TN to Green Card?

B

belld001

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I've been holding TN status for just a little more than a year now. I have been thinking of applying for a green card. One of the lawyers I talked to told me that I will have to first switch to H1B visa before I attempt for a green card. Another lawyer said that he knows ways to skip the H1B step and apply directly for the green card, but this guy costs quite a bit more too...

Does any one have experience with this matter? Is there a way we could file for green card ourselves? My present income level is substantially lower than the average TN status holder and I am not even sure if I qualify for the H1B...

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.
 
You technically not have to go for H1b.

In my case I am holding TN and just got LC approved a week ago, and now I am filing I-140. My lawyer also said to switch to H1b and my company is wiling to do that as well, but in my case (as well in your case I think) there is no benefit to switching to H1b.

Keep follow the steps and renew your TN just before you ready to file 485 and I think you should be okay.

Most of the lawyers are not really familiar the process from TN to GC because TN is not dual intension status. but technically once you file 485 and your TN expires your status will be 485 pending status. (somebody correct if I am wrong).

HTH
 
Is this really not recommended to go in person and renew the TN at POE once 140 approved?

Anyone has done that before??
 
Is this really not recommended to go in person and renew the TN at POE once 140 approved?

You are right. I had done that before (getting TN after I-140 approval), but that approval was from my previous employer.

While it is true that I-485 implies immigrant intent (and not the I-140), I would do the mail in TN renewal rather than going to POE, once my I-140 for the current employer (who is sponsoring my GC) is approved. And that's what I have done recently..
 
You mean you have done it that you went in person to renew you TN after 140 approved?

did they talked about your 140?? any tough questions??

You help is really appreciated.
 
You mean you have done it that you went in person to renew you TN after 140 approved?

-- Yes, I did.

did they talked about your 140?? any tough questions??

--The officer did not even mention anything about the (immigrant)intent or my I-140 approval. No tough questions were asked, all questions were striaght-forward.
 
Shyboy said:
You mean you have done it that you went in person to renew you TN after 140 approved?

did they talked about your 140?? any tough questions??
Click to expand...

I was granted a new TN at the Toronto PFI while I was the recipent of an approved I-140. The officer did question me extensively and told me that I had expressed immigrant intent with the I-140, but I resisted and told her that as my i-140 indicated that I had selected Consular Processing, it was necessarily the case that I would be leaving the US, so therefor I was not expressing immigrant intent. (this arguement is the exact one that USCIS has quoted in there memo as the reason why I-140 by itself is not immigrant intent.) the officer spoke with her supervisor who confirmed that I was correct. I was then granted a new TN.
 
thank you very much for you feedback.

My 140 will be out sometime this week, and I really want to do the TN renewal in person, right after when 140 approved.

The reason was just the quick process, its not that long drive from DC to Buffalo.

thanks once again.
 
The reason was just the quick process, its not that long drive from DC to Buffalo.

Use Premium processing then, it is fast...and safe too!
 
Another question for TN->GC

Hi,
I was wondering, let say you get your I-140 approved and you have a valid TN for 6-10 mos with a current priority date and then you decide to apply for AOS (I-485). Will they deny your I-485 once they see in your application that your current status is a TN because of dual-intent?

I appreciate your help! Thanks!

pinoyInDC :confused:
 
pinoyInDC said:
Will they deny your I-485 once they see in your application that your current status is a TN because of dual-intent?
Click to expand...

No, immigrant intent is cause for denying a non-immigrant status. It cannot be used to deny an I-485.
 
pinoyInDC said:
Will they deny your I-485 once they see in your application that your current status is a TN because of dual-intent?
Click to expand...

My I-485 was not only approved, it was approved during an interview at the local office in front of an immigration officer, while I was under oath. I distinctly remember the officer reviewing the page that mentioned I was adjusting from TN status. I was nervous to say the least, since many people on this forum at that time (circa 2004) felt I would get denied because of this. He had no issues with that fact of course, and my GC was approved on the spot.

Dual intent becomes an issue when you try to apply for, renew, or enter the US in a status that does not allow for dual intent, such as TN, F1, or B1, after having shown immigrant intent. It does not affect the I-485 application itself.
 
Hi,
Thanks for responding to my question, it really helps a lot in going through
the process.

curiousGeorge,
If the officer did ask about your TN status what would have been ur response?

pinoyInDC :)
 
My lawyer reassured me many times throughout the process that it would not be an issue. In fact, my company switched lawyers at the 11th hour of my I-485 case just before my interview, and the new lawyer said the same thing. They had both processed many TN -> GC cases, and never one was denied because the person was in TN status at the time that the I-485 was filed. The new lawyer went with me to the interview, and even in the waiting room, the Nervous Nilly in me asked what I should say if the dual intent issue comes up. The lawyer told me I had no reason to lie since there was nothing wrong with my situation. I should tell him that I was in TN status when I applied for the I-485, and if the officer were to insist that I had immigrant intent, then my lawyer would have spoken up to clarify things. In fact lieing would have made things worse. If one is caught in a lie under oath, that fact alone is reason enough to deny the case on the spot.

It never came to that thankfully, and since both lawyers said it was not an issue, and the officer explicitely knew what my status used to be, I am reassured, that it is in fact, not an issue.

I can only imagine what my lawyer would have said if confronted by the officer, but with his intricate knowledge of the law, I can only assume that his response would somehow be loosly based on something like this:

“there is a great difference between wanting to stay and intending to stay and proof of a desire to stay is not proof of an intent to stay.”
Choy v. Barber, 279 F.2d 642, 645-46 (9th Cir. 1960)

"a desire to immigrate to the United States, should opportunity arise, is not inconsistent with nonimmigrant intent"
citing Brownell v. Carija, 254 F.2d 78, 80 (D.C. Cir. 1957)
 
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