The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the maximum period of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or extension of stay. This final rule changes the initial period of admission for TN workers from one year to three years, making it equal to the initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers. Eligible TN nonimmigrants may now be allowed to receive extensions of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the prior maximum period of one year.
The TN nonimmigrant classification is a category available to eligible Mexicans and Canadians with at least a bachelor's degree, or appropriate professional credentials, who work in certain qualified fields pursuant to NAFTA. Qualified professions identified within NAFTA include, but are not limited to, accountants, engineers, attorneys, pharmacists, scientists and teachers.
How This Affects You:
The new rule will benefit United States employers by increasing the amount of time TN nonimmigrants will be able to work for them before having to seek an extension of status. Spouses and unmarried minor children of TN nonimmigrants in their corresponding nonimmigrant classifications will also benefit from the new regulation.
We will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.
Business Immigration Alerts Mailing List
If you
wish to be added to this mailing list, please send an email to bizimmalert@mgplc.com.
If
you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please send an email
to unsubscribe@mgplc.com
with "Remove" in the subject line.
