TD approval by mail and re-entry into US

T

timmy3

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I am a Canadian Citizen, working in US on a TN status. My wife ( Canadian PR) was here with me on B1/B2 and I applied for her change of status to TD by mail which recently got approved and she received her I797 and an I-94 which is valid till the end of my status.

We are planning a short visit to our family in Canada very soon.Somewhere in the approval letter it is stated that she have to handover the I-94 to US customs on departing US.

My question is how does she get back in if we handover I-94 to customs ?
Do we have to get a new visa appointment at US consulate in Canada like any other non-immigrant visa and pay the fee to get a new TD stamped ?

Can someone please explain the process of returning back to US with the new approved TD status.

Thanks
 
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Counselor

timmy3 said:
Hi,

I am a Canadian Citizen, working in US on a TN status. My wife ( Canadian PR) was here with me on B1/B2 and I applied for her change of status to TD by mail which recently got approved and she received her I797 and an I-94 which is valid till the end of my status.

We are planning a short visit to our family in Canada very soon.Somewhere in the approval letter it is stated that she have to handover the I-94 to US customs on departing US.

My question is how does she get back in if we handover I-94 to customs ?
Do we have to get a new visa appointment at US consulate in Canada like any other non-immigrant visa and pay the fee to get a new TD stamped ?

Can someone please explain the process of returning back to US with the new approved TD status.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Minimize the use of short form as TN status and PR status,
 
As a Canadian PR, I think your wife will need to obtain a visa from the US consulate/embassy in Canada before returning to the US. She will need to take along the approved I-797 to the embassy/consulate. A new I-94 will be issued at the border when she returns. I'm not quite certain Canadian PR can obtain a TN stamp at the border like Canadian citizens can. (I could be wrong though).


timmy3 said:
Hi,

I am a Canadian Citizen, working in US on a TN status. My wife ( Canadian PR) was here with me on B1/B2 and I applied for her change of status to TD by mail which recently got approved and she received her I797 and an I-94 which is valid till the end of my status.

We are planning a short visit to our family in Canada very soon.Somewhere in the approval letter it is stated that she have to handover the I-94 to US customs on departing US.

My question is how does she get back in if we handover I-94 to customs ?
Do we have to get a new visa appointment at US consulate in Canada like any other non-immigrant visa and pay the fee to get a new TD stamped ?

Can someone please explain the process of returning back to US with the new approved TD status.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Sm1smom.

Could anybody else with more information reply to my post.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Since your wife has a valid visa (in a different status) but has a I-539 approval, she does not need a new visa to re-enter US from canada. Let's be clear: she MUST have a consular stamped B1/B2 visa (not just an I-94) and she must be travelling to Canada/Mexico only, for 30 days or less. She would re-enter on a process called AVR.

She will hand over the old I-94 and present the I-94 attached to her i-539 approval, and the CBP officer will handle the rest.

But if she does not have a consular visa at this time (many nationals can travel to US without a visa for B2 purposes, but not for TD), she will need to make an appointment (now) at a Cdn consulate, and then wait for that visa until she can re-enter the US. This would also be true if she had a B1/B2 visa, but travelled outside N America.
 
Yes she does have a consular stamped B1/B2 visa valid till 2021 ( 10yrs multiple) and her new I-539 approval for TD is valid till March 2013. We are going out to Canada for couple of days only.

I hope the B1/B2 do not get void/ canceled after the change of status approval ??

Also , would like to ask can she travel back and forth between US and Canada in future visits too with same documentation or do we have to get a new visa to match her I-94 at some point in time?

Thank You so much for your informative post Nelsona. I was going to book an appointment with the Toronto consulate today for her new visa. You really made my day.
 
The visa is not "voided". It becomes a TD visa until such time as she gets a real TD visa, if ever (she would only need this if she travels out of north america). At that time her B1/B2 will disappear, as it should.
 
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