TN worker - to be laid off

Hi, hope someone has some advice, I have a TN, expiring in May '09. I will be laid off this year on December 31. Knowing this I have been job hunting and will likely get something this month or early in the new year. If I don't get a new job and, therefore, a new TN, I will go to a POE the first week of January to hand in my current TN and hopefully get a B2. The problem is then, when I get an offer for employment for one of the jobs I've already applied for how do I then get a new TN? Won't I get hassled for finding work while on a B2? Once offered work, should I just leave the US for a week or two and then come back in and make request a TN at the POE?
Any help is appreciated.

It's impossible to say, depends on the mood of the agent you get. You certainly can enter as B-2, and then you can leave and apply for TN-1. Whether they think you violated the terms of your B-2 status is up to them and is determined when they question you.

thanks Steven, thats kind of what I thought, it behooves me to be as above board as possible. Surely, depending on the individual circumstances and situation, the officers must realize that there are some practical considerations, like getting jobs through word of mouth and business network, that don't necessarily violate B2 requirements. As with everything the devil is in the details.

You will not be able to return to a port of entry to apply for a B2 since you will have to show your explicit ties to Canada in the form of apartment lease, etc. which you cannot do since you have immigration status in the States. You should do a mail-in change of status request via I-539 the very last day employed. If you do not receive a decision in the mail, you have to depart the U.S. as soon as possible.

If you find a new job on B2 assuming it is approved, you may cancel the B2 and return to the port of entry to apply for a new TN with the new employer.

Steven, what do you think of this I-539 idea, and when would I do it - before the end of year? Does it affect then getting a new TN when the situation presents itself? Does the I-539 have any other issues?

You'd have to leave in this circumstance because you've already been there more than six months (I assume) so an AOS to B-2 might not be granted. Plus it costs $300 and takes awhile anyway so it might be cheaper and definitely quicker to re-enter. Plus you're there to convince them.

There's nothing illegal about entering to fetch your stuff as a visitor and given that it's a new calendar year the previous stay doesn't count - if you leave.

The I-539 must be in the mail the very last day employed, preferably express or guaranteed mail.

The only issue really is how long you've already been in the US on your valid TN. If you've been there 6 months already, they may not approve the B2, and then you'll have to leave.

It is not an AOS, you are just filing to change your status from TN to B2 via I-539.

Which is an AOS. You're adjusting status from one non-immigrant category to another.

Form I-539 - non-employment related non-immigrant AOS requests

Form I-129 - employment related non-immigrant AOS requests

Form I-485 - AOS requests from non-immigrant to permanent resident status

There is nothing mysterious about it. Since you are laid off on December 31st, you would file before that final day. The change would have no bearing on obtaining a new TN or any other immigration status in the future. You would have to pay the $300 filing fee though.

Presence in the US in a non-immigrant category counts against a stay as a visitor, so if he's been there more than six months as TN-1 an AOS to B-2 could be denied. The best way of doing it is to leave and reset the clock, given that it's the end of the year.

AOS (Adjustment of Status) and Change of Status are 2 different things, 2 different animals. It is important to distinguish between the two concepts.

AOS implies the process of becoming a lawful, permanent resident of the United States without leaving the country.

In contrast, change of status implies a change from one non-immigrant status to another, from TN to B2, or H4 to TN, etcetera rather than adjustment.

C'mon guys I am not even that smart with U.S. Immigration (Steve can skate circles around me, ) and I already knew that.

U.S. Immigration Law also states that if a person has a valid immigration status in the U.S., they can legally switch to another non-immigrant status, I am not sure where you are getting this 6 month stuff from.

He has TN until the layoff date and therefore can change status to B2 via I-539 but he will have to wait for confirmation of approval. He also has to submit it into the Service Center via guaranteed mail before the last day.