Port Shopping

N

northerner

New Member
Hi All,

I was denied a TN visa last week (Sumas) and will try again for a 2nd time. However, I have a meeting in Calgary next week and would like to make the attempt to fly to the US and get my TN visa at the Calgary airport.

At Sumas, I was warned about port shopping and the officer put the fear into me. Should I come back to Vancouver and try to re-enter or will it be ok if I go through Calgary?

Thanks in advance.
 
Why were you denied? Have you corrected the application? Get the application fixed and go back to Sumas. Since you have been specifically warned against port shopping, they will not be amused if you try it.
 
I was denied because I was in the wrong category. All the documentation has apparently been fixed by our lawyer.

It would be a huge hassle and expense for me to come back to the lower mainland and then drive to Sumas. Since I'm in Calgary, why not just fly directly to the job site instead? I originally went through Sumas to get my visa beforehand, I figured it would save me time at the airport. Good thing too, because I was denied. The idea that I would now have to go through Sumas, then return to Canada to fly through Vancouver is a bit silly.

I cannot find any documentation on port-shopping. What is the common knowledge on this? Isn't a simple explanation like above reasonable? If I was port-shopping, I have a multitude of other options available to me that are cheaper and likely quicker besides heading to Calgary.

However, perception is everything which is why I pose the question to this group. Has anyone out there heard of, or been accused of port-shopping? What was the result?

Thanks in advance!
 
The perception is that if Calgary is so convenient, why didn't you use it in the first place.

And if sumas wasn't convenient, why did you go there.

The fact that you were warned about port shopping is the key, and is probably on your file.

They don't usually deny TN and also warn you about port shopping.
 
The officers at the POE have a great deal of discretion when it comes to approving TNs (among other things). The worst kind of "port shopping" is someone with a marginal application going from port to port hoping to find an officer sympathetic enough to approve it. We still don't know if you are that type of applicant. When you say you were denied because you were in the wrong category, what does that mean? Was this a simple technical error, or is the employer trying to fit you into a category that you really don't belong in? Not trying to be insulting, just trying to figure out what happened the first time.

We can't tell you how much difficulty you will face at Calgary because there is no way of knowing for sure. You almost certainly will face increased scrutiny because of a previous denial and warning about going to a different port. If it was a simple technical error and your application is otherwise bulletproof, you might get away with it. If you are a marginal fit in a TN category, however, you're risking a second denial, and you DON'T want that. Each denial will mean more scrutiny, and will reduce your chances in the future.

In the end, it's your decision to make. If it were me, I'd live with the inconvenience and return to Sumas.
 
If it was a simple technical error, there wouldn't normally have been followed by a warning about port-shopping.
 
I suspect that to be the case as well. But he also could have caught a difficult officer on a bad day who wanted to rattle him... without more information from the OP about the job, his degree, and the TN category he tried for, we can only guess.
 
Thank you all for your advice. I will err on the side of caution and return to the border that denied me. The uncertainty over whether I can get away without being perceived as border shopping is too big of a risk to take.
 
nelsona said:
If it was a simple technical error, there wouldn't normally have been followed by a warning about port-shopping.
Click to expand...

I've been through Sumas more than a few times and had to go inside twice to get an I-94 'cause I had just the I-797 page.
Sumas officers can be very BITCHY even on a good day. Would not at all suprise me if they warned everyone they deny a TN about port shopping.
Would love to know why you went from Calgary all the way over to Sumas!
 
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