QUESTION: I am a Canadian citizen currently living and working in the US
under a TN-1 visa. My fiancée is a US citizen. We have a wedding planned in
September 2005 in Canada.
We have been told by immigration specialists that marrying in Canada (as
opposed to the US) may hinder my future chances at permanent residency. We
are considering cancelling the wedding in Canada, and instead holding it in
the US. We are supposed to send out the invitations soon, so we have to
decide this ASAP. We want to do this right, as the stakes are very high. If
denied permanent residency , couldn't I be forced to go back to Canada?
Thanks very much
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david ingram replies:
If you even come back to Canada for a visit and casually mention to the US
border person that you are marrying an American in September, you will not
be allowed back into the US with a TN visa.
A TN visa is very easy to get but it has BIG limitations. Up until 1994,
under the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) the old TC (Treaty Canada) visa was a
dual status visa and allowed you to go to the USA to work with the dual
intention of applying for a resident alien (green) card in the future.
With the changes under NAFTA, the dual intention was removed and the renamed
TN (Treaty NAFTA (North American Free trade Agreement) became a "maximum of
one year" visa only. To obtain a TN visa the job offer must be clear that
it is temporary.
Do NOT even think about marrying in Canada.
If you get married in Canada and show up at the border with your new husband
and a TN visa you will NOT be allowed into the USA unless you can prove
conclusively that you are intending to move back to Canada with your new
husband at the expiration of your current TN.
AND, if your TN expires in the meantime, it will NOT be renewed if the
border person discovers you are marrying in September with the intention of
remaining in the USA on a permanent basis.
I am NOT a lawyer and recommend that you should consult a qualified member
of the AILA (American Immigration Lawyer's Association) ASAP.
If you do not have access to one, there are several that work efficiently at
a distance. If you want to write and tell me where you are, I will give you
a suggestion or two.
david ingram
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