DHS Proposed Rule to Extend TN Status to Three Years

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on May 9, 2008, entitled, Period of Admission and Stay for Canadian and Mexican Citizens Engaged in Professional Business Activities – TN Nonimmigrants (PDF 65KB). This rule proposes to extend the period of admission for TN professionals to three years from the current maximum period of admission of one year.

USCIS Proposed Rules

By law, a proposed rule does not become effective until a final rule is published in the Federal Register. Until then, it must first go through a comment period, which expires on June 9, 2008. At that time, the USCIS must review the comments and address the issues raised as part of the final rulemaking. Therefore, until the final rule is published, the current rule of the maximum one-year admission for TN professionals and their TD dependents is still in place.

Rule Would Extend Admission and Extension of Status to Three Years

The proposed rule specifies that, if the new regulation is issued, it would “increase the maximum allowable period of admission for TN nonimmigrants from one year to three years, and allow otherwise eligible TN nonimmigrants to be granted extensions of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the current maximum of one year.” If issued, this new regulation would remove a burdensome requirement for TN professionals to renew their status every year, giving them instead the flexibility and peace of mind of staying in valid status for a much longer duration.

Regulation Would Remove Filing Location Requirements

The new rule would remove filing-location requirements from the pertinent regulations. Instead, filing locations would be prescribed in the form instructions “in order to provide more flexibility in program administration.”

TD Dependents Would Benefit from the New Rule

Dependents of TN professionals in TD status also would be eligible to be admitted and seek extension of this status for three years under the new rule, if and when it goes into effect.

Conclusion

The new rule proposing an extension of the period of admission to three years for TN professionals is a welcome change in the TN regulations. This improvement would allow for more flexibility and cost savings for those who are eligible and use TN status each year. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will be provided with additional information on this rule, should it become final.