Concurrent TN visa question
- Thread starter tnvisanewbie
- Start date
I have a complicated question that sounds similar. I currently hold two concurrent TNs. One for a part-time position that expires in July 2024 and another for my full time job that expires in November 2024. In 2021 during covid I applied remotely to renew my full-time position. They sent me a piece of paper to staple into my passport. I crossed the border with it in December of 2021 and the border guard told me that I did not need to staple it into my passport because all of the information was now "online". That left only one TN in my passport, the earlier one that expires in July. So since then I have entered into the US multiple times assuming that they had a digital record of my new TN; however the I-94 record online only seems to show the TN from my part time position that expires in July 2024. Is this a big deal or not? I only ask because my current I-94 indicates that I am only valid until July and I worry about the last action rule. I contacted CBP however and they told me not to worry. So anyway I am confused.
nelsona
Registered Users (C)
Well, of course you kept the "piece of paper" that was your second I-94. You need that to prove your second TN. At some point you should simply staple that one in your passport, as originally instructed, and it will prove status until December.
Online I-94s only show those issued by CBP. Yours was issued by USCIS, so it will never show up -- but since you still have the other one (right?), you are fine. The "last action" was your I-129 approval from USCIS.
Online I-94s only show those issued by CBP. Yours was issued by USCIS, so it will never show up -- but since you still have the other one (right?), you are fine. The "last action" was your I-129 approval from USCIS.
Oh ok, for some reason my immigration lawyer (who does not specialize in TNs FYI) is confused. He says that because I crossed the port of entry and they only recorded the part time July record in the digital record that that record supersedes the full time job TN through the last action rule. Personally I don't agree because CBP found the TN that expires in November in their records and said that I am legally allowed to work but I've also been told that CBP officers don't know what they are talking about. This whole issue happened because of a CBP screw up after-all. I have been endeavoring to fix this at a deferred inspection site but I have been told they can't fix the online record... is there anything they can do then?
nelsona
Registered Users (C)
The lawyer is incorrect. It is not superseded. One enters US on 1 status (your is TN), You were granted an I-94 when your I-129 was approved, It continues to be valid. Both continue to be valid. It is quite normal (in fact required) for those working concurrently to have two or more I-94s proving two or more sponsorship.
No error of commission has been made by CBP (ie. they did not cancel your TN, and they did not enter you on another status), they merely gave you incorrect information that contradicted the correct info you got from USCIS.
As I said, you're TN that expires in November has never been online and never will, as it was not issued by CBP. It was issued by USCIS. Only I-94s issued by CBP are found online, No need for deferred inspection (as they correctly told you there is no need for anything to be done.
Again: take the I-94 that was issued at time of renewal, put it in your passport, and use this in the period after your other TN expires (or you quit that job). If for some reason you do not have that I-94 anymore, then if you enter US after July, show CBP the approval notice from 2021 (which they have already told you they can look up) and they will issue you a new I-94 for the remainder of its validity.
Bottom line: Obey USCIS when it comes to their processes (I-129, etc), and obey CBP when it comes to their process (border admission).
No error of commission has been made by CBP (ie. they did not cancel your TN, and they did not enter you on another status), they merely gave you incorrect information that contradicted the correct info you got from USCIS.
As I said, you're TN that expires in November has never been online and never will, as it was not issued by CBP. It was issued by USCIS. Only I-94s issued by CBP are found online, No need for deferred inspection (as they correctly told you there is no need for anything to be done.
Again: take the I-94 that was issued at time of renewal, put it in your passport, and use this in the period after your other TN expires (or you quit that job). If for some reason you do not have that I-94 anymore, then if you enter US after July, show CBP the approval notice from 2021 (which they have already told you they can look up) and they will issue you a new I-94 for the remainder of its validity.
Bottom line: Obey USCIS when it comes to their processes (I-129, etc), and obey CBP when it comes to their process (border admission).
That makes sense. The only issue is that I have crossed multiple times with the TN for the part-time job. So each time they record in the system the paper TN expiry for that one. I have had the TN for the other job in my files all the while because I was told that I didn't need to put it in my passport because it should be all online. Long story short even though I have that piece of paper I have not presented it to CBP since the mix-up so their records still just show the other date. Of course now that I know that I should have stapled that TN into my passport I just fear that entering so many times on my other TN nullifies my TN for my fulltime job and means that I have not been working illegally for that employer because the CBP has a different record. That is what I think that my lawyer meant by last action rule. That USCIS will honor the record from CBP and not the paper TN that CBP has no record of. That being said, writing this out, I'm hoping that you will say that none of this matters because it doesn't matter if CBP and USCIS agree. I think what might be happening is that my lawyer is confused because of the multiple concurrent TNs which a different system than H1B
Are you a Mexican citizen? If so, which port of entry did you go through? Was it San Ysidro?
Hi again @nelsona,
Can you please provide clarification on the following question please?:
Can a Mexican citizen with a valid TN visa stamp on valid passport request Concurrent TN status at POE (land or international airport) to add additional employer to take on a secondary part-time job in a category that is also in the list of TN professions?
I keep running into mixed messages and unfinished conversations in these wonderful forums. Most immigration attorneys are not familiar with TNs for Mexicans either.
International Airport CBP officers are poorly educated on the TN visa/status and their rule of thumb seems to be that if your Canadian fine, you can request everything TN related at a port of entry whether it's a land or an airport one, but if you're Mexican they don't want to deal with it, they just regurgitate "your employer has to do it through USCIS within the US or you go to a Consulate in Mexico to request the concurrent TN visa." I've read some posts about people going to the southern border and getting it done, but it isn't clear whether they're Canadian or Mexican citizens.
I've also read about the need to go to a land Class A port of entry for example the one in San Ysidro (2504) to accomplish concurrent TN status as a Mexican with a valid TN visa stamp on valid passport.
Can others confirm or share whether this is possible?
I forgot to add that a quick Google search will show a number of immigration attorney offices saying that this is possible for Mexicans and they even have YouTube channels explaining this option.
nelsona
Registered Users (C)
Toni, If you are getting mixed messages, then I am not the one to clarify, since I believe you can only get a new TN at a consulate or by mail, but I have limited knowledge.
I suggest you have your employer contact one of those immig attys, since they will be the ones providing your paperwork. This is not sometrhing you can do yourself, regardless of how knowledgeable you might become. They will figure it out for you.
Only Canadians can get TN at border or at any entry port.
As an aside, I wish, and have asked that there be a separate forum for Mexican and Cdn TN, since the requirements are different.
I suggest you have your employer contact one of those immig attys, since they will be the ones providing your paperwork. This is not sometrhing you can do yourself, regardless of how knowledgeable you might become. They will figure it out for you.
Only Canadians can get TN at border or at any entry port.
As an aside, I wish, and have asked that there be a separate forum for Mexican and Cdn TN, since the requirements are different.
nelsona
Registered Users (C)
Linapup.
You have entered on TN status, Period. You have shown proof of that status using one of the two I-94 which belong to you, It did not matter which.
When the CBP officer mentioned "online" he was referring to their system of documentation received from USCIS, which has record of your I-129 petition, approval, etc, NOT the online I-94 system which records only I-94s processed at the border.
Consider this: Must a person with multiple TNs, present multiple I-94s when entering the US? No. the need only present one valid TN to enter. This is exactly what you did. Once your July I-94 expires, you can only use the other I-94 which remains valid: it was never cancelled, and no action that you or the CBP took invalidated it. Even if you had entered with both I-94s (which you did that one time) the CBP will only record one, likely the one that they had already issued.
The situation the lawyer is mistakenly confusing you with is when one enters US on the wrong status (say tourist B2) by forgetting to present any work status. Then one would have to return to the border and re-enter on the work status. This is not your case at all.
You have entered on TN status, Period. You have shown proof of that status using one of the two I-94 which belong to you, It did not matter which.
When the CBP officer mentioned "online" he was referring to their system of documentation received from USCIS, which has record of your I-129 petition, approval, etc, NOT the online I-94 system which records only I-94s processed at the border.
Consider this: Must a person with multiple TNs, present multiple I-94s when entering the US? No. the need only present one valid TN to enter. This is exactly what you did. Once your July I-94 expires, you can only use the other I-94 which remains valid: it was never cancelled, and no action that you or the CBP took invalidated it. Even if you had entered with both I-94s (which you did that one time) the CBP will only record one, likely the one that they had already issued.
The situation the lawyer is mistakenly confusing you with is when one enters US on the wrong status (say tourist B2) by forgetting to present any work status. Then one would have to return to the border and re-enter on the work status. This is not your case at all.
Last edited: