TN Work Visas

[sexualbanana]

Just curious to see if anyone here has worked on, or applied for, a TN work visa in the US?

I'm wondering what your experiences were like and what field you're in.

[Senseiz]

I work in the oil and gas industry and I am currently on a TN working out of Houston.

TN stands for Trade NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association). It is a very straight forward visa that you apply for at the POE (Port of Entry) and it is valid for 3 years. You will need your company to provide documentation (ie Offer letter, company annual report etc) and you must be a professional. They have a list on their website as to what is considered a professional.

Since I am in Houston, the immigration officers at IAH get confused because for a Canadian working in the US, we just need this I-94 card with a TN stamp and that gives us the status. We do not physically have a visa giving us entry. It is an I-94 card. However, a mexican working in the US will need a visa along with the I-94 card. So the immigration officers here often are confused and send me for secondary screening. I have been sent for secondary screening every time but that may not be the only reason because my passport also got stolen so they needed to run additional checks.
Now, if I come into the US through Canada's airports, land border etc, I do not have any issues. My issues arise because I am flying from outside of North America into Houston. The immigration officers at Houston do not see a lot of TN status. This is because you pass through immigration in Calgary or Edmonton before arriving in the US.

Important to note is under TN, you cannot apply for a green card, however there are ways of doing so which I have not investigated, but there is a loop hole. Your TN will expire every 3 years and it will be a simple application to renew at the POE. It is indefinitely how ever many times you can renew, however if the immigration officer suspects you of having dual intent (so to get PR in US), then he can deny you access. This very seldom happens which is why I mention there are ways of getting a green card.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

[SJW]

I had one in 2000-2003. Now just received another one. Don't know much other than the company I work for did all the paperwork for me.

[Mar]

I've had 2 for the year I worked down south, the second one I did all the paperwork myself and forwarded it to the company to sign. If you're interested in knowing what the package requires and how I did mine, let me know.

[Nufy]

I'm on my 5th or 6th one now I think...

Since 2002, off and on I have been working on various projects in the US. The latest being the original keystone pipeline.

Basically I had to prove my qualifications and be "supervised" by a US professional eng.

Last time I applied they gave me one for three years...

My original paperwork was done by an immigration lawyer and there were no issues.

I have duplicated that amount of paperwork for my successive ones...

[sexualbanana]

I'm just curious about the process because I've looked at the list of professions that are eligible for a TN visa, and mine technically doesn't exist (though management consultant would be the closest).

I have an existing contact through an internship I did a few years back looking for someone in their PR agency.