Leave and enter country on TN while h1 application is being processed?

tn2h1

New Member
Hello,

My employer applied for a TN visa extension and I have a valid TN till 2012. As I intend to apply for GC in the future, on my request my employer also applied for my h1 in apr 2009 for FY2010.
Will my application get rejected if I go for a 3 week vacation outside the country?
If not what will be the procedure I should follow?
 
You can leave and enter US freely while H1 is being processed. Your employer is the petitioner, so your actions cannot affect the I-129.
 
Hi Nelsona,
I had a similar question. I have a TN valid untill August 2009 and my H1B application was filed by my employer on April 1st so it is accepted by USCIS. My wife is a non-canadian citizen on a TD visa which is also valid untill August 2009. We plan to go on a cruise to Bahamas for a week and would like to know the dynamics of our TN,TD & H1B visa. What if the H1B is under process or even approved untill May mid?? Last to last year the border officer had asked me if I have ever tried the H1B route so I am a little worried about taking a vacation cruise outside of the US as much as I want to.
Kindly let me know what you all think.
 
Doesn't matter, you will need a TN/td until at least October, and then H1 will begin sometime on or after Oct 01. Don't forget spouse's H4

Your H1 process ahs no impact on TN, nor vice versa.
 
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Hi Nelsona,

So will they take my I-94 while on cruise and do I have to re-apply for a TN visa all over again or is it like when I visit canada when they'll let me keep my I-94?
 
You sould keep your I-94, but, just like when going to europe, you should have a copy of your I-94s with you so you can get an I-94 reissued to you when returning to US -- in theevent that the i-94s are taken from you.

At some point between now an august you are going to need new TN and tD.
 
Thank you Nelsona. I was reading somewhere else, that if you leave the country while your application for a H1 is pending that the change of status part of your h1 petion will be considered abandoned. Is this true? Will this have an effect on my H1? It also said, I will have to visit the consulate after oct 1, 2009 to reapply for the change of status. Is this correct. Your comment that my actions should not effect the h1, as my employer is the petitioner, seems more logical and correct.

When I checked with the immigration officer in my company, she told me that if I am not in the country while the processing is going on, my change of status application will be considered abandoned.

I am a little confused. Please help
 
H1 is pending that the change of status part of your h1 petiton will be considered abandoned. Is this true?
Yes, the H1 processing itself will continue, but your approval notice simply won't have the I-94 attached.


As a Cdn you are not to go to consulate. Trip to border is sufficient, after Oct 01.
 
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If your H1 approval does come with an I-94 attached, even though you leave the US, good for you -- it will be valid. CIS sometimes loses track of Cdn border crossings, and will not realize the abandonmnet. If this is the case, then the I-94 is valid, and will take effect Oct 01.

My previous rsponse has been corrected, because it applied more to shevas' case (another reason why it is not good to piggyback on someone elses's thread, eh shevas?). Applying for H1 when one does not currently have a status that will last until Oct 01, results in no COS being processed for that petitio. The H1 would be approved without I-94 attached.
 
Hey Nelsona,

That was a good one Nelsona....
So what is I get asked when I return from my cruise if my employer has filed a H1B for me? Aren't TN and H1B kinda contradictory in terms of immigration intent?
I can take the cruise irrespective of the approval/decission of my H1B, right? No abandonment,etc in my case, isn't it?
Is there any way I could avoid 2 trips to the border coz my current TN expires in August. If there is anything I can I'd love to as it is just the matter of 1 month of september.
 
Is there any way I could avoid 2 trips to the border coz my current TN expires in August. If there is anything I can I'd love to as it is just the matter of 1 month of september.
Sure, take leave of absence or vacation from your job, just as your TN expires, leave country and return on Oct 01. Rather expensive.
 
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