TN CHANGE OF EMPLOYER

J

JMAN83

New Member
Hello I am a Canadian Citizen , I am A Registered Nurse .
I would like to change employers and have a few questions about that.
I have been on a TN Visa for almost 3 years.
I am currently working with Company A , (full-time) (have been with them for 4 months). I got a job offer from Company B. (also full-time). IN TWO SEPARATE STATES .
I would like to hold onto my I94 from Company A , before I quit and give my notice. (So I was wondering if I could get a 2nd TN Visa (i94) for Company B (processed at the POE Buffalo, NY) . Therefore having two TN Visa Simultaneously. Now I am aware you can hold multiple TN visa at the same time. However my case is a little different as they are both full time jobs.
So my questions are : Can I apply for 2nd TN VISA for Company B (two weeks before my start date)?
(2). Can I hold multiple TN Visa for two different companies both full time work in different states?
(3.) Do I have to surrender Company A (i94) before obtaining Company B(i94)
(4). What do I say to CBP @ POE when they ask why I would have two full time jobs? - Would I tell them that I am adding a 2nd TN VIsa becuase I am changing employers!? I have to tell the truth? (Just trying to find the correct wording)!?
(5.)If they tell me I came to early to obtain the visa is that "considered a denial".
THank you all for your help .
Would be much appreciated.
 
Yes, you can (and should) get your 2nd TN before you give up your first one. Do NOT surrender the 1st one until you have the second one. it doesn't matter that they are full-time.
Simply tell CBP that you are transitioning. it is done all the time. If they refuse to give you the other TN solely on that basis, that is not a denial. But, really, if that would be your situation, then take the second TN immediately. you and firm A will have to face the reality that you will not be able to give Company A any notice (you are never required to).
Be prepared to simply get you new TN and then walk away from the old job. They would get rid of you that fast.Nothing wrong with that. They will have to realize that you can't work illegally (which it would be without the first TN in hand).

So, when you go for your new TN, makes sure there is nothing at your old job that you want to keep. If they let you keep the first one, great. If not, off you go to your second job!
 
nelsona said:
Yes, you can (and should) get your 2nd TN before you give up your first one. Do NOT surrender the 1st one until you have the second one. it doesn't matter that they are full-time.
Simply tell CBP that you are transitioning. it is done all the time. If they refuse to give you the other TN solely on that basis, that is not a denial. But, really, if that would be your situation, then take the second TN immediately. you and firm A will have to face the reality that you will not be able to give Company A any notice (you are never required to).
Be prepared to simply get you new TN and then walk away from the old job. They would get rid of you that fast.Nothing wrong with that. They will have to realize that you can't work illegally (which it would be without the first TN in hand).

So, when you go for your new TN, makes sure there is nothing at your old job that you want to keep. If they let you keep the first one, great. If not, off you go to your second job!
Click to expand...

Wow thank you so much Nelsona for the quick ,efficient , and knowledgeable reply it is very much appreciated .
You really know your stuff and I won't give up the first TN until I have the second in hand and yes there is a chance I may not be able to give notice. The last time I transitioned I jobs . I gave up my job first (2weeks) notice and then quit . Returned to Canada and applied for new Tn . CBP officer got mad and said I should not have. Quit before I had the other (2nd tn visa)
I will also explain that to them this time. That the former CBP officer told me to keep the first job i94 until I obtain the second one.
Also question Nelsona , I am going to be applying 2 weeks before the start date
14 days prior
Would it help if I went 13 days prior or would it be the same as 14
What do you think about that can I apply that early
????? Thank you so much for your help
 
The officer was right.

I prefer that TN letters have no start date, since it limits you. When you show up, you will not be given more than 3 years, so you "lose" the 2 weeks anyways. I prefer a dated letter, that merely states you will start upon approval, for a period of no more than 3 years.
But 2 weeks before should not be a problem. its not a numerical thing.
 
nelsona said:
The officer was right.

I prefer that TN letters have no start date, since it limits you. When you show up, you will not be given more than 3 years, so you "lose" the 2 weeks anyways. I prefer a dated letter, that merely states you will start upon approval, for a period of no more than 3 years.
But 2 weeks before should not be a problem. its not a numerical thing.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Nelsona, I appreciate it.
You are Great !
So if I present at the border 14 days before or 13 days before will that make a difference ?!

I was thinking of changing my flight date ?! But if a day makes no difference ? What do you think? Will they deny based on to early to apply ?

My TN letter will have a start date Company B has already informed me of that ,
So I will ask for a second visa when I report to Poe buffalo Ny and tell them I am transitioning jobs is that correct ?
Will they try to take the first i94 ?
And if they do then I must immeadiately quit with company a ?! Correct?
In addition my passport expires 2018
Of course I will be presenting a letter requesting for a three year Tn visa . What will happen then ?!
And what will I need to do
Thank you Nelsona
 
I have done multiple TNs at the border a couple of times without any issues at all. I remember the company lawyer told me I couldn't do it and TN is like H1 but I showed her my 2 TNs at the time and she shut up. She went and did some research and came back with an email confirming that one could have multiple TNs. Lawyers!!!

However, there is a big difference when applying by mail to get a TN from USCIS (as opposed to a border TN by CBP). If the "Change of Employer" box is checked in I-129, your old TN becomes invalid and you will a get a new TN for the new employer. When I changed jobs in 2014, my new employer checked that box on purpose for non-immigration reasons. They didn't want me to be able to work for both companies at the same time due to conflict of interest and the non-competitor clause in my employment contract with either companies. The two companies were direct competitors.

That is the reason why I like border TN for change of employers and USCIS TN for continuing the employment with the same employer.
 
"So if I present at the border 14 days before or 13 days before will that make a difference ?! "
I already answered that "It's not a numerical thing", that is, 13 doesn't matter over 14 or 15 or 12... you get the picture?

If the "demand" (they won't) the old TN, say "not before you issue my new one" and then ask them why?

CBP these days only issues the I-94 up to the end of your passport. Your TN will be good for 3 years, but you would at some point need to get them to issue you a new (free) I-94 when you get your new passport, to get the extra few months that would be left. that is far down the road. Something tells me you will be changing jobs before then.



Ottawa, Good experience. lawyers are clueless on TN issues. It was good to see that the officer for our poster even made the point of teller her that she SHOULD have held the 2.
 
Thank you Nelsona and Ottawa for your replies
If they only issue my TN Visa for the epxiry date on my passport
What documentation will I have to bring with me to the border when I get my new passport in order for them to put the (new i94 ) with remaining time?!
(2) if they demand first TN Visa when I apply for 2nd one , should I immeadiately leave employer or come back one week later and reapply at the border for 2nd TN ?!
Thanks Nelsona
 
Please read carefully what I have already said.

What documentation will I have to bring with me to the border when I get my new passport in order for them to put the (new i94 ) with remaining time?!
AS I said: "that is far down the road". Please be focused on what you are doing now, not 2 years from now. Comer back here when you get a new passport, or ask the officer.​

(2) if they demand first TN Visa when I apply for 2nd one , should I immeadiately leave employer or come back one week later and reapply at the border for 2nd TN ?!
Again, as I already said: " if that would be your situation, then take the second TN immediately. you and firm A will have to face the reality that you will not be able to give Company A any notice (you are never required to). Be prepared to simply get you new TN and then walk away from the old job.... They will have to realize that you can't work illegally (which it would be without the first TN in hand)." What would waiting a week do? You still aren't going to give notice (that would be crazy without 2nd TN approved).​

You need to get stay calm and focused.
 
while not necessary, one thing I did prior to getting my TN was to get the new 10-year Cad passport (my old passport was going to expire in 18 months). This way, I didnt have to worry about having to return to the border for another TN (my job was far from the closest POE so it made sense for me). You could just get the TN for the duration of your current passport and return if you are close to the POE or go for your TN with a new passport. Good luck.
 
obviously time is of the essence right now.

My bet is that our poster won't be at this job long enough to need to worry about that.
 
I changed my job twice on TN... The start date on the TN letter didn't really matter as they would stamp my new TN based on the day i was entering the US.

The second time i tried to change, he tried to deny my new TN because he said my job title Business Analyst wasn't a NAFTA approved title, even though the TN letter stated "Accountant" in brackets as a classification (I blame that on the employer lawyers as they said Business Analyst is fine even though I begged them to change it to something easier like "financial Accountant/analyst".

So i told the custom agent.. "ok, i will just go back to my first job"... which he replied with.. "well your TN letter is a fraud and you are trying to enter illegally, so i will ban you all together".... I don't get these custom agents... they act like bullies, do they have some issues with canadians coming to usa to work?

After a few minutes.. he said fine, you can go... that was a close call for me.
 
Hello Dwight

I am currently working for A company with TN visa, three month ago I went to the border and applied a TN visa for B company but don’t work for B company at all and still work in company A with TN visa which is not expired yet.

is there any problem for my case ?

thanks in advance

Raymond Wang
 
No problem. You have a valid TN with A. If you never plan to work for B, then next time you are at the border just hand in your 'B' TN to the Cdn officer.
 
Thanks a lot! it is so helpful!

I just have a question for the following case:
I have TNvisa-A for company-A, and I go to border and get my TNvisa-B for company-B
then next day I notify company-A, and after two weeks I leave company-A and will fly to company-B to start working there
at this point: is TNvisa-A automatically invalid? do I need to return TNvisa-A to CBP? or company-A will notify US-government to invalid TNvisa-A? or I don't need to do anything for TNvisa-A(just keep it but will not use it anymore)? Thanks!
 
to Nelsona's point: "If you never plan to work for B, then next time you are at the border just hand in your 'B' TN to the Cdn officer" -- if you stop working for 'A' TN, just hand that one over to the Cdn officer instead
 
You can choose to do nothing with the first TN. I would suggest keeping it until everything is settled. Even then, there is no need to havd in any old I-94s unless it is the last one you have, and are leaving US for good (in order to prove you left)
 
I have had 4 TN's in the past 8 years, last one was obtained in August of last year. I am planning to change my job, can I file a I129, it appears only employers can file this document. I am not sure if going to the Bahamas or back to Canada is a good idea, as with the case of nurses coming in from Canada ( also I am not European ).
I am willing to spend the $460 and premium processing fee if necessary, but can I do it on my own with the help of a lawyer ( or without ), or should I request my new consulting firm to do it for me. My concern for not asking them to do it, is because they might not want to wait for the processing to be complete, and they want someone to start really soon, say 2 weeks from now. I thank you for your advise.
 
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