TN and TD with different durations

[jer]

My wife is a vietnamese national. She gave birth one month ago to our first kid and we are moving to the US soon.

We have applied for a TN visa for me and a TD for her and the baby (both on Vietnamese passports). We got all three applications accepted. However, to my great surprise, instead of having 3 visas of identical duration, I have been given a 5 year visa and my wife and son only a 1 year TD visa. I don't understand why I got a 5 year visa while TN should be 3 years maximum (???), but this poses me no problem. However, I am wondering what to do about my wife and son visas...

My questions include:

Did the embassy make a mistake by giving only 1 yr TD visas or is it normal?

In the future, is it going to be possible to renew TD visas without renewing my TN visa?

My wife will get PR from Canada soon and we will make a trip there in April. If she apply for a new TD visa from Canada at that time, is it going to be a 3 year visa or is she always going to get 1 year?

About my son, I will get him a Canadian passport in the coming months. Should I then apply for a TD on his Canadian passport when we visit Canada in April?

Any other comments appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[nelsona]

First a little clarification please.
You say you got a five-year TN "visa". Is this (A) a consular visa stamp obtained at an embassy? Or is it (B) an I-94 issued by immigration (either by I-129 or by border officer).

If it is (A) you don't have your TN quite yet. You need to enter US with your diocumentation and get an I-94 which will be for 3-year duration (if that is what your TN letter requests.

as for your family's "visas". If they were only issued for one year, they will need new ones eventually which correspond to the lenght of validity of your "real" TN (3-years). The duartion has just been changed so there is some confusion. But if they were issued 1 year, that is all they have.
Since your son is cdn, he too, will never need a visa for US again. he will simply enter US on TD status, by getting an I-94 at the border, like you in TN.

Don't confuse TN status (as evidenced by an unexpired I-94) and TN or TD 'visa' which is simply a stamp permitting you to apply for TN or TD.

Non-Cdns need both a TD visa and a valid I-94 in TD status to enter US.


I think the confusion might be that the embassy should not have issued youa TN visa at all, as Cdn citizen do not requiire and almost invariable are never issue a a consular stamp for TN. You were poroably dealing with staff inexperienced in Cdn and TN matters.

 

[jer]

clarifications

Hi Nelsona,

Thanks for your clarification.

The staff at the embassy had almost certainly NEVER dealt with this kind of situation... It is obvious from some of the things they told me while I was there.

The answer is A as you guessed. The embassy in Hanoi told me that if I wanted my non-canadian dependants to fly in with me to the US, I also needed to make a formal visa application. I assumed that this was to prove that I am really planning to go to the US or maybe to prove that I intend to support them???

We are flying in to the US in 2 weeks so I will know then what really happens, but if we all get 3 years I-94 cards (as requested in my TN request letter) that would be great, but if I get you right, my wife will then need to re-apply for a TD visa anyway within the year even though her I-94 will be still valid?

Is it common or exceptional to give only 1 year visas to TD non-canadians even though the duration of TN is now 3 years and we did request 3 years?

 

[TheRealCanadian]

if I get you right, my wife will then need to re-apply for a TD visa anyway within the year even though her I-94 will be still valid?[/quite]

The visa itself is only required to enter the US. She will need to get a new visa stamp if she leaves the US after the 1 year, but if she will stay in the US she does not need to apply so long as her I-94 is still valid.

Is it common or exceptional to give only 1 year visas to TD non-canadians even though the duration of TN is now 3 years and we did request 3 years?

TN/TD visa issuance outside of Mexico and Canada is extremely rare, so I'm not surprised that the embassy only gave 1 year, since the change is so recent.

 

[nelsona]

As TRC states, as long as your wife stays in North America (she does not have to stay in US, by AVR), she will not need a new Visa stamp, but she will have to keep her I-94 valid by mail-in renewal before it expires.