USCIS Announces a Proposal to Increase Periods of Stay for TN Professional Workers From Canada or Mexico

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to increase the maximum amount of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico can remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. The proposal will extend the maximum period of admission for TN workers from one year to three years, the same term that USCIS currently may grant to H-1B specialty occupation workers.

The proposed rule will further allow eligible TN nonimmigrants to be granted an extension of stay in increments of up to three years, as opposed to the current maximum of one year. TN nonimmigrants are not subject to a maximum period of stay and thus may seek multiple readmissions or extensions, provided their intended professional activity continues and they remain otherwise eligible. Current regulations require that TN workers seek readmission or apply for an extension of stay each year.

Canadian and Mexican citizens seeking temporary entry to the United States as professionals may come into the country as TN nonimmigrants under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). TN status is available to Canadian and Mexican citizens with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, or appropriate professional credentials, who work in professions listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 to Annex 1603 of the NAFTA and under DHS regulations at 8 CFR 214.6(c). Eligible TN professions include, but are not limited to, accountants, engineers, attorneys, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers.

The NPRM, once implemented as a final rule, will ease administrative burdens and costs on TN nonimmigrants and will benefit U.S. employers by increasing the period of time beneficiaries are allowed to remain in the United States under a TN visa. The proposed changes would also apply to spouses and unmarried, minor children of TN nonimmigrants in their corresponding nonimmigrant classifications as NAFTA dependents.

This improvement to the TN nonimmigrant category was initially announced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Aug. 10, 2007. This is part of the Administration’s 26 initiatives to address current immigration challenges, including making existing temporary worker programs like the TN program more effective, using the tools and authorities available under existing law.

The NPRM is available under the related links section of this page. It will soon publish in the Federal Register. Once published, persons wishing to comment on the TN professional worker NPRM may access the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal and follow the instructions for submitting comments. USCIS will accept public comments until 30 days from the date the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.

For more information on the TN nonimmigrant visa program, call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

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Related Files

• USCIS Announces a Proposal to Increase Periods of Stay for TN Professional Workers From Canada or Mexico (36KB PDF)

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USCIS Announces Enhancements to E-Verify Program

WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today improvements to the E-Verify employment authorization program that will reduce an already low mismatch rate, while also streamlining and increasing the effectiveness of the overall program.

Today's announcement comprises the first two phases of an overall three-part enhancement for E- Verify aimed at decreasing the mismatch rate for naturalized citizens.

“Less than one percent of all work-authorized employees receive a tentative nonconfirmation through E-Verify," said USCIS Acting Director Jonathan Scharfen. "While this is a very small percentage, we believe every employee who is authorized to work in the United States should be instantly authorized by the program. We're confident that the enhancements we're launching today will help us achieve that goal."

Starting today, the E-Verify system will include naturalization data, which will help instantly confirm the citizenship status of naturalized U.S. citizens hired by E-Verify employers. Naturalized citizens who have not yet updated their records with the Social Security Administration (SSA) are the largest category of work-authorized persons who initially face an SSA mismatch in E-Verify. Additionally, a naturalized citizen who receives a citizenship mismatch with SSA can call USCIS directly to resolve the issue (in addition to the option of resolving the mismatch in person at any SSA field office.)

E-Verify also will now include real time arrival data from the Integrated Border Inspection System. This additional data source will reduce the number of immigration status related mismatches for newly arriving workers who have entered the country legally.

USCIS also plans to initiate citizenship status records information sharing with SSA to further help prevent tentative nonconfirmations from occurring. This effort will improve the efficiency of E-Verify by providing to SSA with the most accurate and timely citizenship status information. E-Verify also plans to check against Department of State passport records in the near future to even further reduce mismatches.

More than 64,000 employers participate in E-Verify with approximately 1,000 new enrollments weekly. The Web-based system allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees. E-Verify evolved from the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program originally developed in 1997 and made available to employers as a Web-based system in 2004. USCIS operates the program in partnership with SSA.

Additional details on the program are available on the related links portion of this page.

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Related Files

USCIS Announces Enhancements to E-Verify Program (29KB PDF)
Improvements Will Focus on Decreasing Mismatch Rates for Naturalized Citizens

Checking your case Status Online

Finding the Status of Your Case If you have an application receipt number, you can check the status of your case online . " If you were granted permanent resident status or entered the U.S. with an immigrant visa more than 60 days ago and have not received your first permanent resident card, please call 1-800-375-5283 " Obtaining a List of Processing Dates If you would like to see the Processing Dates for Applications and Petitions, click here . Case Status Portfolio with Updates via Email USCIS Customers (single applicant) and Representatives (representing many cases, such as lawyers, charitable groups, or corporations) who require regular access to status information about multiple cases can create an account to more conveniently access this information. The services provided are identical, except Representatives may also enter their own internal office tracking number with each receipt number. In addition, you can choose to receive automatic case status updates, which will be sent via email. Create/Edit customer portfolio account Create/Edit representative portfolio account Login to an existing account.

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