TN/TD to B2, then B2 to TD for wife

C

Canadian1973

New Member
Hi, if anyone has any input regarding this situation please help us. Here is the situation:

I was on TN and wife was on TD (Non-Canadian). My job was eliminated, and we filed the I539 form for change of status from TN/TD to B2 tourist. Got the receipt from USCIS for B2 (I797C i.e. not yet approved but in progress).

Recently, I got an employment offer and I got my new TN at the POE (Canada-US border). Now, we are not sure how to proceed for my wife's case (TD visa) i.e.

(a) Submit a new I539 linking to the original I539 (I was the main applicant on the original application, new I539 will have my wife as the only applicant).

(b) Submit a new I539 form and withdraw the original I539.

We would really appreciate any input from anyone. Thank a lot in advance.
 
It is always best to cancel any previous I-539's as soon as you get your TN at the border, to avoid having a B2 issues after you got TN. I would now do this when submitting her new I-539 for TD. Technically, her TD visa stamp will still be good when she gets her new I-94.
 
Thanks for the reply nelsona. Just one more clarification... while applying new I539 for her what should be her current non-immigrant status? Can we just send a letter to the processing center where our B2 case is pending along with all the supporting documents for her TD? In the letter we can mention that now we don't need any B2 for me as I have TN now and for my wife I am sending all the supporting documents for her TD so please grant her TD instead of B2.
Just want your opinion.
 
No, you can't modify the I-539 previously sent in. She needs to send a new I-539. Her current status is B2-pending. Had you stayed continuously in TN, you would merely cancel the B2 request, but because you both submitted B2 requests, she cannot use her past TD I-94, in my opinion. Her TD visa stamp however, will still be good, once she gets TD approval.
 
Thank you so much for the answer. But this is so confusing. If we submit her new application with B2 pending status then how can I cancel the B2 application. Which I think I should because of me. I already have my TN now.
Please advise.
 
They are separate petitions. You have the B2 case number, send cancellation at the same time you send her new TD petition. her status becomes TD pending.
 
Hello Canadian1973, Congrats on the new job!

I have a similar situation here. I got terminated from H1B last year and filed for B2 COS a month later. The application is still pending. Now I have to a job offer and will go to the border to apply TN (had 4 TNs before).

Can you please let me know what questions border officers asked you when you recently applied? Did they check B2 application?

Also want to know the impact that filing B2 COS late.

Thank you very much!

Vicki
 
Yes, they did check my B2 application. They said that you were out-of-status after the last day of your job, then I have to show my B2 papers that we were in B2 pending the very next day. So we were never out-of-status.
If you filed a month later then you have to explain to them why you were late, I think. It all depends on the officer.
They also checked my educational papers(degrees) and my TN letter from the employer. A weird question was, what is your car number? I have no idea why they asked this.

All in all, you have to take all the documents required for TN plus your B2 pending paper (Letter from USCIS I-797).

Hope this helps. Good luck
 
Thank you very much for your reply!

Wish I had known this last year. They all told me I had 30 days to transfer my H1B if I found another job. This caused the delay in filing COS. Although I did request to change status from the day I was out of the job.

Can you please share which port you went?

Thanks!
 
Are you talking about some grace period of 30 days?If yes then I don't know about that one, sorry.

What is effective date on your I797C? I think they just want to see that you were not out-of-status for a long period while in US. I will not advice you to talk about 30 day grace period until you find it at some government website or some other legitimate source. Maybe they won't even talk about it, but that is a maybe.

I went to Buffalo,NY- Peace Bridge.
 
Thank you Canadian1973!

It was 10/30. I was 30 days late in filing COS. I'll not talk about 30 day grace period as all work visa doesn't have grace period when you are out of job in US.

Thank you very much for your generous help!
 
Your COS will be denied since it was not filed while you were still in legal status. Going to the borderto get new TN however *should* correct all that. Then you should cancel the COS, since it is for the wrong status anyway.
 
Thank you nelsona. What is the chance that I can get a TN approval if my documents are good?

Thank you for your help!
 
That is a silly question, but I will say that it is between 0% and 100%. And in your specific case it will be either 0% or 100%.
 
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