30 day TN Visa

Can anyone help me with the terminoligy that says,,,,the TN Visa is good for 30 days.
Does that mean you have to be on the job, within a 30 day window?
Does that mean you have 30 days from the date of application to get your life in order and over the border into the US?
If your job offer states Nov1st. does that mean you have to be at your job on that day...for the Border gaurd approval....even though your actual date of employment is not until the 10th.

Can someone help with these questions......

Thank you
B

Never heard of the expression. Typically a TN is issued for the period requested by the employer. It starts the day you get it and runs for that period.

What you may be thinking about is what timeframe before actual start date will you be allowed to get your TN. This varies between POE and officers, but generally, 1-2 weeks before start date, you can enter US and get your TN. It will be effective that day; the POE won't post-date your TN. Some POEs however will only validate your TN when you are "on your way: to the job.

Best practice: Current date the TN letter, but do not put an official start date, merely put the duration.

Thank you for the reply, the reason I ask this is that I need to make sure that I receive a TN Visa, before I actually give my present employer the 2 week notice that they need , that I am leaving for the USA...and not returning for hhhmm 6 months. So if I get the visa
today lets say,,,,but do not cross over till say 3 weeks later...what would happen....?? would I be denied entry because I applied 3 weeks ago, and should have been on my way then??
Just need a little more clarification, on when yu actually have to cross into the USA and be on your way to work.
Thank you
B

As I said, once you get the TN, it is valid and remains so until it expires or you lose your job. Since presumably neither of these will happen, your TN will remain valid in the scenario you describe.

I agree with your goal of securing the TN before giving notice, trouble is, many POE will not grant a TN 'early' (they used to). Some will ask "are you on your way to work now?" if you answer, "no it's in 3 weeks", they may say "come back then" or "come back in a week or two".

One thing you can ask is for them to "preview" your paperwork (again. some will, some won't). If they say it looks fine, then you have some comfort level with getting the TN later. Not a guarantee but I'd go with that.

Another thing you can do is arrange a telecon with your new employer to be done in US right after crossing, to discuss your job etc. So, when asked, you can truthfully say "yes, I have a meeting scheduled for later today".

And, as a last resort, remember that, as the employee, you are not required to give any notice to your employer when quitting. They need to give you notice, not the other way 'round. It is cutomary, and certainly advisable as a good faith measure, but never required.

-- Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:29 am --

Oh, and another reason getting TN 'early' is advantageous: You need the TN (I-94) to give to your mover for his paperwork to ship your belongings into US.