U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced to increase the maximum period of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay.
This final rule changes the initial period of admission for TN workers from one to three years, making it equal to the initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers. Eligible TN non-immigrants may now be allowed to receive extensions of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the prior maximum period of stay of one year.
The TN non-immigrant classification is visa category available to eligible Canadians with at least a bachelor’s degree or appropriate professional credentials who work in certain qualified fields pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Qualified professions identified within NAFTA include, but are not limited to, accountants, architects, systems analysts, engineers, attorneys, scientists, teachers, and many medical/allied professions such as dentists, dietitians, nutritionists, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, medical lab technologists and others.
Canadian citizens are not required to apply for a visa with a U.S. consulate or file a petition with USCIS. When requesting admission as TN workers at a U.S. port of entry, however, they must provide proof of citizenship, a letter from their prospective employer detailing items such as professional capacity, purpose, length of stay, and educational qualifications. They may also need to provide credential evaluations. Following inspection by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer, an eligible Canadian citizen will be admitted as a TN non-immigrant with a Form I-94 as evidence of such admission.
This final rule will not only ease administrative burdens and costs on Canadian TN workers but also expected to add extra practical flexibility for those Canadian nationals who are seeking US permanent residency (green cards). It will also benefit U.S. employers by increasing the amount of time TN non-immigrants will be able to work for them before having to seek an extension of status. Spouses and unmarried minor children of TN non-immigrants in their corresponding non-immigrant classifications (TD) will also benefit from the new regulation. This proposed rule would also increase such dependents’ maximum period of stay from one year to three years but they may not work.
This improvement to the TN non-immigrant category was initially announced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Aug. 10, 2007. The effort is one of the 26 initiatives identified by President Bush’s Administration to address current immigration challenges using the tools and authorities available under existing law.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
United States increases period of stay for TN professional workers from Canada
Posted by
Salman Hussain
at
12:35 AM
Labels: canadian immigration, employment