I have been working in the US on a TN-1 visa for a lttle over three years, renewing annually as required. Last year I met my future wife and we are getting married next month in Canada. As the TN visa is a non-immigrant visa, it is not clear if I can apply for AOS directly while we continue to live together and I continue to work legally in the US. It sounds like the fastest and most convenient way for me to apply for PR, but it may be tricky due to the non-immigrant intent of the visa. Clearly, though, I have lived in the US for a long time prior to any request for AOS, so I hope this would be possible. Has anyone ever done this or know anyone who has become a PR while on a TN-1 visa?

Another concern is that since I have to renew the TN-1 visa annually, if an AOS case is still pending by the next anniversary date of the visa, I will need to renew it to continue working legally in the US. I am thinking, then, that I should apply for an EAD even though I already have a valid work visa. Does this sound reasonable?

From what I understand I believe you can apply for EAD while your Adjusting Status even if you are on a TN visa. However you have to understand that you may not be allowed entry to the US after you marry a USC in Canada. It really is up to the POE officer.

As Lance27 said, it is a risk that you won't be allowed back into the states after your marriage as you would then have immigrant intent and technically shouldn't enter the US on a non-immigrant visa with immigrant intent and then file AOS. Right now, unmarried, you did not have immigrant intent when you entered on the non-immigrant visa, so getting married in the US and filing for adjustment of status without leaving the country is much safer and technically within the rules.

If I were in your situation, I would marry in the US (just a quick, civil court marriage), file for adjustment of status (including EAD), and then apply for advanced parole to have a fancy wedding ceremony in Canada at a later date if that is what my family really wanted or if there was some reason I really wanted the ceremony in Canada. I wouldn't personally risk leaving the US until either AP had been granted or I had received my green card.

Thanks Lance and Margot. I had not thought about the problem of having immigrant intent thrown years after not having immigrant intent. I think I will do something along the lines of what Margot suggested. As far as the official application process goes, they don't need to know there will be a ceremony in Canada, so long as we are legally hitched in the US. Does anyone know how long an AP typically would take to be granted?

Our AP was approved in a little over two months.

Definitely do not leave the U.S. until you have AP.

Also, I am pretty sure that once you marry and file AOS, your TN will not be valid. You will not be able to work again until they approve you for an EAD (or AOS, whichever comes first). Someone please correct me if I am wrong about the TN. EADs take on average 90 days to get. Some get them sooner but from what I've seen, it's around 90 days.

Oh gosh, I never thought that the TN visa would become invalid at the point of application. I figured it would occur upon activation of the EAD. Could anyone else comment on that?

I have no clue on TN visa's but I get a feeling they are pretty quick to obtain?? Anything with immigrating to the USA (aos, k1, k3 , cr-1) takes time!! Nothign moves fast!! Best of luck

I would think that your SSN would still be valid and you could continue working until you get your EAD however I may be wrong and there is hopefully someone else more knowledgable on this topic who could point you in the right direction.

There was soneone on here who was on a TN and then married a USC. I will look up the posts for his Handle.

His handle is Warlord. Hopefully he will browse this topic and give some insight.

Thanks for your help Lance! I think I saw a post the other day by warlord....will have to look too.

By the way, this site rocks. The people are so helpful in this often very confusing and stressful process! I don't think I could ever get the answers I am looking for without an immigration lawyer, and even then, I doubt I'd get all the answers. Thanks!

TN status is based on you not having immigrant intent... As soon as you marry a USC and will be moving back to the US, you have that immigrant intent.. Therefore, your TN status is no longer valid and you will not be permitted entry into the US and therefore, you wouldn't be allowed to work......

However, your status as a TN is still valid while you are still in the US, even after you file AOS until it either expires or Permanent Residency is awarded... However, once you leave the US, you will not be permitted reentry... Also once you reenter the US on Advanced Parole, you will no longer be in TN status... But I doubt an employer will be saavy enough to notice the nuances of immigration regulations...

I'm sorry to say that you have two choices. You can get married in the US, file for AOS and AP and then go back to Canada for a ceremonial wedding.. or you can go back to Canada, get married, you remain in Canada and then file an I-130 and wait for a CR-1 visa.

But getting married in Canada and returning to the US while having TN status is a no-go...

OK, that makes some sense; I think getting married in the US first is the best route. So, if I file AOS while on a TN visa, technically, I should no longer be working until I receive an EAD, at which point I could resume my position. Judging on the time between AOS application an recepit of EAD, that should only be a couple months. My employer is unlikely to know the difference, right? Should I mention anything to them at all, or just show the EAD once it arrives? It sounds like a lot of fuss for such a temporary lapse.

Read my message more closely... I don't think your employer would ever know the difference...

Obs0lete, it would be much safer for you to do a registered marriage in the US, then file AOS full-package (EAD and AP included), then do a church wedding in Canada after you get AP (or conditional GC).

I happen to be a former TN-1 (though I got my GC through employment, not marriage).

Just saw this. Yep get married in the US (in the court if you want) or a simple wedding and then after you get your EAD/AP then you can do a bigger wedding in Canada if you wish. The TN status is all about the timing. So it's good to plan to get a new TN then get married and apply for the AOS. This is because you will need a good 6 months of active TN until your EAD comes through, otherwise you will find yourself out of status until it does if the TN expires (You can't get a new TN status after your apply for the AOS).

Yes you can continue to work on the TN until your AP/EAD comes in, just make you you have lots of time left on it. For example We timed it so our wedding was in August. My current TN expired in June, so I applied and got a new TN in June. This gave me up until June the next year for the EAD to come in. Luckily my EAD came a few weeks after I applied in Sept and so did my AP. If there was a problem though, I could still work on the existing TN for that year.

And yeah, definatly once you apply you do not want to leave the country at all until the AP comes in...

This is becoming much clearer. Thanks for all of your responses!

Question on advance parole: Since I would need AP if I want a Canadian ceremony after applying for AOS following a US marriage, do you know if I need to be specific with the date of travel? Planning a big gathering may not be so easy to do at the point of AOS application. If I make up a date, will I be forced to keep that? Is AP with mutliple entries a viable option, or would this require special circumstances?

Using a shaganappi travel date is the norm for I-131 submissions.

Part 7 of the I-131 has checkbox-options of "one trip" and "more than one trip".

With the AP. You use it just like you would with your TN. Get it in hand (it's actually like 3-4 pages) so more bulky then a simple TN that fits in your pocket. Then you can travel back and forth anytime with that. Now I never ended up using my AP as I got my GC quite fast, so I can't share any travel experiences with it though. From what I gather it's already multiple entry, but may want to check that out...

I am suddenly being educated in more Canadian lingo. I have learned that Shaganappi is a Native Canadian word and a region in Calgary, but judging by the context in the sentence, I assume it is slang for "phoney" or something along those lines.

It is a Sarcee word, meaning exactly the same as the hindi bakvas (rubbish).

I'm Canadian, was on TN and married an American in Canada. BIG NO NO!!!!
We married on the Saturday, tried to return to the US on Monday and they confiscated my TN AND won't let me return. Same as what some of the other said, I have 'immigrant intent' now that I married an America. My TN was void. I had to go through the entire CR-1/K3 process and it took TEN FREAKING MONTHS. So unless you plan to be apart from your fiancee after you get married, do the civil ceremony in US and then file for AOS right away! Do the ceremonial wedding at a later date... it's a hassle.. but totally worth it.. You dont wanna be like me! We were married for TWO DAYS and were separated for TEN MONTHS.. no one believes it when we tell them.. but oh well.. that was last June... the nightmare's over.. and I'm moving on with my life!

Re your advice "... your status as a TN is still valid while you are still in the US, even after you file AOS until it either expires or Permanent Residency is awarded.... ".
Was wondering if you have a source or link to an official site that I can refer to that documents the conditional validity of TN when one applies for AOS/EAD even though TN is a non-immigrant intent visa only.
- Do you know of anyone who had trouble renewing their TN if their AOS/EAD was previously rejected or did not get processed in time?
- If you went through the process of transitioning from TN to AOS/EAD, did you do it w/or w/out a lawyer? If no lawyer was used, would you advise on getting one?
Hey, thanks a bunch.