TN Visa Borders | Does It Matter Which Border You Go To?

Does it matter which border you go to?

If you go to our website, which is just my last name Shusterman.com. We have a nurse Immigration guide. And we have links to the different government agencies. Click on the CBP link, That CBP is the US Customs and Border Protection. There are 14 different places that you need to cross and one of those 14 different places in Canada, because there's hundreds of border crossing. But the the CBP officers who are trained in TNs are only at 14 of those. So make sure you pick the appropriate airport or the appropriate land crossing area. Otherwise, you may be wasting your time trying to get over the border.

Okay, so that is great advice. Thank you for sharing that Carl. Is there any additional advice or best practice from the panel on how to approach getting the TN because different nurses have had different experiences, some people say it's better to fly then to drive. And some people say, it's important to get going business hours, make sure that you get the the contact details, the cell phone number of the client, and the email address before you cross the border. So that if the officer wants to contact the facility, is there any other advice or best practices that you can share with anybody who's going to be crossing the border to get a TN?

I have a couple things. If you're flying into the US, which a lot of the nurses are, there's something called PFI pre-flight inspection and Canada's one of the very few countries in the world where the US immigration officers are actually at the Canadian airport.

So they're in Canada, they're not in the US. So you should get to the airport at least an hour before you usually would get to the airport to fly into the US. Because that officer is going to put you through - let me see or letter from the employer, let me see your visa screen certificate, all the documents that you're going to have to go through. So you don't want to come very late. And then your flights taking off. And the officer saying sorry, I can't let you on the flight because I'm not finished with your interview.

Please come in a timely fashion. As we said before, Canadians are visa free. So it's really great. You don't have to go to the US consulate or embassy to get a visa stamped on your poor passport. You either go to a border crossing or pre flight inspection at an airport and just make sure that you follow that Connetics nursing recruitment agency has an excellent document about what pieces of paper you have to have with you in order to cross into the United States.

Just make sure when you're asked the Border Patrol person, but do you want to stay in the United States permanently? No, this is a temporary job opportunity. You can get your TN for three years. You can extend it indefinitely, three years at a time, but you're not supposed to have any intent to stay permanently.

Just make sure that the passports are current. Important. And if they're traveling with their with their immediate relatives, make sure you have the birth certificates of the minor children under the age of 21. And that you have your marriage certificate with your spouse that their passports are current. And I agree with definitely with everything that Carl said and Tanya you as well, you mentioned that it would be best if they traveled when during work hours.

So if the if the officer has any questions from the employer, the employer is available and make sure that it's simple, easy for them to get in contact with the employer not dial one of these numbers where you have a million different departments that you're going to you never get to the person unless you had zero sometimes.

So they should have the number of the HR person who's in charge who's knowledgeable of a process, not someone who's not knowledgeable, there could be someone who doesn't even handle that they just printed the letter that they're traveling with as evidence of the offer of employment. The letter should include the name of the person who was responsible for the process from beginning to end internally at the employer site.

And their mobile number of its available some a quick way of an officer being able to access the company. I've seen situations where they've tried reaching out to me as the attorney, but they first tried reaching out to the employer and they couldn't get in contact with them. So they contact me. And then they ask questions, and everything turns out well, but what if I'm not available, so it's really important that the employer letter be thorough that and even referenced the section of the regulations that allow the nurses that are on the list to apply for the TN. Those are just a few to add on to what you and Carl mentioned.

And Jennifer, if you want to add some as well?

I mean, I think you guys touched on it, I think it's always helpful, you know, I tell my clients, well, obviously, if they come to me, we're going to prepare a nice package for them to prevent. Being organized because no matter what, you're probably going to be a little nervous. Just because it's right not it should be a secure thing, but you never know what will happen at the border. So I always tell people arrive early, you know, be have your documents if you need to have them in like a folder organized nicely in a nice packet for an officer. It'll make it easy for you and the officer as well to go through and verify everything, you know, travel during work hours so you can if they need to contact someone, someone's going to answer the phone. If you have your family members, make sure to bring all those original documents, so they can verify the relationship and I know we didn't touch on derivatives, but you know that is something that is available so you can bring your family.