TN holder getting married

G

GeneralG

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,
I'm on TN Visa until 11/1/2007; I'm planning to get married at 6/15/2007.
What do I need to do in order to process my change of status situation?
Can I continue working?
Can I travel?
Can you please provide me with the forms No. that I need to fill up and apply for? Where do I start from?
Any further information will be really helpful.

Thank you in advance.
Eric
 
are you marrying a US citizen?

Unless you want to change your status to GreenCard, there is nothing you need to do.
 
Yes, getting married to a US Citizen, I'm planning to change my status to green card, now can I travel and do my honeymoon after marriage and then come back and apply for change of status?

Thanks
 
GeneralG said:
Yes, getting married to a US Citizen, I'm planning to change my status to green card, now can I travel and do my honeymoon after marriage and then come back and apply for change of status?
Click to expand...

sure, but don't tell the border officers that you are married to a US citizen or they may suspect that you have immigrant intent, which is a no-no while on a TN. The chances of problems on re-entry are small, but they do exist.

If you want to have no risks at all, then file for I-130, I-485, EAD, and AP. Wait until the AP is approved before you leave the country.
 
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GeneralG,
Do remember that TN status in a non-immigrant status. It does not have the "dual-intent" luxary like the H-1B or L-1A/L-1B does. You can marry a US citizen and apply for AOS. However do not leave the country until you an AP in your hand. Reason being that there is a very small possibility of you being denied re-entry if the officers at the POE discover that you have married a US citizen while being on a TN. So marry in the US, apply for AOS/EAD/AP and travel after being issued an AP. You will also have the freedom to change jobs (if you want) when you have an EAD.
Good luck!!!
 
Thank you guys for the reply, can you tell me which forms I need to fill in and can I get them online?

Thank you
 
TN-1 does not allow immigration intent

webtiger said:
I-130, I-485, EAD, and AP and you can get most all of them at http://www.uscis.gov. Just click on "Forms" button ....
Click to expand...

I have just completed the process that you are looking into.
Canadian on TN-1 married USC I-130, I-485, I-765
The problem with the TN-1 you are going to get in Jan'07 is that you cant tell them you are going to get married. That then becomes misrepresentation and is grounds for inadmisability and subject to a ban. :eek: Goodbye TN-1's and hello a life of scrutiny at the border.
Even if you are granted your residency the misreprentation can come back to haunt you if at any time they review your case.
I was fortunate to have a decent lawyer that pointed out my indiscretion; luckily my situation allowed for me to file a waiver I-601.( I had already married and commited the misreprentation)
Ther are other options available such as applying for a fiance visa while on the TN.
From my personal experience (been there done that) please consult an immigration lawyer or specailist to help guide you through this situation ASAP before you go past the point of no return.
In this situation I cant emphisize this enough.

I slept at a Holiday Inn too but when it comes down to a lifetime ban I still consult the professionals.
 
Geemoney,
I’m not clear of what you’re saying..
Can you answer my questions please?
Are you saying anybody on TN can’t get married to a USC anymore?
Why you can apply for fiancé and get away with that?
Why you said Jan 07? Can you refer to a certain law that is going to be passed for TN’s?
The misreprentation is it a case or a person?

Why would you really care if they check on you .. let say for 5 years every 6 months? If you really had gotten married.. I mean as long as you are still working and your paper in process why would you care?

were you late applying for these document after you already got married?

I think you had a special situation but you are not clear, because I never heard of a case like yours before!

Thanks
 
I was in this situation 3 years ago. I was on my 6th TN and then got married to my USC girlfriend (now wifies). My TN was expiring in Nov, and we got married in Aug. I had already applied for a new TN in June (6 months before my at the time current TN expired). This then left my gates open for the marriage to take place in case the EAD didn't come in time. We got married in August and immediatly sent in the AOS (all the forms you need). Luckily we had a lawyer and got pretty much everything done before hand, so after we got the official marriage certificate I sent off all the AOS forms (Adjustment of Status).

In Sept I got my EAD (work authorization) and then a week after I got my AP (Advance Parole and what you need to leave and re-enter the country in).

You have an option if you both are leaving for the honeymoon. First if you don't have your AP yet (best to wait though for it), then you will have to convince the US custom agent that you two are not on a honeymoon. Say if you're going to somewhere like Canada, then it's not really an issue because it's not really a honeymoon destination and the customs people will easily accept you're bringing your girlfriend to meet the family etc. If you are comming from say some resort in the Virgin Islands together, it might be a little more suspiscious. Especially if they open your bags to check and find anything at all that suggests a honeymoon or that you two are married.

You can decide to enter the customs thing at different times, say she gets off the plane 10 mins before you etc, but then you'd have to explain why you just happend to be at some resort local by yourself (and this is only if your ticket has only your name on it) etc.

Best bet is to just get married and plan a local US honeymoon (or Hawaii), then when you get the AP, then plan something outside the country. It will eliminate all these issues...
 
Yeah yeah, local I was meaning something you just can drive to in your car (no flights) to make it small and simple until you plan the real honeymoon. Since I don't think they live on any of the islands in hawaii, I suggested that as a non-local one since it involves a plane...
 
Yes I'm sure it was, I lived on Maui when I was younger. Of course you probably planned your honeymoon to go to Hawaii. I think this person has plans to go outside the US and hence might want to at least get a weekend getaway or something right after the wedding.

We did that, we drove to Arizona and did our honeymoon there. Never did plan the big honeymoon yet and that was 3 years ago ha ha. Oh well, one of these days...
 
Warlord,
Actual honeymoon destinations were Australia and New Zealand. Hawaii was a natural (and logical) stopover :)
 
Much more senic then mine that's for sure ha ha. Anyways, I think this persons best bet is to hold off on the big out of the country honeymoon if they haven't already bought it and then plan that after they get AP. If they have bought the out of the country honeymoon adventure, then hopfully they can just convince the INS on the way back that they're still dating or something...
 
Thank you guysl, now I know why people have questions here they hire lawyers!!! :)

can you guys comment on "Geemoney" response?? it is something new !!!
 
It's not illegal or wrong for a TN to marry a US citizen. Technically a POE officer can deny a TN or entry on a TN if they suspect immigrant intent and marriage to a US citizen can suggest that. This is true with all non-immigrant statuses, though. While you don't have to tell them you're married or going to marry an American, if they ask you specifically if you have any relatives in the States and you flat out lie and say "no", you're going to be in a deep pile of crap and I doubt anything will help you out of it.

As for the Jan 07 thing, I'm not sure what he means by that.

Talking to an attorney is a good thing, at least to set your mind at ease. I've done it, and I'm sure we all have. Make sure they are familiar with NAFTA and the TN status, though. I have to admit I've never heard of anyone adjusting from a TN either through marriage or a company filing a 601 or having to file one as Gee did. So his case is totally new to me.

Another thing is that you could extend your TN through mail if you're nervous about the POE. You're still allowed to work up to 240 days past the expiration of your old TN while your new one is pending. It's a little more, but might set your mind at ease.
 
Hi all,
Just to be clear about my responses, I was asking if I can travel through my change of status etc..
Now I got it .. it is more confusing and risky.. I'm not going anywhere untill I got my status changed and have travel document, we are done with that.

But because “Geemoney” came up with different confusing comments that is why I'm asking.. is there a problem to do the immigration while we are on TN visa?

He talked about misrepresentation, he talked about married and commited the misreprentation, file for waiver 601......etc please read his response.

Thanks
 
back on topic. Yes it is a problem to marry on a TN.

I missread his date sorry. Nothing is happening Jan '07
My bad.
As cdnchris says
"It's not illegal or wrong for a TN to marry a US citizen"
However the act of being on a TN-1 and from there adjusting staus due to the marriage is in itself, a misrepresentation becuase you are showing "immigration intent"
The misrepresentation is the action of having imigrant intent after telling them you are only a temporary worker to get the TN.(you dont get dual status i.e. the ability to work as a temp and immigrate)
Even if they dont specically ask you if you are going to marry, the act of marriage after you got the TN shows misrepresentation.
The I-601 I filed is a waiver of inadmisability because of the misrepresentation I caused when I married while in the US on a TN-1 (my 9th)
The documents were not late.
The process I followed was to file concurrent I-130, I-485, I-765
with a (I-601) waiver for the inadmissability based on the misrepresentation.

Nore to all: The misreprentation is a real big deal because when/if in the future your file is reviewed (for whatever reason -citizenship whatever) and they find this misrepresentation you can be subject to immediate deportation (even if you pass/passed the interview you are still not safe 5 years later :eek: )

Talk to a lawyer ASAP and find the proper avenue for you is all I'm saying.
Marrying on a TN-1 is not straightforward like everyone thinks.
Youve got a year to take care of all loose ends.
I went past the pioint of no return and got married before consulting a lawyer and it could have been catustrophic. I was merely trying to pass my personal experience along. In other words dont do what I did (married on a TN-1) talk to a real (expert) immigration lawyer and check out other avenues because your actions can come back to haunt you if you dont do it right. (it is not easy to get the waiver (I-601) approved either)

P.S. In my opinion extending the TN-1 through the mail is a long and expensive process from what I hear, for those wanting to renew just get a new one at the border like you did the first -its only $60 for a new one. Just present a new letter from your employer to show that your work has expanded.
 
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