I am planning on applying for TN visa at a border close to home next week. My family is not in Canada right now as they are visting relatives in US. Is it required that when I apply for TN status at the border my family/dependents should also accompany me to the border to get their TD status. Can I obtain TN for myself and take them to the border at a later date to obtain their TD status. Also, my wife is not a Canadian citizen. Is she still eligible for TD status? Any feedback will be appreciated...Thanks.
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TN visa and dependents
- Thread starter mairk
- Start date
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
mairk said:Is it required that when I apply for TN status at the border my family/dependents should also accompany me to the border to get their TD status.
They can apply for TD status whenever they wish. There is no requirement that they get TD status at all, if they can obtain a different non-immigrant status or remain outside the US.
Also, my wife is not a Canadian citizen. Is she still eligible for TD status?
Yes, but she will require a visa stamp. It might be simpler for her to change status within the US by filing an I-539.
Your wife cannot get her TD at the border. As mention she could request COS and you could do the kids as well in the same application. However truth be told that presently I-539 are taking months to process and your dependants would need to wait (in the US) until they get approved before departing. Departing while I-539 is pending would effectively cancel the application. You could also drop an extra $1000 and have the COS application processed in 15 days.
Otherwise your wife will need to get her TD at the US consulate (presumably in Canada or her home country).
Side note: Once I got a TN and my dependant joined me a month later in NY. NY DMV wouldn’t give her a driver’s license since she was admitted for less then a year. Without a US drivers license we couldn’t get car insurance and so on. That was the last time we didn’t get are TN/TD’s issued on the same day.
Otherwise your wife will need to get her TD at the US consulate (presumably in Canada or her home country).
Side note: Once I got a TN and my dependant joined me a month later in NY. NY DMV wouldn’t give her a driver’s license since she was admitted for less then a year. Without a US drivers license we couldn’t get car insurance and so on. That was the last time we didn’t get are TN/TD’s issued on the same day.
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
DBEL said:However truth be told that presently I-539 are taking months to process and your dependants would need to wait (in the US) until they get approved before departing. Departing while I-539 is pending would effectively cancel the application.
Even if is canceled upon departing the country, the pending I-539 would keep them in status and is almost certainly cheaper than a trip to the border.
mairk said:My family is not in Canada right now as they are visting relatives in US.
I assume the dependants are in B status. The wife should have a B1 visa an I-94 with an expiring date on it.
As long as the I-94 is valid filing COS is not required. If she intends on departing before the expiring date of her I-94, COS would be a waste of time and money. If the dependants intend of staying beyond the original admission date (on the I-94) then it would make sense to file COS and request TD’s.
However dependants are under no obligation to get TD’s if they have a valid status (B1).
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
DBEL said:As long as the I-94 is valid filing COS is not required. If she intends on departing before the expiring date of her I-94, COS would be a waste of time and money. If the dependants intend of staying beyond the original admission date (on the I-94) then it would make sense to file COS and request TD’s. However dependants are under no obligation to get TD’s if they have a valid status (B1).
Those are all correct and valid points. If she's going to be leaving the US before the I-94 expires, then no action needs to be taken. If an EOS of the B-1 status is required, then I would suggest that a COS to TD be filed, since TD does not have the foreign residence requirement that B has.
If the children are Canadian citizens, they have no I-94 and a COS to TD might be more interesting, but still doable.
DBEL said:Your wife cannot get her TD at the border. As mention she could request COS and you could do the kids as well in the same application. However truth be told that presently I-539 are taking months to process and your dependants would need to wait (in the US) until they get approved before departing. Departing while I-539 is pending would effectively cancel the application. You could also drop an extra $1000 and have the COS application processed in 15 days.
DBEL said:The premium processing is applicable to TDs (I-539) ONLY IF the EOS application is accompanied by I-129, the EOS of TN. Otherwise, they have to wait for 3 months (these days, since the VSC is very slow).
TheRealCanadian said:If the children are Canadian citizens, they have no I-94 and a COS to TD might be more interesting, but still doable.
I think the mother’s I-94 is sufficient proof of entry date and period of authorized stay. Children under the age of 18 (might be 16 or 21) aren’t subject to 3-10 bars. Although they aren’t exempt of the rules they are not held responsible either.
Simply indicating in the I-539 “exempt” or “N/A” will do. I believe that including a notarized affidavit that the children were admitted without receiving I-94 is the correct way to do it.