, or US federal tax. They do not pay EI premiums unless they want special benefits, but pay double CPP contributions, and income tax at regular rates on any profits. But 50% of self-employment CPP premiums are tax deductible.

Curious, I am wondering if any tax experts can educate me on this one. But I thought that in this case, no tax is withheld, you would file and pay taxes as a self-employed individual in your country. Since you do not live in the US, no taxes are payable in the US, even though you work for a US employer, am I right?

I am not an American, merely a Canadian buying American bonds.

@RonJohn My sister is a non-resident alien living in Canada and has no ties to the United States. She has US sourced qualified dividend income subject to 30% withholding, which should be 15% withholding under the US-Canada tax treaty. So, does she get a refund from the IRS for the excess tax paid, or is this a non-refundable withholding, for which only a tax deduction is available on the Canadian side? So, no point in filing a 1040NR?