Computer Systems Analyst TN Visa Work Experience Requirement

Hey there, first off, big thanks to everyone on these boards, some very useful info here!

Anyway; I've been offered a job in Seattle as a 'Computer Systems Analyst' under NAFTA and I'll be applying for my TN Visa at the end of the month.

As I only have a diploma (vs a degree) I need to show 3 years of work experience. Are letters from my previous employers considered sufficient for this. Also; my job title wasn't exactly 'Computer Systems Analyst' but I assume as long as its relevant experience it will count?

Finally; I'm technically a couple months short of the full 36 month requirement. I've heard differing stories as to whether or not this matters. I read one place that you would certainly be denied if you don't have 36 months or more; however, when I called one of the border crossings and spoke to a customs official he basically told me it just depends on the agent you get at the time if they're willing to be a little flexible. Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this?

Thanks!

You need the entire three years or you will be refused.

Complete your 36months of experience and then start applying.

If you are thinking of working in the U.S. on the TN Visa on a yearly basis your best option is to ensure you hold the correct qualifications. This way you will not have to ever worry about this issue - and you will also know you qualify. So get the 36months done first.

Good Luck!

Here is something that I didn't see anyone else mention and I just found out myself after years of getting TNs at the border. The 3 years (36 months) of experience, has to be Canadian experience, so even if you get the first agent to let you in, you'll run the risk of being denied every year afterward. No matter how long you work in the US, in a Computer Systems Analyst position, they don't have to count it towards your experience. It's really best to get all of that time in before you go. Plus, having a denial on your record is a big deal these days. Our last TN took 4.5 hours because we were flagged for denials because of a insufficient letter for our first TN 6 years ago.

I don't agree. All you need is three years of experience, it can be anywhere in the world, and it doesn't have to be as a computer systems analyst, a related field is fine. An interpretation like your'e suggesting would be too rigid and ultra vires.

Ok, thanks, I don't ever want to post anything that is not correct. We'll still make sure to take our Canadian experience documentation with us whenever we apply. It was Port Huron where we were told that and they went over the experience with a fine tooth comb, ignoring all of the US experience and stating more than once that they would only consider the experience that was earned out of the US while not on a TN. It was likely our 6th one by then and we had never heard that before, so I asked him to repeat it more than once. It must have been their interpretation of something, but they were sticking to it. Since we use Port Huron a lot, it's still good to know whether they're right or not, since they think they are LOL, and they hold the power! Is there a place of reference where I can verify what you wrote, so that I can print it and take it with us next time? It's a drag really, always having to have documentation that is so old. Thanks in advance.

exactly what is acceptable as proof of experience. I have over five years. I have a job letter that has my job title "Systems Administrator" and shows that I have been working for three years (minus 15 days) at this specific company. It does not however go into specific details of my duties etc. Will the be sufficent?

ps. I also have other documents FROM OTHER EMPLOYERS showing some other experience, which do not have a job title, but do however go into details of the experiance/duties i preformed.

exactly what is acceptable as proof of experience. I have over five years. I have a job letter that has my job title "Systems Administrator" and shows that I have been working for three years (minus 15 days) at this specific company. It does not however go into specific details of my duties etc. Will the be sufficent?

ps. I also have other documents FROM OTHER EMPLOYERS showing some other experience, which do not have a job title, but do however go into details of the experiance/duties i preformed.

Hey, i tried for a TN visa, was refused. A few weeks earlier i had been refused a TOURST VISA to the US, because i told the officer i would be staying with a male friend i had met three months earlier, while I was going to look for a place to stay - should i get the job - and to check out New York City. They wrongfully decided that i had been offered the job, and refused me entry to the US. When he asked me if i was Gay, i believe that i would have been admitted if i had lied and blushed and pretended that i was gay and that it was a "new thing for me" and really shy about it.

A few weeks later I was offered the Job, my employer hired a visa company to assist with the visa, and i again tried to enter the US. having been refused a few weeks earlier, they basically predetermined to refuse me. I had for 5 years owned my own software development company, but due to limited success, decided to accept a full time position as an analyst for another company. I managed to prove that i was a systems analyst, proved that i met all their qualifications, both in terms of education (diploma) and work experience (5 years Plus) with a number of recommendations from clients. They then determined that the company was not financially viable, and unable to sponsor my application, the company operates in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (now in the millions) but has very high overhead costs due to the nature of the business, so they didn't have the 500,000US sitting in a bank account. Consequently i was refused and sent home. I knew that i had not been treated fairly and asked the officer point blank "when did you decide i wasn't going to the States" and she told me "pretty much, right after you walked in the door, have a nice day".

i STILL work for this company, but have not visited the US since. I work through the internet, and enjoy the benefits of a decent paying US based job, while working from home (now in Dhaka Bangladesh) where my costs of living in a fraction of the cost of New York City. I have no commuting costs, and i pay no taxes. This is all thanks to a getting the wrong customs official on the wrong day. Unless you have exactly what they are looking for, and sometimes it means the right haircut, you can be refused entry to the US. The most paranoid bureaucratically foolish country in the world.

I had problems a few weeks ago at the Montreal Trudeau Airport poe. They kept me there for over an hour questioning me about what I do at my job as a computer system analyst. This is my 3rd TN and she didn't want to approve me. She kept on looking through her "book" saying that my letter does not match what a computer systems analyst does bla bla bla. She called the HR director and then my boss to find out "what i do at my current job". It was a mess. Then finally after an hour of waiting and grilling me she said "next year, go online and in your letter you can copy what a computer systems analyst really does so you won't have this problem". God I hope I am married to an American by then! LOL

Heh, such a power-trip for them!
Once i realized that my chances of the interview going well according to standard protocol, i actually put my "systems analisys" into practice, and evaluated her "book". proving that the very people that were not welcome to apply for a TN visa were the very people her book said were qualified. First year computer science graduates - who would be expecting an entry level programming job.
i proved to her that i was an analyst both on paper, and in practise, and that i had more rights to a TN visa than any who were "book" qualified. That it took experience as an analyst to become an analyst, which i clearly demonstrated to my employer and why i was selected over a lot of other candidates. When i was done, she admitted that i was most definitely an analyst! but of course, she then turned her small self onto my employer, examined the status of the company and determined that they didn't have the financial ability to support the salary they were offering me.

What's so ironic is that 4.5 years later, the company has since hired several programmers, another analyst, several designers, and is one of the most recognized Internet based companies in the world. i have never tired to enter the US since, one day perhaps, but honestly. And there is a big part of me that is very pleased i don't live in New York city, having to fight my way to work every day in NYC traffic or Metro. In many ways - and as much as i hate the US power tripping immigration system (most countries systems actually - Canada's not any better) i am in many ways very thankful how things worked out that day!