In the past several years, I haven’t seen Congress pass any major, positive immigration reform, but the government has made some administrative changes that benefit foreign nationals. Recently, the government proposed new, beneficial TN rules.
On May 9, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a new regulation that would expand the maximum allowable period of admission for TN nonimmigrants and their families from one to three years. It would also allow TNs and their dependents to receive extensions of up to three years. Previously, extensions were limited to one year increments.
The new rule will help employers fill their needs for professional employees. With H-1B visa availability exhausted nearly year round due to the low cap placed on new H-1B visas, employers will likely try to fill some of their needs by seeking TN employees for a three year period. TN classification is limited to Canadian and Mexican nationals. It is authorized through the 1992 U.S., Canada, and Mexico Free Trade Agreement (”NAFTA”), and is restricted to certain professional occupations.
Many employers have found the TN classification unattractive because it has been limited to one year periods of employment. The new rule will eliminate this problem.
If you believe that you could benefit from the new rule when it becomes effective, contact Smith & Garg, PC. We will be glad to assist you.
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1 Friendly Relations: U.S. Immigration Law Is Good To Our Northern Neighbors // Jul 23, 2008 at 3:58 pm
[…] I mentioned in a previous blog, the USCIS has released a proposed regulation that, if implemented, will extend initial TN status […]
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