TN Visa problems
Has anyone here had any experience with TN visa problems. I was lucky enough to win the H1B lottery and get one for Oct 2007, but I needed the TN (nafta) visa in order to get in a couple months early for training and then I would switch to H1 in october.
Went to the border, met the biggest asshole border control agent and he denied my entry under the TN economist category because he said investment banking does land under the "economist" category. I know hundreds of people who have gotten in this way?? Has anyone else had this problem??
Just try again the next day, and you may get a different person. You are entitled to the visa under NAFTA, but you may just need to try again. I know people who have had to go back several times when they were missing paperwork, the agent wasn't there, etc. - it's not a big deal. You can also try a land or airport crossing (whichever you haven't used yet). Is the economist designation standard for banking? I would think the management consulting designation might work as well, although you may need more work experience under that category. I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
Anyone have problem with obtaining a job at a proprietary trading firm under TN status?
Just try again the next day, and you may get a different person. You are entitled to the visa under NAFTA, but you may just need to try again. I know people who have had to go back several times when they were missing paperwork, the agent wasn't there, etc. - it's not a big deal. You can also try a land or airport crossing (whichever you haven't used yet). Is the economist designation standard for banking? I would think the management consulting designation might work as well, although you may need more work experience under that category. I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
Just try again the next day, and you may get a different person. You are entitled to the visa under NAFTA, but you may just need to try again. I know people who have had to go back several times when they were missing paperwork, the agent wasn't there, etc. - it's not a big deal. You can also try a land or airport crossing (whichever you haven't used yet). Is the economist designation standard for banking? I would think the management consulting designation might work as well, although you may need more work experience under that category. I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
Just try again the next day, and you may get a different person. You are entitled to the visa under NAFTA, but you may just need to try again. I know people who have had to go back several times when they were missing paperwork, the agent wasn't there, etc. - it's not a big deal. You can also try a land or airport crossing (whichever you haven't used yet). Is the economist designation standard for banking? I would think the management consulting designation might work as well, although you may need more work experience under that category. I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
Just try again the next day, and you may get a different person. You are entitled to the visa under NAFTA, but you may just need to try again. I know people who have had to go back several times when they were missing paperwork, the agent wasn't there, etc. - it's not a big deal. You can also try a land or airport crossing (whichever you haven't used yet). Is the economist designation standard for banking? I would think the management consulting designation might work as well, although you may need more work experience under that category. I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
oops.
I've got the company's lawyer looking into it now, but he even said he's never dealt with a denial like this... every investment banker usually gets in under the econmist category
You're right, i'll prob have to try again, this time at a border crossing, not an airport. Btw for anyone doing this, be careful if u do it at the airport because when you get denied you forfeit your flight and get escorted out of customs and can't fly that day. Worse comes to worse i'll hopefully be able to get in under a training visa, but everythings up in the air now
if every investment banker gets in under the economist occupation, do they also need to have an undergrad in Economics? I did engineering undergrad; as a Canadian, I can only imagine what the border agent would think when he tries to comprehend investment banker + engineering undergrad as an economist working in the states?
I'm in a similar situation to the one you were in more than 5 years ago (life science degree + TN economist occupation). I'm curious how everything worked out for you?
This issue is critical to many of us Canadians, if anyone has some specific guidance on the procedure and the necessary documents that must be produced at the border/customs level, please offer your advice for undergrads that intend to fit under the "economist" umbrella.
ahahaha stupid Canadians (oh dang, I'm a Canadian and had this same issue once..ahhh!!!)
There is a simple solution to this problem. If you get hired by a bank, they will in turn hire an immigration lawyer. That lawyer will draft your offer position to make it sound like you are an economist (even though you are actually a banker). When you reach the border, the immigration officer who is a proud community college graduate, will not be able to tell the difference between an investment banker and an economist. This worked for me. Also use Google to find borders that are more friendly than others. This happens to all of us Canadians who are desperately seeking employment in a country that is about 10x better than our country...
Mr. Canuck
This is a little off topic, but if I am starting FT in August and I am a foreign national. My company has applied for H1-B for me, and I also have 10 months of Optional Practical Training available. In case I don't get my H1-B this year and only get them next year, my OPT would expire in July and my H1-B wouldn't start until October 2009. That would give me a 4-month gap. Is this "economist" thing something I could use for that period or what are my options if I don't my work permit this year?
Thank you for all the replies.
You're ok for the 4 month gap as long as you get approved. You don't have to leave the country as long as you don't leave the country.
No you can't use the TN Visa, it's for NAFTA professionals only...
Oh I see, that's probably why I never heard about it :)
Thanks though.
I have recently been deemed ineligible for an H-1B Visa.. How exactly should the TN letter be drafted to cater to a first year Investment Banking Analyst? Because it seems pretty tough to establish a link between an Investment banking analyst and an Economist.. Would you go as far as changing your job title?! And would the firm be willing to back you up?
The category is "markey economist" and it's always been considered a stretch for investment bankers under the law as drafted. Investment banks have traditionally played fast and loose with the definition in order to get a favorable outcome for their Canadian hires, but most lawyers would tell you it's not the use the agreement had in mind when it was negotiated.
It's the reason that some firms actually refuse to use TN-1s for investment banking hires.
Unfortunately, it's unclear to me whether you can just "try again" at the border the next day. Your refused entry is logged, and unlikely to be reversed by another immigration officer on a whim.
It's not helpful now, but usually I counselled our TN-1s to not be an idiot and advertise the fact that you're an investment banker. Your Visa says you are a "market economist" and that's what you should say. You're being judged by someone with potentially less education than you, who may hate foreigners taking your jobs, and knows from your paperwork that you (Mr/Ms Young Punk just out of college) will be making much more than they will at the top of their career. Do you really want to tempt fate?
Secondly, you should not have tested the Visa for the first time at the border, where you are subject to the whim of said high school diploma wielding CIS officer. I always tell our TN-1s to process their visas through the regional processing centers (Vermont or California) to pre-approve the petition, then go through with your Visa pre-vetted. The regional offices applyt standards much more uniformly, and are used to dealing with investment bank TN filings.
Thanks for the quick response! Do you know how I can get a TN Petition pre-vetted? Will the Bank I work for have to do that? Will I have to? Or will the firm's Immigration counsel have to? I am currently in Vancouver, Canada and I was hoping to cross the border by land, achieve TN Status, then fly over to New York from Seattle..
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