hello, i have a few questions regarding my situation and was hoping some of you could help...
i am a mexican citizen living in the US with a 3-year TN visa, which i received in summer of '09 - this was the 5th TN visa that i was granted (i held 1-year TN visas before then). i have been with the same employer for a little over 2 years and it is all going very well, therefore they would like to sponsor me for a green card.
i debated applying for an H-1 visa in the fall of '09 but since the TN visa had been extended for 3 years instead of 1, i decided it would be easier and cheaper to simply renew my TN visa and get the 3 year option. i obtained it as easily as i have in past years.
however, i would like to apply for a green card at some point soon, through my current employer, and i am wondering if it would be easier and more beneficial to try to switch to an H-1 visa first, and do so close to the expiration date of my current 3-year TN visa.
i understand that one can apply for a GC without switching to an H-1 visa (as i have read in so many postings here), but another problem arises for me: most of my family lives in europe and i usually visit them 2 to 3 times a year. i would not want my application for a GC to unable me to travel while i wait for my priority date to be current (i'm not sure i quite understand what the priority date really means, by the way). therefore, is it safer to try and apply for the H-1 visa as it would allow me to travel freely while applying for the GC?
and finally another issue in my specific case...i also have a 2nd passport from an EU country and I am wondering if it would be wiser to apply for a GC via this passport as opposed to the mexican passport? would this increase my chances of speeding up the process? does this pose any problems in the eyes of the INS?
thank you, any help would be much appreciated as this whole process is so confusing to me and i am sick of paying lawyers to poorly explain it to me!
i am a mexican citizen living in the US with a 3-year TN visa, which i received in summer of '09 - this was the 5th TN visa that i was granted (i held 1-year TN visas before then). i have been with the same employer for a little over 2 years and it is all going very well, therefore they would like to sponsor me for a green card.
i debated applying for an H-1 visa in the fall of '09 but since the TN visa had been extended for 3 years instead of 1, i decided it would be easier and cheaper to simply renew my TN visa and get the 3 year option. i obtained it as easily as i have in past years.
however, i would like to apply for a green card at some point soon, through my current employer, and i am wondering if it would be easier and more beneficial to try to switch to an H-1 visa first, and do so close to the expiration date of my current 3-year TN visa.
i understand that one can apply for a GC without switching to an H-1 visa (as i have read in so many postings here), but another problem arises for me: most of my family lives in europe and i usually visit them 2 to 3 times a year. i would not want my application for a GC to unable me to travel while i wait for my priority date to be current (i'm not sure i quite understand what the priority date really means, by the way). therefore, is it safer to try and apply for the H-1 visa as it would allow me to travel freely while applying for the GC?
and finally another issue in my specific case...i also have a 2nd passport from an EU country and I am wondering if it would be wiser to apply for a GC via this passport as opposed to the mexican passport? would this increase my chances of speeding up the process? does this pose any problems in the eyes of the INS?
thank you, any help would be much appreciated as this whole process is so confusing to me and i am sick of paying lawyers to poorly explain it to me!
