TN Visa at risk of being revoked?

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pdt123

New Member
Hi, I am new to this forum. I am a Canadian citizen working in the US on a TN visa. My visa is classified as a system analyst, but the position is really a software developer position. My girlfriend (who is also a Canadian citizen) was traveling to the US to visit me for a weekend. At the border, CBP asked what the purpose of her trip is, she said she was visiting "her boyfriend", and she was immediately escorted to secondary inspection. In the secondary inspection, they asked what I was doing in the US, she said I was working, they then asked what my immigration status was, she told them I was on TN. The officer then proceeded to ask what my position was, and the name of my employer.

Not knowing the official name of my position which was system analyst, she told them the name of my employer and that I was a software developer. She was then asked to provide a copy of my passport, which she didn't have at the time. At the end of the ordeal, she was denied entry into the US.

I am now worried that CBP may be suspicious of my TN status, and will revoke my visa, given that she had told them that I was a developer instead of a system analyst. Can someone who has experience with this chime in?
 
If your position is materially different than the visa classification, and if (a big IF) USCIS chooses to follow up, there may be issues. Knowing little about what really happened at the border, perhaps it was just a scare tactic; but it'll be up to CBP if they want to snoop around deeper for any discrepancies between your job and visa if they choose to. The current US administration is not in a friendly mood towards outsiders, and their suspicions are aroused due to a degree of fraud in the TN program.

Why play games with job titles when you know there are restrictions on the type of US visa you were issued?
 
1AurCitizen said:
If your position is materially different than the visa classification, and if (a big IF) USCIS chooses to follow up, there may be issues. Knowing little about what really happened at the border, perhaps it was just a scare tactic; but it'll be up to CBP if they want to snoop around deeper for any discrepancies between your job and visa if they choose to. The current US administration is not in a friendly mood towards outsiders, and their suspicions are aroused due to a degree of fraud in the TN program.

Why play games with job titles when you know there are restrictions on the type of US visa you were issued?
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I didn't really realize that they would ask these kind of questions at the border, or I would have told her to tell them I was a system analyst. How should I prepare in the event CBP decides to pursue this further? Should I be looking for an immigration lawyer?
 
I dont think they will further escalate this issue. Unless there is blatant fraud committed by your company using other visa applicants, I wouldn't read much into this. But if you work for a placement company (tiny) and they are already under the radar, you may want to consult a lawyer.
Please share if your company is a top tier firm, like say for example Microsoft, Apple , or tier 2 like a very large consulting firm say EDS , or Accenture , tier 3 like a Kelly's , or tier 4 , like an Indian company (may be honest etc. but have almost all Indians employees and are pretty much an H1B shop )

I would wait for other senior members to respond as well.

On a side note, can you please let us know if you are a born Canadian citizen with Canadian roots, and so is your girlfriend and she had to face this. This kind of information helps a lot of people on this form to prepare better. But I am finding it hard to believe that this administration is targeting regular Canadians of European descent.
Can you also please share the border / airport she went to ?

Thank you very much.
 
I don't work for a consulting company. I am directly employed by a quant hedge fund/prop trading firm as a developer, I am currently the only one who is a Canadian citizen at the company, they have never sponsored TN or H1B before. I was born in Canada but I am of East Asian descent (Chinese, Korean, etc). My girlfriend is also born in Canada, but she is also East Asian. I think they were suspicious that she might be moving to the US, since she was driving a vehicle with a trailer that had alot of furniture and luggage that I asked her to bring for me from Canada.
 
Sir,
You have been very kind. Thank you very much for that information. This is what I thought as well. Can you please share with us , which border this happened at ?
I reiterate my stance that they wont bother you, if you are working for a Tier 1/Tier 2 hedge fund company.
 
First off, your gf should not have said anything about your status other than you are TN. None of her business. She a us immig atty all of a sudden? She panicked, which was the whole point of their questioning. Why on earth would would she have a copy of your passport?!
Second since boyfriend is not a legal term, next time tell her to say that she is visiting a friend and carry some proof that she will return to Canada.
They are frustrated having to work the boring border... I wouldn’t worry about it.
Does anyone know what Tnraju is talking about?
 
nelsona said:
First off, your gf should not have said anything about your status other than you are TN. None of her business. She a us immig atty all of a sudden? She panicked, which was the whole point of their questioning. Why on earth would would she have a copy of your passport?!
Second since boyfriend is not a legal term, next time tell her to say that she is visiting a friend and carry some proof that she will return to Canada.
They are frustrated having to work the boring border... I wouldn’t worry about it.
Does anyone know what Tnraju is talking about?
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, she should have just said she was visiting a friend. I have no idea why they asked if she had a photocopy of my passport, nobody besides me has a copy of my passport. Besides, like most people she has no idea what the differences are between a system analyst vs computer developer, she just knew I worked with computers, so she told them I was a developer. I talked to my manager today, and they let HR know about the situation so they are ready if CBP follows up on this by calling the office.

I think TNraju is suggesting that there is a higher chance of CBP investigating an indian consulting company who is abusing the system by bringing cheap labor from Canada, rather than a company like Google or Apple who hire direct?
 
pdt123 said:
I think TNraju is suggesting that there is a higher chance of CBP investigating an indian consulting company who is abusing the system by bringing cheap labor from Canada, rather than a company like Google or Apple who hire direct?
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunate that Indian H1b fraud has seeped into the TN program. Abuse=fraud.
 
nelsona said:
And bring your own stuff to US, not anyone else
Click to expand...

Yes, it is much more likely that it was a a trailer full of furniture and belongings that led to the questions than what her ethnicity was. It does make total sense for a CBP officer to check that the apparent intended recipient of such had a legal right to be here as well be suspicious that the person bringing them in had plans to stay.
 
Amen. A tourist with a trailer full of stuff FAR outweighs any nonsense about India, ethnicity, Trump, etc in terms of suspicion.

Too much was asked of this "girlfriend", and she wasn't up to the challenge, and cracked under unexpected pressure.
 
nelsona said:
Amen. A tourist with a trailer full of stuff FAR outweighs any nonsense about India, ethnicity, Trump, etc in terms of suspicion.

Too much was asked of this "girlfriend", and she wasn't up to the challenge, and cracked under unexpected pressure.
Click to expand...

I've traveled to the US at least 30 times before for vacations, interviews, visiting relatives, etc and I've never been subjugated to any extensive questioning besides the usual, "where are you going?, how long are you staying?, what is the purpose of your trip?,etc". So I definitely don't think it has to do with race/ethnicity or trump or India, cause I'm clearly not Indian and neither is my gf lol.
 
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It has to do with the trailer. Tourists don't being trailers without an iron-clad reason and explanation.
 
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