TN Visa Approved For Film Student Despite Career Change

• Petitioner: Ms. Natalie
• Year: 2019
• Applying for: TN Visa
• Nationality: Canadian
• Position: Video Production Student/Graphic Designer
• Challenges:
  • Natalie has just finished school on an F-1 Student Visa in the U.S and she studied film production
  • Natalie has started a new job as a graphic designer but her F-1 Visa will not allow her to work outside of her study since she studied film production

BACKGROUND

College is a time of growth; mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and if you get the “freshman fifteen”, then physically as well. Sometimes what you think you want out of life at eighteen is far removed from what you’ll find yourself doing when you’re twenty-two. We all know the actor who became the physical therapist, the poly-science student who became a web designer or the pre-med student who went insane and disappeared. None of us truly know where we’re going in life, especially when we’re young.

Natalie was close, but just off target. When she applied for her F-1 Visa, Natalie knew in her heart that she wanted to work in film production. Where else could she go to seriously pursue this but Hollywood? As the years went on, Natalie realized how much she despised the long hours on set, the groups of PAs who huddled around film gear doing “fire watch”, and the long crowded van trips in traffic. What she liked was post-production; editing alone in a studio, working meticulously on tiny details at her own pace with as many bathroom breaks as one’s heart desires.

She discovered a small start-up in California that specialized in graphic design and after a semester of interning for them, they wanted to bring her on as a full-time designer. Maybe Natalie knew before what she wanted, but now she knew even better what she really wanted. There was only one problem… her F-1 Visa would expire on June 24th, 2019 and according to its restrictions, she could only work in the field she studied in. This meant she couldn’t work as a graphic designer in the U.S. with a degree in film production. Natalie was determined to make it work, so she researched online and found that Tsang and Associates had a success story about another graphic designer who had changed professions. She contacted us and asked for our help.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Thankfully for us, Natalie was calm, cool, collected and well organized. To be honest, our entire correspondence with Natalie transpired over the course of two e-mails and a singular phone call! Natalie e-mailed us on February 10th, 2019, explaining her situation in full. She detailed her problem and her desired outcome. Two of our attorneys called to consult her and within a couple of hours, Natalie felt ready to take on the USCIS.

We prepped her for the potential interview, listed out questions she may need to answer, and provided detailed descriptions of all the paperwork she would need to present at the border. Since she was a Canadian citizen, she would be able to apply for her change of Visa at the border on her way into the U.S. After advising her, she said her farewells and we wished her luck but we didn’t hear from her again for another couple of months.

OUTCOME

Natalie approached the border of Canada and the U.S. as she was instructed. In her hand, she had every piece of paperwork she would need, ready to go, fully filled out. The officer she spoke to at the border was surprised how prepared she was. In fact, he only asked her a few questions while pursuing her neatly organized folder. They even talked with her about how an applicant had shown up earlier that day without any of the needed paperwork, going on to tell her how impressed they were with her application. In no time at all, she was approved for the full three years of her TN Visa. So now Natalie is back in California, working as a graphic designer, finally happy she had found what she was meant to do and this would not have been possible without the help of Tsang & Associates.