TN Approval Now Available for 3 Years
On October 14, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that TN status now will be approved for periods of up to three years. Click hereto see a copy of the USCIS announcement with FAQs on TN status.
This is a significant new benefit for U.S. employers. Until now, TN approvals were only issued for one year at a time.
TN status is a temporary nonimmigrant status available for citizens of Canada and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). TN status allows Canadians and Mexicans in certain professions listed in NAFTA to work in the United States. TN status is renewable indefinitely, but until now TN status had to be renewed every year. Now TN status can be obtained for three years at a time, renewable indefinitely in three year increments.
So the next time you prepare a letter supporting an employee's application for TN status, request TN approval for three years, not one year. If the employer's letter of support for the TN application only requests one year of approval, the immigration service only will approve TN status for one year.
If you have questions about TN status, please contact me.
Leigh Cole
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