TN Visa and Marriage to US Citizen

[Johnl09 0]

Hi All,

 

I haven’t be able to find liable information on this. A little background, I am a Canadian citizen living in the US under the TN visa. I have been living in the US since high school (parents were Canadian military but now works for a defense contractor as US citizens. I got aged out of the citizenship process). After college I have been employed through 4 different employers under the MC category for the TN visa and have been living in the US continuously since 2001 (high school when we first came here for parents work). 

 

I have been dating my current girlfriend for 3 years now and living together for 2 years. My current TN visa doesn’t expire until late 2021 but I got into some trouble with CBP a couple of month ago during my TN renewal because my MC TN visa letter was written poorly and was rushed by the lawyers (I also answered no to the Canadian residency question). We fixed the issue and was cleared to enter the US the next day after being denied. But since then every time I come back to the US from abroad I get the “additional screening questions” and I’m pretty sure USCIS is going to audit my job to make sure I am doing what my letter say. 

 

So so my main question is, should I wait 90 days before I propose and marry my gf since my last entry into the US? I had to go out of the country for work a couple of weeks ago. 

 

After we get married to do follow this step?

US Citizen and Spouse both live/reside in the US:
-----  I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Guid

 

I am just afraid that USCIS will look at our application and see that I have no ties to Canada and therefore this is dual intent under my current TN visa and be flagged as visa fraud. 

 

 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

12 minutes ago, Johnl09 said:

I am just afraid that USCIS will look at our application and see that I have no ties to Canada and therefore this is dual intent under my current TN visa and be flagged as visa fraud. 

No, if CBP let you in, they must have determined you qualified for TN status. I really don't think this is an issue, especially that you have come and gone this that incident. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

How often do you need to travel out the country? It sounds like you do this fairly frequently. FYI Unless TN is dual intent (I don’t believe it is but I may be wrong) you won’t be able to leave after filing i485 but before your AP card has arrived, which currently can take 4-6 months. 

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~Moved to AOS from Work, Student and Tourist Visas, from Work Visas - As the OP is asking about AOS.~~

[eckoin 211]

10 hours ago, Johnl09 said:

so my main question is, should I wait 90 days before I propose and marry my gf since my last entry into the US? I had to go out of the country for work a couple of weeks ago. 

No need to wait to propose... No need to wait to marry either. The 90 day rule is not a USCIS rule, and certainly doesn't apply to your situation, living in the US and all. 

 

Quote

After we get married to do follow this step?

US Citizen and Spouse both live/reside in the US:
-----  I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Guid

Yes. 

Quote

I am just afraid that USCIS will look at our application and see that I have no ties to Canada and therefore this is dual intent under my current TN visa and be flagged as visa fraud. 

Irrelevant. TN is not dual intent in the sense that you can't have an active or previous permanent resident application AND get another TN, since applying to become a permanent resident means you've expressed immigrant intent. Once you apply to adjust status to permanent resident, you've expressed intent to immigrate, so it's highly unlikely you'd ever qualify for a TN again if that application fell through or you stop being a permanent resident in the future. 

 

I haven't had TN status for as long as you, but I had zero ties to Canada left by the time I applied to adjust status. No residence, my bank accounts have been closed due to inactivity, no bills--nothing besides my OSAP loan, which hardly qualifies as a tie. 

 

But applying for AOS is perfectly fine. You will keep your status until your current status expires or you get your green card, whichever comes first. Once you get your EAD, you're free to work for whichever employer you wish without TN constraints. 

 

6 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

How often do you need to travel out the country? It sounds like you do this fairly frequently. FYI Unless TN is dual intent (I don’t believe it is but I may be wrong) you won’t be able to leave after filing i485 but before your AP card has arrived, which currently can take 4-6 months. 

And this is a good point--once you apply to adjust your status to permanent resident, you're stuck in the country until you get an approved I-131 AP, or until you get your green card, whichever comes first. Leaving the US otherwise means abandoning your application, and again, you won't be able to get another TN in this case. So definitely something to keep in mind. 

 

Otherwise, you're free to get married tomorrow and submit your paperwork as soon as you get your marriage certificate. Doesn't matter when you last entered. Start collecting evidence now. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by eckoin

[Johnl09 0]

7 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

How often do you need to travel out the country? It sounds like you do this fairly frequently. FYI Unless TN is dual intent (I don’t believe it is but I may be wrong) you won’t be able to leave after filing i485 but before your AP card has arrived, which currently can take 4-6 months. 

I travel fairly often to Europe (1-2 times a month) from the US but higher ups in my firm are fine me marrying and actually have been pushing it..... since the last visa scare they want me to move faster to get a PR atleast. The H1B route would take too long. 

[Johnl09 0]

Second question is say we decide to do the courthouse marry in May/June 2019. Will my work be affected? Or will I basically continue to work under my TN (expires late 2021) until my new EAD comes (what’s the timeline for this?)? 

[D&D_NYC 58]

9 hours ago, Johnl09 said:

Second question is say we decide to do the courthouse marry in May/June 2019. Will my work be affected? Or will I basically continue to work under my TN (expires late 2021) until my new EAD comes (what’s the timeline for this?)? 

Yes, that’s correct, and no, work is not affected. Marry, file AOS right away to get the process started, and continue to work under your TN until you receive your EAD. EAD/AP should come in 4-6 months, depending on processing times where you are. TN work would only be affected if you waited until it was almost expired to file. 

 

Any reason you’re waiting until May/June to marry? In your case it seems advisable to get the process underway quickly so you can have work and travel freedom again. 

[Johnl09 0]

On 2/14/2019 at 8:19 PM, eckoin said:

No need to wait to propose... No need to wait to marry either. The 90 day rule is not a USCIS rule, and certainly doesn't apply to your situation, living in the US and all. 

 

Yes. 

Irrelevant. TN is not dual intent in the sense that you can't have an active or previous permanent resident application AND get another TN, since applying to become a permanent resident means you've expressed immigrant intent. Once you apply to adjust status to permanent resident, you've expressed intent to immigrate, so it's highly unlikely you'd ever qualify for a TN again if that application fell through or you stop being a permanent resident in the future. 

 

I haven't had TN status for as long as you, but I had zero ties to Canada left by the time I applied to adjust status. No residence, my bank accounts have been closed due to inactivity, no bills--nothing besides my OSAP loan, which hardly qualifies as a tie. 

 

But applying for AOS is perfectly fine. You will keep your status until your current status expires or you get your green card, whichever comes first. Once you get your EAD, you're free to work for whichever employer you wish without TN constraints. 

 

And this is a good point--once you apply to adjust your status to permanent resident, you're stuck in the country until you get an approved I-131 AP, or until you get your green card, whichever comes first. Leaving the US otherwise means abandoning your application, and again, you won't be able to get another TN in this case. So definitely something to keep in mind. 

 

Otherwise, you're free to get married tomorrow and submit your paperwork as soon as you get your marriage certificate. Doesn't matter when you last entered. Start collecting evidence now. 

 My TN was issued in JAN 2019. Shouldn’t I wait until atleast April 2019 to file the I-130 AOS?

[eckoin 211]

1 minute ago, Johnl09 said:

 My TN was issued in JAN 2019. Shouldn’t I wait until atleast April 2019 to file the I-130 AOS?

If you'd like. There just isn't a rule about this. CBP made a decision to admit you because you've provided a convincing enough argument about why you're entering the United States. It's outside of USCIS realm (unless your company opted for USCIS processing, which still doesn't change much). 

 

Think about it this way--let's say you got your TN by explicitly lying, and you had full intention to use it to enter the country, adjust status, and quit your job. Textbook fraud. 

 

Would your waiting 90 days to do so change anything? No. It doesn't matter. Fraudulent intent is fraduluent intent. 

 

USCIS isn't stupid, they know that. So there's no waiting period rule. Otherwise people would magically stop being fraudulent by just waiting a bit longer. 

[Johnl09 0]

On 2/16/2019 at 9:17 AM, eckoin said:

If you'd like. There just isn't a rule about this. CBP made a decision to admit you because you've provided a convincing enough argument about why you're entering the United States. It's outside of USCIS realm (unless your company opted for USCIS processing, which still doesn't change much). 

 

Think about it this way--let's say you got your TN by explicitly lying, and you had full intention to use it to enter the country, adjust status, and quit your job. Textbook fraud. 

 

Would your waiting 90 days to do so change anything? No. It doesn't matter. Fraudulent intent is fraduluent intent. 

 

USCIS isn't stupid, they know that. So there's no waiting period rule. Otherwise people would magically stop being fraudulent by just waiting a bit longer. 

Sorry can you pleas elaborate on this a little more? How come the 90-day rule doesn’t apply to me? 

 

Also, won’t CBP care about me switching my AOS this quickly? Last time when I was renewing my TN visa they were being incredibly rude. They asked if I intended to come to Canada and made me swear by it along with threatening to audit my job to make sure I was doing the work I listed on my TN support letter. 

[eckoin 211]

36 minutes ago, Johnl09 said:

Sorry can you pleas elaborate on this a little more? How come the 90-day rule doesn’t apply to me? 

It doesn't apply to anyone, since there is no 90 day rule for USCIS. See A.3 here: https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartJ-Chapter3.html

 

USCIS evaluates the bona fide nature of your marriage, regardless of when you got married. You could wait 360 days, and they will still evaluate the marriage for fraud based on all other evidence. If you get married less than 90 days after you entered, and have little supporting evidence of a true bona fide marriage, the fact that it happened so soon is just one extra red flag. But it's not a rule. 

 

36 minutes ago, Johnl09 said:

Also, won’t CBP care about me switching my AOS this quickly? Last time when I was renewing my TN visa they were being incredibly rude. They asked if I intended to come to Canada and made me swear by it along with threatening to audit my job to make sure I was doing the work I listed on my TN support letter. 

How many TNs have you held so far? It is a temporary work status. The more TNs you accumulate, the less "temporary" it appears. So you may well be denied another TN if you apply in the future, if you don't adjust status (as doing so will make it all but definite that you'll never qualify for TN again). 

 

When you entered on your latest TN, were you aware that you were going to be getting married and adjusting status? 

[Johnl09 0]

58 minutes ago, eckoin said:

It doesn't apply to anyone, since there is no 90 day rule for USCIS. See A.3 here: https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartJ-Chapter3.html

 

USCIS evaluates the bona fide nature of your marriage, regardless of when you got married. You could wait 360 days, and they will still evaluate the marriage for fraud based on all other evidence. If you get married less than 90 days after you entered, and have little supporting evidence of a true bona fide marriage, the fact that it happened so soon is just one extra red flag. But it's not a rule. 

 

How many TNs have you held so far? It is a temporary work status. The more TNs you accumulate, the less "temporary" it appears. So you may well be denied another TN if you apply in the future, if you don't adjust status (as doing so will make it all but definite that you'll never qualify for TN again). 

 

When you entered on your latest TN, were you aware that you were going to be getting married and adjusting status? 

No I wasn’t aware I was going to be married. But like I said we have been dating for a while now and have been talking about so it’s natural that we do it. 

[eckoin 211]

4 minutes ago, Johnl09 said:

No I wasn’t aware I was going to be married. But like I said we have been dating for a while now and have been talking about so it’s natural that we do it. 

So you're completely fine. There was no fraudulent intent when you got your TN, and there is no fraudulent intent if you marry today. Focus on proof of bona fide marriage and forget about the 90 day thing--it doesn't apply to AOS candidates, and since you've been dating for a while, and presumably live together, you will have no issues. Good luck!