Change status B2 to TD

J

jiankai_yu

Registered Users (C)
I am a Canadian citizen currently on TN status in America. My wife, a mainland Chinese citizen, is currently living with me in America on a B2 visa. She would like to change her status from B2 to TD. Based on my personal understanding of the immigration law, she can either file a I-539 to change her status to TD or go to Canada (She is a Canadian permanent resident.) and apply for a new TD nonimmigrant visa at the closest US consulate in Canada. I'd like to know whether my understanding is correct. Is there any other option/s to change her status? What are the advantages and disadvantages for each option? Thanks in advance.
 
Your 2 options are correct.

The advantage of simply doing I-539 is that she does not need to go to a consulate, obviously. however most i-539s take several months to be approved and one ends up going to consulate anyways.

The disadvantage of not taking the time to schedule the consulate, is there may be an emergency where she needs to leave US, and then can't return until she does get an appointment and interview.

My suggestion is to stay in B2 as long as possible, and schedule a consular appointment when convenient.
 
nelsona said:
Your 2 options are correct.

The advantage of simply doing I-539 is that she does not need to go to a consulate, obviously. however most i-539s take several months to be approved and one ends up going to consulate anyways.

The disadvantage of not taking the time to schedule the consulate, is there may be an emergency where she needs to leave US, and then can't return until she does get an appointment and interview.

My suggestion is to stay in B2 as long as possible, and schedule a consular appointment when convenient.
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Thanks nelsona so much for the quick reply. Is it easy to schedule a visa appointment at the US consulate in Vancouver? If we decide to apply for the visa at the consulate, do they issue the visa right away? When my wife applied for her B2 visa in US consulate in Beijing, the immigration officer told her their decision at the end of the visa interview and she picked up her visa three business days after the interview. Is it going to be the same for TD visa application? Since we do not have a home in Canada, can she pick up her visa the same day she goes to Canada for her interview and come back to US on the same day? Thanks.
 
The interview process is the same. I would not plan for same day, but it could happen. You need to go on the consular website(s) to see which consulate will give you the interview when you want it. It does not have to be Vancouver.

Like I said, nothing in your post indicates that there is any urgency to do this, so merely schedule this when it is convenient for her (ie. when you are already planning a trip perhaps)
 
Thanks again nelsona. I live in Redmond, WA so Vancouver is the closest US consulate in Canada. It's two hours drive from where I live. I checked the visa appointment waiting time for Vancouver and the average wait time is 46 days for nonimmigrant visa. Since it takes so long to book a visa appointment in Vancouver, should I file I-539 instead? You mentioned filing an I-539 may take serveral months. How many months do you think it may take in my case? I heard some people can get it within 3 to 4 weeks. My wife's B2 visa will expire on Dec 13th. I'd like to have her status changed to TD prior to that date. Thanks.
 
There is no point rushing to change her status by I-539 until the last moment, as, even if one is issued, it doesn't allow her to travel without getting a visa. She could send in an I-539 in December if you want, it simply doesn't matter. Since you live close to canada, it is inevitable that you will at some point leave US, so schedule a visa appointment that is convenient.

When does your TN expire? Maybe you could coordinate that so that you don't waste effort/time/money on a 'short' TD?
 
nelsona said:
There is no point rushing to change her status by I-539 until the last moment, as, even if one is issued, it doesn't allow her to travel without getting a visa. ?
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Wowowo... I am a bit confused. What do you mean by it doesn't allow her to travel without getting a visa? Here is my understanding of what you mean: Filing I-539 will change her status from B2 to TD which will allow her to stay in US until my TN expires (which is on July 18, 2009). There will be no visa issued, only a new I-94 card saying she's on TD status. Since she is a Chinese citizen (non visa waiver program participant, damn it...), she will need a visa to travel to US from abroad if she leaves US and wants to reenter US. She will therefore need a TD visa printed on her passport and an I-94 card saying she's on TD status to reenter US. Please let me know whether my understanding is correct.

BTW, today's my first day joining this forum and I am impressed about the fast response and the amount of information this forum provides. Do you mind I ask who you guys are? I plan on applying for GC in the future and will definitely have a lot of questions regarding it. Thanks.
 
What do I mean by I-5239 doesn't allow her to travel without getting a visa?

Exactly as you said: if she leaves US as a TD, she needs a visa to come back. Just like if she waits and goes to get TD visa. At least with current B2, she can still travel on B2 until december.

BTW, even if she was from visa waiver country, TDs do not qualify for Visa waiver: all except Cdns need an actual TD visa to enter on TD.

So, have you made the appointment yet?
 
No I haven't made the appointment yet. The reason I want to get her changed to TD is because my wife wants to attend schools in America. She can not attend school on a B2 visa. Based on my understanding of different types of visa, a TD visa should be the easiest to get in my case. What do you think? Is there any other way that's easier than TD, e.g. student visa may be?
 
She can get F1 I guess. But she would need to begin enrollment befor getting this, and would still need to get to border and consulate.

Appointment.
 
It is so difficult to schedule an a TD visa appointment at US consulate in Vancouver and most of other cities in Canada. Nelsona, you mentioned my wife needs a TD visa even if we apply for TD by mailing in I-539. My question is what does I-539 do for us? I thought doing it by I-539 will give her everything she needs.
 
I-539 merely keeps her in status while in US. Since she already has a status: B2, she certainly does not need to file I-539 until her I-94 is about to expire.

It would be most useful if she was, say, never going to leave the US for the next 8-12 months. But since she most likely will be, its value is diminished.

Get the appointment.
 
After two weeks of trying, I finally booked my wife a TD visa appointment at US consulate in Vancouver. Her appointment is scheduled near the end of Octoboer. I'd like to know how long the visa will be valid for. Is it only going to be valid until the expiration date of my TN? Since it is sooooooo difficult to book the visa appointment and it costs $131 to apply, would it be possible to have them issue the visa for a long period of time? I remember when I just immigrated to Canada from China in 1997, both me and my father applied for B2 visa at US consulate in Vancouver and they issued the visa valid for 10 years. Are they still able to do that now? If so, are they able to do it for TD?
 
It will only be good until your TN expiry date.

It might be worth your while to renew your TN first.
 
My TN won't expire until July next year. I don't think USICS would renew my TN this early. This is going to be tough on us now since we have to renew my wife's TD visa every year. I will have to have my TN renewed first and then she has to renew her TD visa between the date I got my new TN and the expiry date of her TD which is the expiry date of my old TN. Given the fact that it is so difficult to book a TD visa appointment in Vancouver, I will have to be extremly careful about the timing. I really wish USICS can change the way they do things to make our lives a bit easier.
 
I have heard about the proposal to extend TN from the current one year to three years. However, I do not think this new three year rule has been implemented. US state department's web site still says the maximum period of TN admission is one year. I am not sure when this three year rule can be implemented. I do hope it'll be implemented when I renew my TN in July next year. If that's the case, then yes, USICS finally did something to make our lives easier.
 
jiankai_yu said:
If that's the case, then yes, USICS finally did something to make our lives easier.
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they are there to make our life harder that why they get paid, forget about that they will do something for us.

I probably won't take any benefit from this 3 years TN thing but I can understand that this will really make life easier for the rest of Canadians/Mexicans who work under TN. I hope that would happen very soon now, as the congress approved this last December.
 
jiankai_yu said:
After two weeks of trying, I finally booked my wife a TD visa appointment at US consulate in Vancouver. Her appointment is scheduled near the end of Octoboer. I'd like to know how long the visa will be valid for. Is it only going to be valid until the expiration date of my TN? Since it is sooooooo difficult to book the visa appointment and it costs $131 to apply, would it be possible to have them issue the visa for a long period of time? I remember when I just immigrated to Canada from China in 1997, both me and my father applied for B2 visa at US consulate in Vancouver and they issued the visa valid for 10 years. Are they still able to do that now? If so, are they able to do it for TD?
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Upto last year when I was scheduling appointment for my wife in Toronto/ Montreal, I could see there were no available dates for B1/ B2. But there were always availability for TD Visa appointments. I hope it'll be the same this year also, at least in Toronto and Montreal
 
k_nraj said:
Upto last year when I was scheduling appointment for my wife in Toronto/ Montreal, I could see there were no available dates for B1/ B2. But there were always availability for TD Visa appointments. I hope it'll be the same this year also, at least in Toronto and Montreal
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I had been checking the reservation system several times a day everyday for the last two weeks and there have never been any available spots for Vancouver consulate until the last time I checked. I was pretty excited when I saw a bunch of new open spots were added. I doubt Toronto and Montreal consulates are any better than Vancouver.
 
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