Hey all,
Where does this 240 day grace period rule come from? I hear it talked about all the time on the forums but havent seen where it's documented officially.
I had an interesting experience travelling back from Canada this past weekend. I hold TN status which is valid until May 27th, 2007 and was attempting to re-enter the US on May 13th without an extension beyond what I held.
I was told that since I was on an extension and had not left and re-entered during it's duration that I was considered to be on my previous (thus expired) visa and that I had been in the US illegally, then the border official moved me to the secondary inspection station. He also chastised me for not handing in my previous i-94 records when leaving the US but I have never done that and it has never been a problem before, he said I did a major no-no in keeping my older i-94.
The Border guard in the secondary inspection area told me that I had to return to Canada before my current status expires unless I have a new extension in my hand, he said that if I go even one day without the extension they would revoke my TN the next time I crossed the border.
He then admitted me to the US under my current status which was valid until may 27th. I would have thought that if I had indeed been in illegal status they would have immediately barred me from entry, was I ever illegal?
This seemed to go against everything else I had read about TNs and wondered which was right. Am I still valid when I am here waiting for a extension to be processed?
Furthermore, they did not stamp my passport upon re-entry and had me keep the old i-94 in my passport. I thought for sure they would at least take that i-94 since the previous guard made such a big deal about me having it.
I know that if an extension is denied I would then have to return immediately to the Canada. What I wonder is whether it would affect my ability to re-enter on a new petition after I got there? This experience now has me a little paranoid about what I need to do, can I wait on extension or do I need to do an extension at the POE before my current one expires?
I stayed in the US last year while my extension was pending, under the premise that I was covered by the 240 day rule but now have doubt about doing it this year.
I just got a really weird feeling from the whole ordeal and am going to call USCIS and USCBP to figure out what to do but wanted to get your opinions too.
Where does this 240 day grace period rule come from? I hear it talked about all the time on the forums but havent seen where it's documented officially.
I had an interesting experience travelling back from Canada this past weekend. I hold TN status which is valid until May 27th, 2007 and was attempting to re-enter the US on May 13th without an extension beyond what I held.
I was told that since I was on an extension and had not left and re-entered during it's duration that I was considered to be on my previous (thus expired) visa and that I had been in the US illegally, then the border official moved me to the secondary inspection station. He also chastised me for not handing in my previous i-94 records when leaving the US but I have never done that and it has never been a problem before, he said I did a major no-no in keeping my older i-94.
The Border guard in the secondary inspection area told me that I had to return to Canada before my current status expires unless I have a new extension in my hand, he said that if I go even one day without the extension they would revoke my TN the next time I crossed the border.
He then admitted me to the US under my current status which was valid until may 27th. I would have thought that if I had indeed been in illegal status they would have immediately barred me from entry, was I ever illegal?
This seemed to go against everything else I had read about TNs and wondered which was right. Am I still valid when I am here waiting for a extension to be processed?
Furthermore, they did not stamp my passport upon re-entry and had me keep the old i-94 in my passport. I thought for sure they would at least take that i-94 since the previous guard made such a big deal about me having it.
I know that if an extension is denied I would then have to return immediately to the Canada. What I wonder is whether it would affect my ability to re-enter on a new petition after I got there? This experience now has me a little paranoid about what I need to do, can I wait on extension or do I need to do an extension at the POE before my current one expires?
I stayed in the US last year while my extension was pending, under the premise that I was covered by the 240 day rule but now have doubt about doing it this year.
I just got a really weird feeling from the whole ordeal and am going to call USCIS and USCBP to figure out what to do but wanted to get your opinions too.