During the month of April, Berardi Immigration Law presented twenty-two applications for TN/L-1 nonimmigrant status to Customs & Border Protection on behalf of our clients. This month, most of our clients were submitting petitions for L-1A or L-1B status, but a few clients presented applications for TN status as Attorneys, Computer Systems Analysts, and Management Consultants.  We provide highlights of a few of these cases below:

Rehabilitating a TN Application for IT Professional

Our office is frequently contacted by individuals who have unsuccessfully applied for TN status. On case-by-case basis, our firm offers to “rehabilitate” someone’s case to ensure success on the second try. This month, we were able to help an IT professional re-apply for TN status after his Management Consultant application was rejected. After assessing his credentials and his prospective job duties in the U.S., we determined that the individual would be more successful applying as a Computer Systems Analyst rather than as a Management Consultant.
 
There is often more than one immigration strategy available to foreign nationals. IT professionals often believe they are better suited for the Management Consultant category where they will be performing off-site, short-term help for a client in the U.S. Depending on the nature of the work to be performed in the U.S., it is often easier for individuals with computer science or computer engineering backgrounds to apply for TN status as a Computer Systems Analyst or Computer Software/Hardware Engineer. Our team was able to rehabilitate this client’s case by providing regulatory guidance regarding “off-site” work and by including the proper evidence of his prospective U.S. engagements. Our client was approved for a three-year period by Customs & Border Protection.

Extension of Status as TN Management Consultant

Because Management Consultants are typically only needed in the U.S. for short-term projects, they are generally not awarded status for the maximum three-year period allowed under the TN regulations. It is often difficult to obtain extensions of TN status for Management Consultants because the government could suspect that an applicant is, in-fact, a full-time employee rather than a true consultant. This suspicion is often overcome by indicating that the consultant’s services are needed for a new phase of the same project, or for a new project altogether.
 
Last year, we helped a client obtain TN status as a Management Consultant for a one-year period, which was the period of time he believed would be necessary to complete a consulting project in the U.S. However, due to unforeseen delays, the project had still not been completed by the end of the one-year period, and the company still needed his help. Our client’s renewal application clearly delineated that his project had been delayed in the U.S., and that the petitioner now required our client’s services with an additional step of the same project in the U.S. Our request for a one-year extension was approved.
 
If you would like to work in the U.S. and you believe you may qualify for nonimmigrant status, please call our office today.