Excellent New Employment possibility came crashing to a halt

Need some advice from all of you wise ones...
Currently on TN status with Employer 1. Prior to this was on contract with Employer 1, again through TN status.... While on contract ...salary was great. Was promised to be hired on and was...hence the current TN, but at a salary that was much, much below what I had on contract....Anyway, my fault in believing the promises and that I had a great thing going on. And then the economy took a nose dive.

Anyway, am still with the same employer and TN is coming up on expiring. Was only issued for one year.
Question 1) Is the validity period of the TN status at the discretion of the border agents? ie. one or three years?

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While still working in the US, I have been actively looking for other employment. Have had two great opportunities. Both came crashing to a halt when the employers inquired about resident status. Although I explained the TN program and how easy it was..they basically said I needed to have a green card or be a legal resident. So that was that.

I guess the greatest drawback for the TN status is that it is literally up to that agent on that particular day....he holds your career potential in his hands. I hate that uncertainty....it is nerve wracking everytime.

Because of this, I am considering H1 or Green card. But do Canadians even qualify for H1 while on an active TN??? And then how do I go about explaining WHY I want the H1 anyway? The truth is so that I could still work in the US and submit for Green card....Aggggggghhhhh its a viscious cycle. Someone help!!

"I guess the greatest drawback for the TN status is that it is literally up to that agent on that particular day....he holds your career potential in his hands. I hate that uncertainty....it is nerve wracking everytime."

We issue TN's based on the letter of employment. We don't pull the time allowed out of our @ss. If you qualify, you get it, if you don't, you don't. Its that simple. we don't hold your career in our hands, YOU do. Im tired of people blaming the Officer. If your Employer asks for a year, you get a year, if three, you get three. If the time desired is not in the letter, and you qualify, you will only get a maximum of one year.

Yes! Of course Canadians qualify for an H1 provided you have the necessary credentials such as a BA, BS...etc, the job skills and are in a profession that fits under the H1B. Be mindful of the fact that while on a TN, you cannot hold an H1B.

The only thing is that the fate of you being able to obtain an H1B is at the the discretion of the employer followed by a decision with immigration if all the paperwork is in order.

In the long run if your employer really likes your work ethic and decides to keep you, they would then petition for your green card from an H1B.

It's a process but one has to have some patience.

Because of this, I am considering H1 or Green card. But do Canadians even qualify for H1 while on an active TN??? And then how do I go about explaining WHY I want the H1 anyway? The truth is so that I could still work in the US and submit for Green card....Aggggggghhhhh its a viscious cycle. Someone help!!

CBP has processed 3-year TN Status routinely now for many months so there should not be a problem there.

No, you may only hold one immigration status at a particular time. Thus you could not get an H1B while holding a TN-1 or some other non-immigrant status although you could switch your status.

If your goal is a Green Card, it is much less problematic to do this from H1B Status as opposed to a non-immigrant status such as TN.

You would tell them you prefer H1B since you could display dual-intent and immigrate to the U.S. whereas TN only implies a temporary Professional Status in which immigrant intent is not a possibility.

There's not much point to H-1B if you can get TN-1. If you're having trouble getting employers to do the letter for TN-1, I find it hard to believe they're going to want to do the labour certification and I-129 application for an H-1B.

H-1B is dual-status so it's perfectly okay to get it for the purpose of being able to get your employer to file an I-140 for you. Although I have to say I'm not sure there's much point to that, I get the impression from what some people have said on here that USCIS processed the I-140 anyway even though they were on TN-1, and failing that the employer can put a Canadian address on the I-140 and you just leave, get the visa and then re-enter.

The validity of TN-1 is decided by whatever it says in the job offer letter, three years maximum.

Oh, that is not very helpful.

All I can say is that with the right education, skills and employer to help you, it will all work out

"I guess the greatest drawback for the TN status is that it is literally up to that agent on that particular day....he holds your career potential in his hands. I hate that uncertainty....it is nerve wracking everytime."

We issue TN's based on the letter of employment. We don't pull the time allowed out of our @ss. If you qualify, you get it, if you don't, you don't. Its that simple. we don't hold your career in our hands, YOU do. Im tired of people blaming the Officer. If your Employer asks for a year, you get a year, if three, you get three. If the time desired is not in the letter, and you qualify, you will only get a maximum of one year.

Thanks. I did not know that the validity was based on whatever was mentioned on the letter, or defaulted to 1 year if there was nothing requested. That is good info. As far as pulling it out of the rear.... when I asked the officer why, all I got for an answer was "Because...."
So.... with an answer like that I was just glad I got something and high tailed it out of there.
But again, Thanks.

-- Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:39 am --

Yes! Of course Canadians qualify for an H1 provided you have the necessary credentials such as a BA, BS...etc, the job skills and are in a profession that fits under the H1B. Be mindful of the fact that while on a TN, you cannot hold an H1B.

The only thing is that the fate of you being able to obtain an H1B is at the the discretion of the employer followed by a decision with immigration if all the paperwork is in order.

In the long run if your employer really likes your work ethic and decides to keep you, they would then petition for your green card from an H1B.

It's a process but one has to have some patience.

Thanks to everyone for making it clear that I cannot hold an H1B while on a TN status and working in the US. But can the application for an H1B still be initiated and submitted while I hold the TN? Or is this a case where US immigration will see in their system that I am on TN and put the brakes on it...?
Can the switch over from TN to H1B be seamless so that I can continue to work for same employer? Is there anyone that has gone through that?

The I-129 can be used to change status from TN-1 to H-1B. It's one of the first questions on the form. The employer gets the approval back and you're in H-1B.

If your employer is unfamiliar with I-129s though it might be an idea for them to use an immigration lawyer, easy to make a mistake on that form, they have to include the approved labour certification for example.

Like I said above though my personal view is that H-1B is best used as a last resort. The problem with it is that it's a political hot potato and there are reams of all kinds of obscure regulations that restrict what you can and can't do, when it can be renewed, what the employer has to do, etc. A few examples that pop into my head for example are the advertising requirement for "H-1B dependent" employers, the requirement to notify USCIS of a layoff, the requirement to leave during a layoff (which is probably the case for TN-1 too but it's not as explicitly spelt out), the restrictions on renewal, the six-year maximum validity, the number of hours that must be worked, the quota on the number that can be issued and on and on.

And I absolutely guarantee Congress is going to add new requirements and regulations over the next few years.