chongyip said:
curious George,
Yup, same question as UN, if physio got denied for his TN extension, then he was out of work status from the time that his TN expired....right?
This I am not sure about, I'm not an expert on denied TN's, but I am guessing that you can work as long as it takes to adjudicate the TN, or if 240 days have passsed. You would only need to stop working if the TN was denied, but you wouldn't be penalized for having worked, when it was pending. You had no idea that they were going to deny you, so how could it be your fault for working during this time. This specific scenario should follow the same rules as H1B, which you all may be more familiar with, and I am not an expert in H1B's. What happens if an H1B extension is denied for some reason? Assuming there is no I-485 filed at all would you have been considered as "working illegally" from the point the old H1B expired? TheRealCanadian may know more.
To answer your concerns about my case:
My company recently transferred my case, along with all the other immigration cases to a different law firm. This has caused me even more stress, because I am doubtful that that USCIS will update their files with the new lawyer's address in time before my interview letter gets sent. My basis for this stress is that the old lawyer moved to a new office about 10 months earlier. He is still receiving mail to his old address even though he updated the USCIS with his new address. Now my interview letter could get lost in the shuffle before it gets to me on time.
[Old Lawyer's old address] -> [Old Lawyer's New Address] -> [New Lawyer] -> [Me]
Either way this new law firm has about 5 people working on my case, 3 of which are immigration attorneys, which is way more than the old law firm, and since the case is new to them they have been rigorously reviewing it. They were recently discussing why my case could have been transferred, and they did not see any problems at all with having changed status from TN to "I-485 pending". Remember, that although there is no specific mention of dual intent for a TN, there is the flip side also, since there is no specific mention that dual intent does NOT apply to a TN.
They inquired if I had traveled during the time between when I-485 was filed and before the Advance Parole was approved. I said no, and they said that this may be the only thing that the interviewer may want to verify. They will accompany me to the interview, just in case, but they do not see any problems that are not easily solvable with an explanation, or with the proof we already have. They are quite confident that my case will be approved.....eventually. They highly doubt my case was transferred due to the TN, and they believe it was just a random transfer, but are getting ready for any questions that may arise. By the way, my first lawyer was of the exact same opinion, so this increases the probability that it was random.
I have tried to get them to inquire at the local office to get me an interview, based on the fact that I need to file an affidavit of support for my mother who won the DV-2005 lottery. They said that some of the officers have a soft side for family related problems like this caused by immigration delays, and it might work to get the interview.
Cross your fingers for me.
Here is a quote on extending a TN whan an I-485 is pending from a lawyer:
http://www.grasmick.com/canimfaq.htm
See Question 7 on that page.
This dual intent doctrine is in the regulations for L-1 and H-1 permits, but is not specifically given to TN's. Right now, the INS generally treats TN's under the same doctrine. This could change. In fact, there seems to be a trend towards increased scrutiny of TNs with pending green card applications.
Here is a relevant quote from INS regulations:
The Service has, traditionally, considered applying for adjustment of status as relevant evidence in determining whether an alien has abandoned the requisite nonimmigrant intent. Section 214(b) of the Act does not, however, require the Service to hold this position as an absolute rule. So long as the alien clearly intends to comply with the requirements of his or her nonimmigrant status, the fact that the alien would like to become a permanent resident, if the law permits this, does not bar the alien's continued holding of a nonimmigrant status.[end quote]
If you're gonna take the TN path to a green card, make sure your lawyer knows the ins and outs. Its not a common path, and many lawyers get you trapped in the pitfalls, which almost happened to chongyip. Unlike chongyip, physiorafiq is not a concurrent filer, which is much much safer when applying while on a TN. The EAD should come in 3 months from the filing date, and if it does not, then he can get an interim EAD at the local office. If he filed in July, then he should be able to get one soon, and even if the TN gets denied then, you should be eligible for an interim EAD pretty soon, if not already.
physiorafiq, just keep on top of it, get your interim EAD as soon as you can, if the EAD is not approved yet and 90 days have gone by, and you'll be fine.
