Applying via USCIS vs. at border

E

exsiccation

New Member
I may be going to the US, and most likely under TN. My question is, is there any advantage to getting an approval at USCIS the first time around? I know this option exists now and presumably, it depends less on the mood of the CBP officer reviewing the application. Most of the time people use it for renewal, and it seems very reliable that way.

However, for new TNs, I've had trouble finding information.

1. Does getting your TN via mail-in actually skip/fast track the full CBP interview, or at least make that more likely?

2. Will they still typically put you through the exact same round of questions regardless?

3. Can/will they deny you entry even if you already have an approved TN from USCIS?

Basically I'm just wondering what the benefit is to an employer petition vs. doing it yourself at the border, and whether one is preferable to another. What I have read online makes it sound like going via USCIS is preferable to "skip the interview stress" for example, and not have to physically leave before approval, but if you need to go through all that anyway, is that actually true?

Thanks!
 
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1. When the petition is properly presented, the "interview", which is merely a review of paperwork, takes minutes, so I wouldn't worry about that. A poor package will be denied at the border quickly and easily resolved in one day. A poor package set to USCIS can takes weeks/months to get straight.
2. No, but they will determine whether you are other wise admissible (criminal, etc).
3. Yes, see 2.

I-129 is either expensive, time consuming or both. Go to the border, as was done for 20 years. they are both employer petitions, btw.
 
The USCIS petition by mail is fully the petition of the employer. However with a petition at the border, the employer only provides a letter supporting the petition but the actual petition is that of the employee--albeit the employer letter is a mandatory part of the package. The employer has less control at the border--at the border they provide only the letter but don't know what other representations are being made in the package--and I suspect that is why some employers and their lawyers are now insisting on doing it by mail even if it takes longer.
 
I'm not so sure that there is an 'insistance' on submitting I-129 for first-time TNers. It may simply be that until recently that wasn't an option for Cdns living outside US and now it is.
 
One instance of insistance isn't much to go on. Like I said, they couldn't file I-129 before, now lawyers can, and usually insist on creating billable hours.
 
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