Got TN status -back to canada--no exit stamp

C

CanadianBoy00

New Member
Hi,

thanks God , I Got TN status will join work after a week, after getting my TN status at border , I came back to Canada and also I informed the immigration officer at POE that I am going back to canada as I come here only for TN status and I will come back to US after one week ......I am worried about that no exit registration done also no finger prints? can I face any problem at border when I will go to join the work after a week....Also I have been studying in US as commuting canadian till 2003 and I have done finger prints and entry/exit stamps during every visit.....but not done today for TN status visit....I am worried....what your suggestions , can I face any problem next week...thanks
 
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Fingerprints? Never heard of that for a TN. That's a first for me. As long as you have your I-94 you should be good. They might ask you why there is no stamp, but based on the date of the I-94 and your answer, you probably won't have any problems. Just tell them that no one stamped your passport when you got it, and that you assumed it was because you actually didn't stay in the U.S. that day.
 
I think he is refering to some "exit stamp" that the Cdn boder officers would have stamped in his passport when entering canada.

Again, this would be unusual. Your I-94 is valid with the stamp that was placed on it at processing. Nothing else will be done to it. You do not need to prove that you have left US until your TN is expired.
 
Canadianboy,

You have nothing to worry about. You don't require fingerprints when applying for TN status. I never did in the 2 successful TN border applications I have made so far.

Regarding getting TN a week before work, the border officials typically expect you to be immediately travelling to your US job soon after you get TN status, but that's not a cold hard rule as far as I know.

My first TN I got I applied in person for a job with a start date 1 - 2 weeks after my border application which gave me time to apartment hunt etc. Remember, people on TN status can live in the US on that status, but also people commute back & forth across the border daily to their US jobs while still living in Canada (Windsor to Detroit commute, Niagara Falls Canada to Buffalo NY etc etc). You should be fine.
 
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dont worry. the finger printing process (US VISIT) will only apply to canadians who have a K or E visa. US doesnt stamp passports and all you need to do is that return the I-94 back to them. now if you drove to Canada, the Canadian customs and border agents will collect the I-94 on behalf of US agents (so much for Sovereignty) if you fly the airlines will collect the them at the gate. some Canadian dual nationals may be subject to finger printing and that is up to US agents if they want to do it or not. so no worries my friend. ;)
 
sshakeny said:
dont worry. the finger printing process (US VISIT) will only apply to canadians who have a K or E visa. US doesnt stamp passports and all you need to do is that return the I-94 back to them. now if you drove to Canada, the Canadian customs and border agents will collect the I-94 on behalf of US agents (so much for Sovereignty) if you fly the airlines will collect the them at the gate. some Canadian dual nationals may be subject to finger printing and that is up to US agents if they want to do it or not. so no worries my friend. ;)
Click to expand...

WRONG!
I was fingerprinted and photographed at the Blaine Truck Crossing when I got a TN their last Nov as part of US Visit. You only do this once according to the officer that gave me the TN.
Also, every time I've gotten a TN or had to go in to get the TN card 'cause I had an I-97 from a Service Center my Passport was stamped. I have never received a TN and not had my Passport stamped.
 
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Guys, he might be talking about Special Registration (NSEERS) which is totally different from US-VISIT. Back in 2003, the US government started this NSEERS program. The process includes fingerprinting, photographing and interviewing the alien at the time of entry AND interviewing and stamping the passport at the time of exiting the US. They started doing this to any Canadian who was born in a middle-eastern country, had a muslim name or in some cases non-white Canadians were subjected to this. But it was mainly based on country of birth.

This caused a lot of tension between the US and the Canadian governments. It went so far that our government issued a travel warning. Eventually, the Bush's administration backed off a bit and announced that the place of birth is not enough for putting someone in this program. Ever since, less and less Canadians were put into this NSEERS and some who were previously in it were waived due to frequent traveling.

Then there were talks about merging it into US-VISIT which takes much less time. However, in general, Canadians are exempt from US-VISIT because we don't normally need a visa stamp from a US consulate. As of now, NSEERS still exists seperately from US-VISIT.

However, I know of cases where the person was waived NSEERS or was never entered into this program, but USCIS sent him/her RFE during I-485 to prove he/she was registered and this caused complications and extra delays (not to mention the extended name check delays on top of this). You can see that the border guys have a different interpretation on this than the CIS fellows.

If you asked my opinion on this, I'd say: if you were entered into this Special Registration, always follow the rules during entry and exit; do not apply for I-485 unless you are willing to wait years and years for a green card; try to waive it if you travel a lot; find a good lawyer who represents your interests only when you apply for a green card.
 
webtiger said:
WRONG!
I was fingerprinted and photographed at the Blaine Truck Crossing when I got a TN their last Nov as part of US Visit. You only do this once according to the officer that gave me the TN.
Also, every time I've gotten a TN or had to go in to get the TN card 'cause I had an I-97 from a Service Center my Passport was stamped. I have never received a TN and not had my Passport stamped.
Click to expand...
you are most likely subject to special registration (which was suspended after a year). I have had TN and now i have H1 and i work with a immigration law firm. only canadian dual nationals may be subject to fingerprinting process and that is up to the CBP officers to decide. also, international truck driving profession is subject to security checks and i have seen people having difficulties getting across border. as far as stamping the passport, they have been stamping passport and I-94 for a while and that is not new.
 
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