best strategy in case of job loss?

Hello,

I was very happy to stumble across this forum which has a lot of great advice.

I am hoping someone can offer suggestions for my situation: I am a Canadian citizen living and working in the US under TN status. My company sponsored me for an H1-B Visa which was approved, and as of October 1 2008 is now valid to be "activated". They initially suggested that I do not activate it until closer to the end of my current TN term (May 2009) in order to maximize my potential stay.

Unfortunately, I am now concerned that I may lose my job in the near future. I am wondering if I would be better off activating my H1-B status now so that I would be an H1-B rather than TN in the event that I do get let go from my job. I know that for both TN and H1-B, the individual is supposed to leave the country within 10 days of termination. But would it be better to be on the H1-B with the hope that I could transfer it to another employer? Is there any other way around the 10 day limit? I've read about B-2 status but I don't know about the specifics.

Another consideration is that my fiancee is a U.S. citizen. We plan to marry in July 2009 but would be willing to get married immediately if that would have any effect on my ability to stay in the U.S.

I'm also wondering if it's simply a formality to activate the H1-B at the border since it's essentially already been approved, unlike the TN which is actually decided on at the border.

Sorry, this got a little long winded. If anyone has any comments or feedback I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Best,

nyc_canuck

How'd you meet your fiance? At your job? Or before?

Hi,

Thanks for your response. I met her almost 4 years ago, shortly after moving to the US, and before I started my current job. I was on a TN with a different employer at the time (I switched to my current employer in June 2007). Thanks.

Well, you *might* be able to get married and stay to adjust status, but depending on your timeline of when you met and how many times you've renewed your TN since you've met may or may not be risky.

for info on adjusting status based on marriage, see the forums at http://www.visajourney.com

ok, thanks, i'll check out that site.

independent of the marriage issue, do you have any thoughts regarding h1-b vs TN in my case? any thoughts would be appreciated.

I don't think it really matters whether you're TN-1 or H-1B when it comes to the marriage AOS, if you're worried about having to leave the country, get married and apply for AOS, simple as that really. The problem Reba is talking about is if you got engaged and then renewed your TN-1 status, because essentially that means you may have lied about having "non-immigrant intent".

It is essentially a formality to change from TN-1 to H-1B, just go to the border, hand in your I-94, come back and show them your I-797 and get it stamped and get a new I-94.