Enter USA while TN1-petition pending at uscis

Chen fan

New Member
Hi guys,

Does anyone know if I am allowed to travel to US while I have TN petition pending at uscis?
I need to enter US so I can't really stay in Canada while waiting for the approval.

Thanks!
 
You can enter the US on B2 status (as a tourist) as a Canadian with a Canadian passport (no visa required) if you can persuade them that you are a Canadian resident. Since they will probably be able to see your old TN as well as your pending TN in the system they may question about this. In practice a Canadian provincial driver's license is good evidence of Canadian residency. Have you had a chance to get this?

In other words--the pending new TN is not in and of itself a problem if you are a Canadian resident for the time being. I'm concerned, though, that given that you also previously had a TN and have only recently returned to Canada, you might not be sufficiently re-established in Canada to be considered a Canadian resident. It will depend partly on how tough or lenient the CBP officer you happen to get at the border is.

Might be good if you updated us a bit as to what has happened since your earlier thread. I think nelsona advised you earlier to stay in the US and not to worry about being out of status for a short interval given your other concerns. Did you go back to Canada? Where is your wife right now? Has she had the baby yet?
 
You can enter the US on B2 status (as a tourist) as a Canadian with a Canadian passport (no visa required) if you can persuade them that you are a Canadian resident. Since they will probably be able to see your old TN as well as your pending TN in the system they may question about this. In practice a Canadian provincial driver's license is good evidence of Canadian residency. Have you had a chance to get this?

In other words--the pending new TN is not in and of itself a problem if you are a Canadian resident for the time being. I'm concerned, though, that given that you also previously had a TN and have only recently returned to Canada, you might not be sufficiently re-established in Canada to be considered a Canadian resident. It will depend partly on how tough or lenient the CBP officer you happen to get at the border is.

Might be good if you updated us a bit as to what has happened since your earlier thread. I think nelsona advised you earlier to stay in the US and not to worry about being out of status for a short interval given your other concerns. Did you go back to Canada? Where is your wife right now? Has she had the baby yet?

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply.

So I moved to Seattle and left US because the lawyer was suggesting me leave.
I went to Vancouver and stayed there for 2 weeks while my wife continue to work in Seattle under her own TN-visa with her parents taking care of her.

At the beginning of this week, lawyer said she sent the TN petition to USCIS and I should expect the result in 15 days. On that same day, I flew to Las Vegas to join a couple friends while officially had one of the officers rip off my old tn-visa and entered US as a tourist.

Now my wife is going to her clinic appointment next week. she is 8 month and a half now and she is in a really bad mood since I am not around.

I am wondering if I could change my plane ticket and go back to Seattle, then wait for the result of my Visa in Seattle. So the question is, If I stay in the country while the USCIS is processing my TN-Visa, will that affect my application? Because if it will, I will leave immediately and go back to Vancouver.

I really appreciate your helps.

Thanks.
 
Well, you can enter US on TD status of course, since your wife is TN. Go to the border with a copy of her TN (I-94) and a copy of your marriage cert.

Why the lawyer have suggested you leave US in the first place is beyond me, when you had basis to stay in TD

Forget B2 suggested above. You have no basis for entering on that.
 
Well, you can enter US on TD status of course, since your wife is TN. Go to the border with a copy of her TN (I-94) and a copy of your marriage cert.

Why the lawyer have suggested you leave US in the first place is beyond me, when you had basis to stay in TD

Forget B2 suggested above. You have no basis for entering on that.
hi,

Thanks for your reply.

So you are suggesting I fly to Seattle then go to the border to get my TD? So getting a TD while waiting for TN is not going to affect anything is it?

By the way I am already inside US as Visitor, I am in Las Vegas.

Thanks
 
Hey buddy, when you ask about traveling TO US, we assume that you are OUTSIDE of US. If you are inside US, WTF are you asking for.

You were lucky to be allowed in (officer was quite asleep), so why bother leaving US now? You are in B2 status and will only need to go to border after your TN is approved.

Stop wasting our time.
 
I would also add that it sounds like you were being a bit sneaky in buying a ticket to Las Vegas (a popular tourist destination to make it look like you were a tourist) when your real destination was Seattle. That was both dangerous (as nelsona says you were lucky to get a sleepy officer) and unnecessary (TD status would have sufficed and been far safer).

However now that you are here in the US as a tourist (B2) you can certainly return from Las Vegas to Seattle as a tourist without crossing the border again. Tourist (B2) status is good for six months unless the officer specifically limited you to a shorter time. That should be more than enough time to resolve both the situation with your new TN and your wife's pregnancy. In fact at 8.5 months your wife's situation could change literally any day so I would recommend avoiding trips to the border (even when the border is close like with SEA-YVR) for now if at all possible.
 
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