TN with approved H1B and Cruise

S

shevas

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

As some of you I will be going to apply for my TN visa and wife's TD visa at the border very soon. I want to plan a cruise trip and wanted to know if it is safer to take a cruise to Canada as my company lawyer recommended it is upto us if we want to risk it by going to the Bahamas as they might take away our I-94 and then we might have to re-apply. The problem is not reapplying but I have an approved H1B so since the CBP officer on the cruise may not be well versed with such situations I might have an issue.
Is it safe to take a cruise and should I stick to Canada as my detination? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
 
I would not worry about it. If you have an approved TN/TD, keeping a copy of the I-94 that was issued alleviates any worry that the cruise staff will take away your I-94. You simply won't care. When returning to US, the copy of the I-94 will get you a new one, at no cost. same for TD.

You are no safer or more at risk going to canada on a cruise as anywhere else, since you will know more than the staff in either case. Your company lawyer would prefer you not budge from the US, but that is merely professional handwringing.

Just a tip. If you are planning the cruise before your current TN expires, why even bother going to the border to get TN/TD. Just get then when you land back in US at Port of Entry.

By the waym the H1 has no bearing on this discussion, other than the length of time you are going to stay in TN after October 1.
 
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Thanks a ton Nelsona. My wife's TD visa stamp expires in the last week of August so we are planning to drive to the border in the 2nd week of July and we'll be taking a chance if she gets a TD-I94 with her existing stamp. We are avoiding the consulate trip twice since we'll have to visit the consulate for getting her H4 stamped. Last year the CBP officer was willing to give her a 1 year I-94 when we got my TN while she had 1 month left for her TD visa stamp to expire. Hence we will try getting her TD and if they refuse to give her one we'll have enough time to come back and file her TD by mail.
Also my company has agreed to give me a 3 year offer letter since I asked for it. I am thinking if I cannot go for the H1 in Oct for whatever reason then I'll have a 3 year TN and will not have to worry for sometime.What do you think of this? Would I be under more scrutiny if my offer letter says the employment will last for 3 years versus 1 year because the company lawyer was a little concerned when I said 3 years but we all know how these lawyers are!
Thanks for all the wonderful advice here.
 
Just a reminder that thru AVR (Automatic Visa Renewal) there is no need for your spouse to get a new Visa stamp as long as she stays in North America. The CBP will let her into US -- as long as she has an approved I-94 -- with the visa stamp she has now, regardless if it is expired, or even for a different status. But this does require having the I-94, not trying to get one at the border. So there is no urgency to get her H4 stamp either in October or any time after. She would only need it if she were leave N America.

TNs are now 3-year, so asking for anything less, unless the company has no plans to keep you, doe not make much sense.
 
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Hi Nelsona,

I did not know about the AVR rule so can you please explain it in detail. My spouse is a non-canadian citizen with an expired canadian PR card if that helps. So does it mean she can get her TD(new I-94 valid for 3 yrs) along with me in the 2nd week of July? And then if I go to the border to get my H1B in October, she does not need to visit the consulate for the stamp? I am confused coz I do not know about this rule at all but I was happy to read your post so please tell me more about it.
Thanks for all the information.
 
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Persons in US with an expired visa (any status) but with a current valid I-94, can travel in N America for 30 days and re-enter with their current I-94 and the expired visa.
 
Thanks Nelsona for that info. I also wanted to check if you have any information abt I-94 and cruise travel. I mean we are planning to take the cruise to Nova Scotia in Canada and wanted to know if they would take away our respective I-94 if it is still valid or let us keep it?
 
The cruise staff may or may not, depending on how well they are informed. But as I said earlier, keeping a copy of your I-94 makes this point moot; you will get a new I-94 when you return to US port based on that copy.
 
You can keep it if your stay in Canada will be less than 30 days.

shevas said:
I mean we are planning to take the cruise to Nova Scotia in Canada and wanted to know if they would take away our respective I-94 if it is still valid or let us keep it?
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