TN Visa Allows Girlfriend To Stay in the U.S.

• Applicant: Olivia
• Nationality: Canadian
• Applying for: TN Visa
• Time: 2 weeks
• Challenges:
  • Extremely short timeline, as Olivia has already stayed in the U.S. for over 5 months under ESTA, and needs to return to Canada in two weeks.
  • The offered position, Quality Assurance Manager, is not a profession under NAFTA.
  • She could get deported and have to leave the love of her life behind.

BACKGROUND

After quitting her job with a prestigious biotechnology company in Toronto, Olivia decided to take a break to visit her friends in Southern California before returning to the workforce. Olivia was enjoying California and was excited to experience a new culture. However, what Olivia did not expect to experience was to find love. She met the love of her life down here and she knew that she could not leave Southern California yet. Her plans suddenly vanished and she needed a new plan if she was going to stay with the love of her life. However, there might be some obstacles in her way.

As Olivia had initially entered the U.S. with her Canadian passport, she is required to return to Canada after six months of visiting. To preserve this precious relationship to stay in the U.S. with the man she has found to be so fond of, Olivia needed to find a law firm that knew what to do in these types of situations because she has already been in the U.S. for 5 months. She was running out of time quickly. Fortunately, Olivia found Tsang & Associates and they helped her explore the option of applying for a TN visa to stay and also work in the U.S.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Tsang and Associates have had great success in helping clients obtain their TN Visa. The United States has a unique and friendly relationship with Canada, and the TN Visa falls under North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) where qualified Canadian and/or Mexican citizens may seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level. After securing a full-time offer at a biotechnology company that specialized in dental grafting in Southern California, Olivia and Tsang & Associates immediately started to formulate the overall case structure to fit her professional background and prospective job duties for TN visa requirements. She was offered a position, Quality Assurance, which aligned with Olivia’s academic and professional experience but was not covered under the professional category for the visa.

Tsang and Associates set out a plan with a two-pronged approach. First, the firm would need to prepare a carefully crafted comprehensive package for Olivia to present to the CBP agent at the Toronto airport. Second, Olivia would need to be coached for the face-to-face interview with the agent.

The first step in preparing the package meant tailoring her resume to ensure her title, experience, and educational background fit in the guidelines for a Treaty NAFTA professional. Next, because the burden lies with the prospective employer to provide documentation proving the legitimacy of the applicant’s claim to a job offer, Tsang and Associates developed a close working relationship with her future employer to ensure an offer letter of employment was included in her package. The letter detailed her rate of pay, benefits and the unique experience she was offering to her future employer. And finally, Tsang and Associates gathered documentation to prove Olivia’s family and financial ties to Canada including leaving behind assets.

Naturally, Olivia also had apprehension at the prospect of facing the CBP agent. Tsang and Associates carefully talked her through the process and role-played the questions and responses until she felt fully prepared and confident.

OUTCOME

After two weeks of preparation, Olivia presented her package to the CBP officer at Toronto airport. After a thorough review of her materials and her face-to-face interview, she was granted her TV Visa. With the guidance of Tsang and Associates she successfully reentered the country and began her new life and career with an awesome job and with the love of her life.