Canadian husband coming on TN Visa?

R

rosiecotton

New Member
Hi all,

I'm a US citizen and my Canadian husband is planning on coming to the US on a TN Visa in order to stay with me while I finish the last year of my degree. He found a postdoctoral research position at my university. We are not planning on staying in the US after I graduate since he has another offer in London, UK that he's planning on taking. He's planning on applying for the visa at the port of entry. Advice on this? I have seen that this can be an issue because of intent to stay, but would explaining that he plans on continuing to the UK after a year and showing my transcript and pending graduation date help? He also has emails where he has communicated with the London univ. about coming there. Would those also help? Should he just not mention that he has a wife? I'm starting to freak out. Also, any advice on what we can do if he gets turned away would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I would have him avoid mentionning you when he crosses the border. If asked of course, he must never lie, as this will get denail of entry in a falsh.
When it comes to immig intent, having a US citizen spouse -- who is living in US -- is automatically presumption of immigrant intent, regardless of the temporary nature of his plans. YOUR plans are what count. If it came to it, YOU would have to show clear evidence that YOU were not planning to live in US, and it would still be iffy. Your post says nothing about your intentions, so I'm assuming you live in US permanently. Your plans to leave seem a little less concrete than his.

But, even if he were to get an initial TN approval, each time he entered US he could be asked about his family spousal situation, and be denied entry at that point.

An H1, which could be gotten quickly, since it is with a university, would be safer bet, since immig intent is permitted in that status.
 
nelsona,

This is good to know. Right now he's planning on going for the TN and seeing what happens. Can you tell me a little more about the H1? It's still a non-immigrant visa, so how would having me as a spouse be more okay under this one? Also, it looks like there are two options for processing an H1b: Regular and Premium. Would premium be worth it? This is turning into our back-up plan if he gets turned back. My plans are less concrete but I have every intention of leaving with him for London, though I don't have a job lined up yet since I'm focused on finishing my degree. We're both also frustrated because the TN is the visa the HR assistant at the university told him to apply for. She was aware of his marital status.

Thanks for all your help. This is MUCH appreciated.
 
It's still a non-immigrant visa, so how would having me as a spouse be more okay under this one?
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I told you: immig intent is aallowed on H1, as opposed to TN or almost all other non-immigrant status.

There is plenty of infor on H1b available. happy browsing. Premium would cost ~$1500 but save him WEEKS of waiting. Employer may not want the hassle, and likely jumped at hiring him because he is Cdn. i wouldn't blame the hr. If he wasn't Cdn, they would have no choice but to get H1.
 
nelsona said:
I told you: immig intent is aallowed on H1, as opposed to TN or almost all other non-immigrant status.

There is plenty of infor on H1b available. happy browsing. Premium would cost ~$1500 but save him WEEKS of waiting. Employer may not want the hassle, and likely jumped at hiring him because he is Cdn. i wouldn't blame the hr. If he wasn't Cdn, they would have no choice but to get H1.
Click to expand...

Thanks nelsona! I understand what you mean now. I didn't realize that 'dual intent' existed--I thought it was only an either or. It looks like universities are cap exempt and this one probably has a lot of experience with H1b as I know many Chinese, English, and Indian profs and postdocs. I'm sure the HR just followed what appeared to be the path of least resistance. Hopefully they will be able to do this without too much hassle. We will DEFINITELY be paying for the time-saving option. This put my mind at ease. Thanks for your help.
 
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