Change TN status by port of entry
 

Hello, I am planning to go a nearest port to change my TN status as i have changed my employer...My query is can I go to a nearest port of entry from San Jose to exit USA and just re-enter USA without entering another country like Canada OR is it mandatory to enter Canada and re-enter USA?

Thanks,
Andrew

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Think about it. It's impossible to leave the USA without entering another country!

AFAIK, there is no no-man's-land between countries!

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Agreed.

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Yes... you'll very likely end up in Mexico. That's okay, though... because the TN visa is issued under NAFTA. I'll let you look that up and figure out why your question is a bit silly!

Ian

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Ian, thanks for the information. Yes I agree my question is silly in just one perspective that if the port officer grants me new TN. What if he does not, will I go back to Mexico or Canada where I have my citizen..that is the part I am worried. And the other part I need to think is that there are many ports in the USA. I figured out all these ports do not process TN. Only cross border ports process TN so I need to exit USA.

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Do you have any real reason to suspect you no longer qualify for a TN visa? Otherwise, you seem to be working yourself into a frenzy over nothing.


I suspect you'll want to go back to Canada. You likely have no reason to remain in Mexico unless you want to visit!


You keep using the word "port" which is not correct. The word you should be using is "border". You must exit the US, because you can only be processed for a TN visa at the US border.

Ian

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

[QUOTE=ian-mstm;12002622]Do you have any real reason to suspect you no longer qualify for a TN visa? Otherwise, you seem to be working yourself into a frenzy over nothing.

Ian great reply. Thanks. I got laid off with the current contract which ended on April 28 but actually it was suppose to end by November 30, 2016. Now i found full time job in USA so I am getting a new TN by crossing border. I am not sure with the current TN status would grant me new TN, so I am bit worried.

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

The date it was supposed to end is irrelevant... your visa and status became invalid the day you were laid off and you should have left the US then.

This would have been useful information to have in your first post! Apparently, you didn't think it was important enough to mention!


Ah! Well then, you're right to be concerned. There's no way to know, in advance, what's going to happen.

Ian

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Will this overstay create problem for my nw TN?

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Could it? Yes. Will it? As I said, there's no way to know, in advance, what's going to happen.

Ian

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

At this point you must leave as soon as possible. You risk incurring the 3 year bar. If you are Canadian, best go to Canada to apply.

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

To incur a 3-year ban he'd need to overstay by 180 days or more. He is out of status... and that's never good! If, for example, he got picked up for jaywalking, he could end up being removed from the US... perhaps forcibly.

Ian

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

I would like to ask for clarity here...I beleive the entry bar applies only 180 days AFTER the date on the i-94. If you lose status at another time, but your i-94 is still good, it was my understanding the entry ban did not apply, and it would not until after 180 days from the date on the i-94 if one exists. F1 with D/S stamps would not trigger the ban, for example.

Can someone that knows for certain chime with the correct answer?

(I understand being out of status is not good, but this is very specific to the wording that triggers the ban.) Thanks!

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

If the I-94 is D/S, an immigration agent has to make a formal declaration that your status has ended to start accruing the days of unlawful presence that trigger the 3-year ban. This could be as simple as a termination of the SEVIS record.

For the H-1 scenario described by the OP, the moment USCIS revokes the petition the I-94 is no longer valid and the OP begins to accrue unlawful presence.

USCIS AFM 40.9 section 212 has some examples

Re: Change TN status by port of entry
 

Correct. If you remain in status up to the date on the I-94, then the I-94 determines when you become out of status and when unlawful presence begins.


That doesn't usually happen because if you lose status, your I-94 is not "still good". If you are terminated from your job, your status becomes immediately invalid whether or not your I-94 is expired. You immediately become out of status and unlawful presence begins.


True - but the D/S scenario is special... because even though you might be out of status (for example, you quit school), unlawful presence does not begin until after you come to the attention of US immigration. That may or may not ever happen.

Ian