One more covid TN question

Z

zirtico

New Member
I (Canadian) got an offer a few weeks ago and things were then put on hold due to Covid-19. The company is still very keen to have me join them, but I don't see it happening before 2 weeks at the minimum. I was denied my TN the first go around as well, due to an error in our petition. I have since amended it with a longer, more complete, more professional letter which will address the points that the officers are looking for.

(Petition summary: Master's degree with a major in Economics, Economist TN profession in a private company, job duties line up fairly closely with those of an economist)

At this point, what I would really like to do, is get some certainty on the visa first, so that I then know whether or not this job will be viable for me. If I were to buy a refundable air ticket and show up at the airport and make my case for a later start date, would it be acceptable to the USCBP? If I'm granted the visa, which I expect to be though it's never done till it's done, then at least I have total certainty that I can move south and start work as soon as the company okays it. I would really hate to wait a few more weeks to apply for TN status when the company is ready for me to start, and then be rejected at that point, which would end up wasting at least 2 months of valuable job searching time. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
 
applying within a couple of weeks is usually acceptable. The best course is to NOT put a start date on the letter.
 
Thanks for the answer, nelsona. Follow up question: I was under the impression that the start date (and 3-year term) was very clearly required on the letter of support to show the temporary nature of the role? Or we omit the start date and just put a visa end date 3 years after my date of travel?
 
You were under a false impression, no start nor end date. "for a period not to exceed 3 years". The border will stamp the end date on their own, 3 yrs minus 1 day from the day you show up.
 
Thank you for clarifying that misconception for me!

One more thing (and I'm hijacking my own thread here) - since my TN was turned down last time, and I have new responsibilities with the same company under a different NAFTA profession (that directly matches my Master's degree), is it wise to address the previous refusal in this support letter or is it better to proceed as though it's an altogether new petition? Thanks.
 
The new petition stands on its own. No need to refer back. Some POEs give out a checklist showing why you were denied. If you have that, just bring it along.
 
Thanks, nelsona. No checklist was provided (only the I-867A), and I was never given the option to withdraw my application, though this is what I would have preferred. I had checked the Accountant's job duties on onetonline.org prior to petitioning, and I applied because my duties aligned very closely. They asked me about 6 of the 12 odd duties on that page, and under those 6, I wasn't convincing enough to the officer. I let my employer know that I would not be admitted with that role, so more than a month later, I will be returning on Friday or Monday to YVR to re-petition with the new role (brand new position within the company) with the same company. This time, the letter and link between job duties/degree/NAFTA category is clearer. I interview well (calm, composed, polite) but if there is anything else anyone thinks I should know prior to this final petition, any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
I wrote out an update on the situation and the forum is not letting me post my reply here. Any ideas who the current admin is? monica1 is apparently one, but she hasn't been seen for about 12 days.
 
Just 4-5 bullet points describing what happened, which, from everything I read, is quite unusual. And also asked if anyone had experienced this before and knows how to handle it.
 
Since I'm not permitted to post my response due to "potential spam-like content" which it is not, I have attached my post as an image to this post.
 

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Wow. Seems unreasonable to me. But she left the door open to try again and did not formally deny this application.

Persistence pays off. I would address her concerns and try again. Sounds like a great job opportunity.
 
It's a great opportunity.

Despite the credential evaluation, she was unsure that my degree is equivalent to a major in Economics, even though it is, and the evaluation confirms it. She refused to give me a hard and fast number of econ credits I'd need too. Is there anything that can be said to counter this? I doubt it but I'm all ears to any suggestions, as this is the only item I can't address / change in everything she told me...
 
Based on the tone of your bullet points, i think you're taking the experience personally. And it won't help your cause.

You're not at the border trying to prove how great your alma matter is, or to evade questions which aren't legally relevant.

- Can an american do your job? Probably. But that won't affect the ultimate decision so you may as well nod & agree.
- Should you have studied in the USA? Again, doesn't matter, so go ahead and agree.

So you have your coursework described in "excruciating" detail. This is not persuasive to border agents. They may enjoy playing detective to catch people in lies, but they do NOT have the same enjoyment in deeply analyzing credentials so they can give foreigners work permits.

Surely the 3rd best university after Harvard included a decent communications course. Time to blow the dust off your old textbook, and prepare a well-designed summary of how your education fulfills the credential requirements for the category you are applying under.

Be conservative about patience, intelligence, and goodwill of your potential audience. The onus is on you to to prove your qualifications (not for them to disprove) so you'd be well served to make the case a no-thought, no-brainer conclusion.
 
The TN letter is not supposed to describe YOUR qualifications. It is only supposed to outline the JOB, and how IT fits the category requested.

YOU are supposed to make the case that you qualify, not the letter.
 
As an update, I got my TN at YVR. I provided the additional documents the original officer asked for regarding job description and timestamps and this officer took the time to read through my documents, asked me a few valid questions, and then processed the TN.

A great opportunity I'm really grateful to have.
 
Great news. Thanks for posting an update.
many times people do not post an update and we are left wondering what happened.
Unfortunately this demonstrates some variability in the POE and particular CBP officers. Persistence can pay off.
 
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