TN/TD-New job-Alternative immigration options?

I am Canadian with Canadian wife and we've been in the US for over two years under TN/TD status. I am changing jobs and will have to renew my eligibility to work here. It is assumed that I will renew my TN.

I am licensed professional engineer and my wife is an education consultant for a Canadian company.

What other options are there for us and what is necessary to achieve them?

Note: I am not looking for advice on how to get new TN (there are hundreds of threads covering this topic), but alternatives to NAFTA.


Thanks!

You might want to explore an H1B visa. However, the process of obtaining an H1B is more cumbersome and costly. TN status is really the ideal alternative to the H1B. The TN can be renewed indefinitely, can be obtained much more quickly and is more cost effective. TN status is much more attractive to employers as well.

I agree that the TN is easy and simple. Employers like it.

What are the benefits of H1B? I have to assume that there are benefits given that it is more difficult to acquire.

For Cdns none really, other than no timeing issues when going for Green card. Also, since lawyer is never nedded for TN, lawyers are more comfortable dealing with H1 (although they are clueless when dealing with Cdns, who don't need visa).

The only reason H1 is more in demand is because there are 2 billion cinese and Indians, as opposed to 34 million cdns, and H1's have a quota while TN does not. Its a supply/demand issue, not a benefit issue.

Ok, thats great. Thanks again.



/thread

For Cdns none really, other than no timeing issues when going for Green card.

If johns_myth is really asking what visa options would provide more opportunities for his wife, rather than himself, then the answers include:

She might qualify for an H-1B visa in her own right, but as an educational consultant likely wouldn't get a TN. There's nothing wrong with one spouse being on TN and the other on H-1B.

If she wanted to go back to school, I believe that some states offer in-state tuition for H4's but not for TD's.

If johns_myth starts the green card process, at some point both he and his wife will get EAD's giving unrestricted permission to work in the USA. Some lawyers will insist on an H-1B as a stepping stone between TN and the GC process. As AGN says this is not strictly necessary but sometimes you have to play by the rules of the employer's lawyer, as opposed to following the most efficient route.

That is great advice. I literally just got off the phone with her talking about visa options for her. While it seems to be working fine the way it is, she may want the option to work in the US in the future and it seems like an H-1B would be the way to go.

I don't know why I would want or need to start the GC process, given that everything seems to be working out fine as-is. Can you speak to why a GC would be beneficial to us (other than "unrestricted permission to work in the USA")?

Can you speak to why a GC would be beneficial to us (other than "unrestricted permission to work in the USA")?

Many reasons:

--You can stay in the USA even if you lose your job (although this is less of an issue if you both have work visas since you can 'tag team' a bit)

--You may have more options at work. If you are on TN or H-1B you are basically limited to the job description when you applied/renewed. This may result in you being passed over for promotions even though employers may not tell you that is the reason.

--There can be export control restrictions on the work a TN or an H-1B can do. Any sharing of intellectual property with a TN or an H-1B (but not a GC holder) is technically an export and may require an export license. This, too, can limit your options with your employer even though, again, they may not tell you this explicitly. It can limit you to a supporting role where the key work on the employer's real intellectual property--their "secret sauce"--which is presumably more interesting and lucrative--goes to US citizens and GC holders.

--An H-1B has its limitations. Because of the annual quota, they tend to be available only during a limited time window each year, beginning at the start of the fiscal year on Oct 1. They are also limited to 6 years duration unless you've started the GC process.

good synopses cal, but I'm thinking that our poster needs to do a little research on his own to understand why GC is so much more valuable than H1 or TN.

But I will throw one more: If one spouse gets GC, the other automatically gets it as well

good synopses cal, but I'm thinking that our poster needs to do a little research on his own to understand why GC is so much more valuable than H1 or TN.

Agreed. I think there is a basic point here that Canadians often miss. Things can seem to be "going well" on TN--as the OP says--but then years go by and eventually you wonder why you aren't advancing in your career. It happened to me, I've seen it happen to other Canadians, and I could see it happening to the OP/his wife.

This issue is unique to Canadians because they often stay on TN (and tie themselves to the limitations of the TN) for too long. It is true that an H-1B is often unnecessary for Canadians but I would still encourage them to move forward with the GC. Indian and Chinese immigrants in the USA avoid the same trap because they aren't eligible for the TN and the time limitations of the H-1B force them to move forward on the GC.

The TN is a great tool for the first years in the USA but as a long term strategy it has its limits.