TN2 Premium Processing Change of Employer experience

R

Raspberyl

New Member
Hi all,
I've been working as a Software Engineer for the past 8 months, I got a job offer from a Big 4 company and their lawyers advised me that they would file a I 129 for me so that I could change employers. My I 94 expires in May 2019 so I'm just wondering a couple things:

1. Does premium processing usually take the full 15 calendar days? What has been your experience in the past? It's been 8 days from the receipt notice on the USCIS so far.
2. Do you suggest I renew my visa even if I'm not planning to go out the US anytime soon? Probably not until my I-94 is close to expiring. Also, my new employer allows me to start the GC process as soon as I start working.
 
1. By the time you read this, what difference will it make what others experienced? Yours will be approved.... when it is approved. Just be sure that your new employer did not request that your old TN be cancelled. You can and should keep the other until you actually quit.
2. Are you Mexican? Canadians don't get visas. If you are indeed Mexican, then simply get a visa next time you are in Mexico, when it suits you. There is no urgency for this.
GC process can start anytime, even before you begin working. Bravo to them for realizing that you do not need H1-B to get GC!
 
nelsona said:
1. By the time you read this, what difference will it make what others experienced? Yours will be approved.... when it is approved. Just be sure that your new employer did not request that your old TN be cancelled. You can and should keep the other until you actually quit.
2. Are you Mexican? Canadians don't get visas. If you are indeed Mexican, then simply get a visa next time you are in Mexico, when it suits you. There is no urgency for this.
GC process can start anytime, even before you begin working. Bravo to them for realizing that you do not need H1-B to get GC!
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You're always so helpful! I found this forum today and I was hoping you would answer my questions! I'm just so impatient and I really want to start working with my new employer already :( I've waited for several months just to get the offer approved and some more waiting for lawyers to file the petition.

Yes, I'm Mexican. I will most likely wait until I REALLY have to go back to also renew my visa.
There's probably another other thread where this has been explained already but I'll just risk it and ask; I've been very wary of starting the GC process while I'm still on TN status because everyone says it's dangerous and such, but what are really the chances of an I-485 getting rejected? If your employer is reputable and you are in good standing, and having all papers in order, I'm assuming there shouldn't be any issues getting it approved, but this is just my guessing and I have no clue as to how the USCIS determines your eligibility.
 
Well, the USCIS determines your eligibility by their regulations, and once your have your Labor certification (PERM) and I-140, there is little to stand in your way at the AOS stage. GC is 1000 times better than TN, especially for Mexicans. Worry about I-485 when that comes up, which may be years from now.
 
nelsona said:
Well, the USCIS determines your eligibility by their regulations, and once your have your Labor certification (PERM) and I-140, there is little to stand in your way at the AOS stage. GC is 1000 times better than TN, especially for Mexicans. Worry about I-485 when that comes up, which may be years from now.
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Thank you, I definitely did not know that about the I-485. I know the PERM status is a challenge on its own so it will definitely take some time!
 
My experience: Some employers don't want you to have 2 or more TN's at the same time and they usually check the box on I-129 to replace your current TN with theirs. This is not due to immigration reasons and plainly due to the fact they don't want you to be working for a competitor at the same time to avoid any conflict of interest. This is very common in hi-tech industry. My current employer did that and I had to give zero day notice to my previous employer. Fortunately I had already accepted a volunteer separation package from my old employer and was taking my unused vacation when this happened.
 
OttawaSenators said:
My experience: Some employers don't want you to have 2 or more TN's at the same time and they usually check the box on I-129 to replace your current TN with theirs. This is not due to immigration reasons and plainly due to the fact they don't want you to be working for a competitor at the same time to avoid any conflict of interest. This is very common in hi-tech industry. My current employer did that and I had to give zero day notice to my previous employer. Fortunately I had already accepted a volunteer separation package from my old employer and was taking my unused vacation when this happened.
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Thanks for answering! I'm going to have to ask the lawyers to check whether they did that or not. I'm pretty sure they didn't though... will still check to make sure.
Did they file premium for you? Did it take 15 days or less? I would just like to have this approved already so that I can let my current employer know. :( I don't know what are the chances of this getting delayed/rejected and I don't want to let them know and then retract on that; although I'm assuming there shouldn't be any issues due to the size and reputation of the company that I'm joining + they asked me to provide plenty of documentation to support the change.
 
You shouldn't worry too much about the chances of getting a new TN approved/rejected. Big companies rarely get rejected. And by the way, a 2 week notice is not really required and it is only a courtesy notice. I have given zero day notices before and used immigration as an excuse that I can no longer work for them :)

My TN was premium too and took less than 2 weeks (back in 2014).
 
OttawaSenators said:
You shouldn't worry too much about the chances of getting a new TN approved/rejected. Big companies rarely get rejected. And by the way, a 2 week notice is not really required and it is only a courtesy notice. I have given zero day notices before and used immigration as an excuse that I can no longer work for them :)

My TN was premium too and took less than 2 weeks (back in 2014).
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I'm such an impatient person! It just triggers my OCD so much that it's still pending approval :/ it kinda keeps me up at night, I just need to stop worrying so much about it. Thanks so much for your response! Do you still live in the US?
 
@nelsona is the USCIS case status tracking page usually reliable? Tomorrow is gonna be the 15th day and I see no movement in the tracking page yet. Unfortunately I don't get the emails directly from the Service Center, and my lawyer takes too long to answer so the USCIS page is the only way I can check the process.
 
Nvm! I can't edit my original reply but a few minutes ago it finally got updated to approved on the USCIS case tracker. Yay!
 
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