More great news...for TNs

A proposed regulation will permit TN (NAFTA professionals) from Mexico and Canada to qualify for entry for three years at a time, rather than the current one year. Mexican TNs are required to have a visa issued. Such visas as of late are permitted to be issued for three years instead of one year. The visa is the document that permits coming to a port of entry to request to be allowed to come into the U.S. Once here, until this proposal, entry would only be allowed for one year, even though the same visa could be used. Canadians could only come for a year at a time as well, with no visa.

Now, the proposal is to match the time allowed in the U.S. with time permitted to approach the border. Instead of entry for just one year, all TNs could, if the proposal is adopted, enter for three years at a time.

One of the chief downsides of the TN was nonimmigrant intent/one year entries which could be viewed as contrary to immigrant intent when the TN applies for a green card which takes several years. With renewal of the TN each year after application for a green card, TN holders could not be sure that the TN would be renewed because of the contrariness of permanent vs. temporary status. With a three year entry, applying for a green card is less likely to cause such stress.