How to write a cover letter to overseas employer?

I don't like to make comparisons between North American and European s.o.p. so take this for what it's worth. Here I would absolutely say it, since it's something that makes you stick out. But only if everything is sorted. "I am an American who wan'ts to move as far from possible as my horrible soon-to-be-ex-wife, hopefully a position in your company will help me get Canadian residency". vs. "Originally from Michigan I am moving to Quebec next month to live with my soon-to-be wife. I have a X2J visa status and speak decent French so working for a Canadian company is no problem." Fwiw I start all my cover letters with "I am a *koffkoff* year old Irishwoman who has been living and working in Sweden for the past *koffkoff* years.

I think the above is good, but I don't know if an explanation of why you're making the move is necessary. "Originally from Michigan, I am moving to Quebec next month" seems to cover it, and avoids any questions in the prospective employer's mind about whether any personal circumstances might change. On the other hand, leaving out an explanation of the move might mean you need to make sure you've really covered the reasons why you want to work for their company specifically, but a good covering letter should be doing that as well as possible anyway.

I think the suggestion that you don't mention your nationality isn't practical when you start job searching outside the US because, like you said, it's going to come up at some point. However, I think your location and work eligibility are more important than your nationality. That is, do you currently live in Canada and are you currently eligible to work there? If not, are you going to get that stuff sorted out on your own, or do you need an employer to help you do so? I was in a similar situation. I wanted to move to an EU country, but I needed an employer to "sponsor" me so I could legally work and live there. The phrase I used in my cover letter was "I am a US citizen looking to move to [name of country]". I also used this phrase in a qualifications summary at the top of my CV, just in case my CV and cover letter got separated.

When I was in New Zealand looking to move to Europe I had a sentence at the bottom of my cover letter about how I was looking for a new challenge and particularly wanted to move to Europe. Now that I'm in one European country looking to move to another one I don't bother because it's really obvious from my work history as detailed in the cover letter and CV. I've already shown I'm capable of changing countries so don't feel I need to talk it up the same way. I do have a line item on my CV with my nationality (under the contact details), but not with my immigration status because it won't translate to a new country anyway. Then this does always come up in the initial interview so I have the information ready (what kind of sponsorship I'll need, why I don't want to go back to NZ, why I think that moving around Europe will further my career at this stage and long term, etc). And I'm sure it has screened me out of some jobs but I'm OK with that, there's no point going through the whole process when they weren't going to hire me anyway. So yeah, I think you need to mention it even if just as a tiny resume item, but don't go into any amount of detail. It will be obvious from your history that you're not Canadian and they'll cover it in the interview if they care.

But since I am a foreigner so I don't want the recruiter to find it out in my last paragraph kindda. Leaving something until the last paragraph isn't going to cause a recruiter to toss it your cover letter in the garbage for wasting an entire minute of his or her time (unless you're writing Tolstoy-esque cover letters (don't do that)). Put it where it fits in the flow.

Having recently been on the employer side of this equation (FWIW, I am in Canada) I usually see situations like yours addressed in the first paragraph along the lines that http://ask.metafilter.com/247265/How-to-write-a-cover-letter-to-overseas-employer#3591197 or http://ask.metafilter.com/247265/How-to-write-a-cover-letter-to-overseas-employer#3591199 suggested. Try something like, "I will be relocating to [location] to join my family there [or whatever]." Keep it as simple and straightforward as possible. Also if you're still job-hunting after you've relocated, I don't think you need to mention that you're not a citizen once you have a local address (assuming that you're eligible to work and your employer does not need to be involved somehow such as for visa purposes). They can't discriminate based on nationality so it's really not relevant where you're from.

I think it would flow just fine in the first paragraph or so saying "I'm originally from US City, State, and will be moving to Your City next month on a Visa Type." I don't think that gets it tossed into the trash. What would get it tossed is not mentioning it and not making it clear that you're already moving there and already have a visa. Also I agree with arnicae - you should definitely get a friend who is a good writer to help you with or at least proof your cover letter regardless of where you are living, working, and applying.

If you're having issues finding someone to cast a quick glance at your cover letter or resume, I'd be happy to take a look at it.

Canadian firms prefer not to hire non-Canadians if they can avoid it, unless you already have the legal right to work in Canada. So, you should say whichever of the following is true: I'm a US citizen currently living in [country]. I have the legal right to work in Canada and am planning to relocate to [destination city]. Or I'm a US citizen currently living in [country], and am planning to relocate to [destination city]. This assumes you're not currently living in the United States: if you are, you can skip the second half of the first sentence. If you have the legal right to work in Canada, definitely say that. If you don't, it is much less likely that Canadian employers will be interested in you, unless you have rare skills they really need, and can prove they need to immigration. Obtaining a work visa for Canada is not as hard as for the United States, but it's still a hassle, and expensive, for employers. Good luck.