Canadian visa-holders exempt from new U.S. entry suspensions

Now that Biden is inching closer to victory for the next president, it is a relief for NAFTA TN Visa holders and or future applicants. Even under Trump regime, many exemptions were made for Canadian visa holders but it still provides more confidence for future applicants. See below.

By CARA Chapman Press-Republican – Jun 27, 2020

PLATTSBURGH — President Donald Trump’s administration has clarified that Canadians are exempt from an executive order that suspends U.S. entry for certain nonimmigrants through the end of the year.

In a statement, North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) noted that the cross-border partnership is a critical economic driver for the North Country.

She had voiced her concerns about the negative impact the order would have on the region’s economy to acting U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf.

“Today’s announcement that Canadians will be exempt from the Executive Order is excellent news for our region that I worked to secure,” she said Thursday.

“I will always advocate for the interests of our businesses, our partnership with our neighbors to the North and the economic well-being of the North Country as a whole.”

LABOR SUPPLY

The president had signed an order in April suspending entry of aliens into the U.S. as immigrants for 60 days, arguing that it was in the interest of protecting unemployed Americans from competition for scarce jobs and that, without intervention, the country “faces a potentially protracted economic recovery with persistently high unemployment if labor supply outpaces labor demand.”

Exceptions included lawful permanent residents and health care workers.

This latest order, signed Monday, extends the April proclamation through the end of the year and expands the suspension to include H-1B, H-2B, L-1 and certain J nonimmigrant visa-holders as well as those who accompany or plan to follow them.

Guidelines issued by the Canadian Association of New York specify that:

• Canadians who currently have H-1B, H-2B, L-1 and J work visas can continue to use, travel freely on and renew their visas.

• Canadian citizen spouses and dependent children of work visa holders are also exempt from the proclamation and travel restrictions.

• Canadians waiting for 2020 H-1B visa approvals or planning to apply for their first L-1, H-1B, H-2B or J visas are also not affected and can proceed with their applications.

• Canadians holding other common types of work visas (TN, E, O, P) are entirely unaffected by the proclamation.

CHAMBER, JONES APPLAUD

North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas thanked Stefanik for her advocacy on this matter.

“While suspension of these visa programs is generally a negative for economic growth, it was especially important that Canadians not be included, given the high degree of integration between our two economies,” he said in a statement.

“L-1 (executive/manager) visas in particular are crucial for our many bi-national manufacturers who need to share and move key personnel back and forth. The ability to do that is a prime reason they are here, and not having these visas available would stymie renewed economic development just as Canadian companies are starting to express fresh interest.

“The bottom line is that the availability of these visas to Canadians has helped to create thousands of manufacturing jobs here and will now continue to do so.”

Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) said in a statement that the decision to suspend those visas would have had a detrimental impact on the North Country’s economy.

“These visas allow many of our region’s largest businesses to permanently employ many Canadian citizens while other visas are crucial to our upstate tourist businesses.”

He applauded the move to exempt Canadian citizens, since it will allow local businesses to rely on their Canadian workforce as they continue to reopen.

TRAVEL POLICIES

But he argued that the U.S. and Canada need to go further and re-examine their policies regarding international travel.

The U.S.-Canada border has been closed to “nonessential” travel, including tourism, since March 21 and the two countries recently announced those restrictions would remain in effect until July 21.

“Families have been ripped apart, cross-border property owners are left in distress and both economies severely impacted,” Jones said.

“New York State has issued travel guidelines impacting essential workers when visiting for short periods of time, and I see no reason why this cannot be mirrored to reflect similar international policies.

“We need to ensure that our economies can move forward and families be safely reunited, without being subjected to 14-day quarantine when they pose very little risk. I am dedicated to working with our federal partners to find alternatives that address public health concerns about international travel.”

Douglas, on behalf of the chamber, has similarly called for the U.S. and Canada to put forth a plan that will guide reopening of the border.

https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/coronavirus/canadian-visa-holders-exempt-from-new-u-s-entry-suspensions/article_4a96eafa-3554-51b4-ba50-ff2313a916d1.html

NAFTA renegotiation signals little change for HE so far

A good article….

NAFTA renegotiation signals little change for HE so far

Roberto Rodríguez-Gómez, 2018 November

In his United States presidential campaign in 2016, Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and to potentially withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a trilateral agreement between Canada, Mexico and the US which has been in effect since 1994.

Trump kept his promise to end the US’ participation in the TPP and in January 2017 signed an executive order to withdraw from the agreement.

However, in the commercial interests of the major economic industries of the US, he agreed to begin the renegotiation of NAFTA. Talks took place between August 2017 and September 2018. The new agreement, which is to be revised and ratified by the three countries, includes important changes regarding rules of origin, wages, the review or renewal mechanisms, agriculture and e-commerce.

The chapters related to higher education systems (international trade of education services and migration rules for professionals) remain unchanged. Therefore, if the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is ratified, we can expect the impact that NAFTA has had on higher education and the legal migration of professionals, mainly from Mexico, to stay in line with current trends.

Migration of professionals under NAFTA

In chapters 12 and 16, NAFTA established rules for regulating foreign investment in the education sector of signatory countries and commerce in professional services under the “temporary movement of natural persons” mode of supply. The agreement granted most favoured nation status to providers of professional services and favoured the gradual elimination of quantitative restrictions in each country.

In addition to these principles, the treaty developed a way of regulating professional services, described in Annex 1210.5 of NAFTA, and included a list of 63 professions that are subject to it.

The American government established a new visa category, under the treaty, for the temporary immigration of Mexican and Canadian professionals, which can be employed upon request of public or private sector enterprises. These visas are known as Trade NAFTA (TN) visas.

Both common and country specific regulations were established for the TN visas of Mexico and Canada. One of the main differences for Mexico is that the American government set a maximum quota of 5,000 visas per year during the first decade of the treaty (1994-2004), with the quota being eliminated afterwards.

A second difference is that Mexican professionals had to apply for and receive their visa in US consulates located in Mexico. Canada didn’t face such limitations. In both cases, TN visas have a maximum period of validity of three years. They may be renewed continuously, but this must be done every three years.

From 1997 to 2017 a total of 102,461 TN visas were granted to Mexicans. There has been a clear upward trend in recent years: more than half of these visas (53.5%) were authorised in the period from 2014 to 2017. The current number of TN visas for Mexicans substantially surpasses other visas authorised for highly qualified jobs.

According to 2017 data, Mexican professionals were granted 15,993 TN visas, 2,322 H-1B visas (for specialty occupations that require high skills), 8,945 J-1 visas (for academic exchange) and 571 O-1 visas (for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievements). According to estimations, between 35,000 and 40,000 Mexican professionals work in the US under TN status.

NAFTA also established general rules for authorising the migration of independent professionals. The specific requirements are agreed by the NAFTA Free Trade Commission, a body consisting of the trade ministers of Mexico, the US and Canada.

Under this framework, the parties agreed that in order to have mutual recognition of professional degrees and conferral of licences for professional practice, professional guilds in the three countries should generate agreements to have compatible requirements with regard to professional practices and to involve the competent education and labour authorities to give their institutional support to the normative process of evaluation, accreditation and certification.

In the trilateral meetings in which professional bodies, government and education authorities participated, the lack of mechanisms for the accreditation of university programmes in Mexico was identified as the main obstacle to free trade of independent professions. In 2000 Mexico began a process of accreditation that was compatible with the US and Canada.

However, despite the efforts of the different professional guilds of Mexico with regard to the recognition of diplomas and the authorisation of professional practice, progress has been minimal. Only the colleges of architects, engineers and accountancy have been able to subscribe and register mutual recognition agreements endorsed by the authorities of the three countries of NAFTA.

Foreign investment in the higher education market

NAFTA considered the option of facilitating the international trade of education services and Mexico established two formal limitations to it. First, any foreign investor should comply with the authorisation rules that the governmental authorities had set for the operation of private investors in the education sector.

Second, foreign investment could not be higher than 49% of its Mexican counterpart, except if the Mexican authority in this matter, the National Commission of Foreign Investment, agreed it.

After NAFTA some foreign investors have shown an interest in private education in Mexico. The main investment case is that of the group Laureate International Universities. In 2000 the Laureate group, back then known as Sylvan Learning Systems, acquired 80% of Universidad del Valle de México (UVM). Additionally, in 2008, Laureate took control of Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC).

Currently the group UVM-UNITEC has more than 150,000 students on more than 40 campuses in the main cities of the country, representing approximately 15% of the total enrolment of private universities in Mexico and the biggest concentration of private enrolment in the country.

On a lower scale, other American investors have a presence in the private higher education system in Mexico. Vanta Education group, formerly Apollo Global, acquired most of the [property] of the Universidad Latina in 2008. Universidad Latina has approximately 40,000 students distributed on campuses and in schools in several cities in Mexico.

Another mode of foreign investment is represented by the Arkansas State University, which opened a campus in 2017 in the city of Queretaro with a capacity of approximately 5,000 students.

Outlook

In 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a leftist politician, won the presidential elections in Mexico. He will take office on 1 December and even though he has not specified a national policy regarding foreign investment, he has a positive attitude towards the trade relationship with the US, leading optimists to suppose that the trade openness achieved under NAFTA and renewed through USMCA will be maintained on the same terms.

However, a more rigorous strategy regarding the authorisation of foreign suppliers of higher education services cannot be ruled out.

Likewise, regardless of Trump celebrating the trilateral trade agreement, the application of more rigorous requirements to the current visa scheme for Mexico’s professional temporary workers cannot be ruled out either, particularly in light of Trump’s view about Mexican migration to the US.

These policies, regarding foreign suppliers in Mexico and professional migration to the US, might be subject to change in the coming years. Hence we must wait to know if the new treaty changes with them or it remains untouched.

Roberto Rodríguez-Gómez is a researcher at the Institute of Social Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). 

Democrats Wins Back the House

Good news TN applicants – with the Democrats winning back the Congress, it will hopefully ease some tension created from the White House administration as it relates to immigration and non-resident workers.

More to come!
Mid-term elections 2018: US Democrats win House in blow to Trump
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46120373

TN Visas Remain Under NAFTA Replacement

TN Visas Remain Under NAFTA Replacement

Snell & Willmer, October 2018

Despite rumors that the TN visa category would be eliminated when the North America Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) was replaced, the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) appears to preserve the status quo. Consensus over the replacement trade agreement was announced on the evening of September 30, 2018. Notably, the text of USMCA’s Chapter 16 – granting temporary entry for certain Canadian and Mexican business professionals and the right to engage in business activities at the professional level – remains essentially unchanged from the original NAFTA text.

While all three countries are required to ratify the Agreement, U.S. employers seeking to continue to hire professional Canadian and Mexican employees in an expedited and cost-effective manner may view the consensus as a big win. Moreover, it could allow employers with current TN professionals, and the employees themselves, to breath a collective sigh of relief that the visa category may still be available under the finalized USMCA.

NAFTA and the TN Visa
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter and work in the United States is required to first obtain a visa. In 1992, the United States, Canada, and Mexico entered into NAFTA, which provides, among other things, for expedited temporary admission under the nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) category of business persons in selected professions from each country, and the ability to engage in employment within those professions. The professions are listed in Appendix 1603.D, see here, which include accountants, engineers, management consultants, social workers, medical professionals, scientists and teachers. See 8 CFR § 214.6. Applicants may be admitted to the United States in TN status for a period of time required by the employer, up to a maximum initial period of three years.

Advantages to the TN Visa
Unlike other visa categories, the TN category provides employees and employers alike with a lot of flexibility provided the purpose of the stay is temporary. The principal alternative to the TN category for employers looking to hire Canadian and Mexican professionals on a temporary basis is the H-1B nonimmigrant category. The big advantages of the TN visa over the H-1B visa include the following:

  • The six-year limit on stay for H-1B nonimmigrants does not apply to the TN category. Instead, TN professionals may receive extensions of stay in increments of up to three years with no outside limits on the total period of stay.
  • Qualified Canadian and Mexican professionals who already completed six years in the H-1B or L nonimmigrant category may immediately apply for the TN category and do not have to fulfill the one-year abroad requirement imposed on H-1B nonimmigrants.
  • There is no annual ceiling on the admission of Canadian and Mexican TN professionals, while the H-1B category has an annual cap. The H-1B annual cap is generally quickly reached, precluding approval of new H-1B petitions for the remainder of the year. For example, on April 6, 2018, USICS announced that it had hit the cap for H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2019 – four days after the first day it accepted filings.

Perhaps one of the most lauded qualities of the TN visa is the procedural advantages when seeking to obtain the visa. Unlike the H-1B visa, employers do not have to submit a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and be subject to processing delays for TV Canadians they want to hire. Instead, Canadian citizens may present their application to a NAFTA officer at a land crossing on the border, or at one of the NAFTA preclearance stations located in various Canadian airports prior to getting on the flight and departing for the United States.

While  Mexican TN applicants cannot simply  show up at a border crossing to get their TN visa, they do not have to submit their petitions to USCIS. Instead, Mexican nationals seeking initial TN status may apply directly to a U.S. consulate. Notably, both Canadian and Mexican TN applicants may submit applications to USCIS and wait for the agency to adjudicate their petitions.

USMCA and TN Visa Future
In May 2017, the Trump Administration announced its intention to renegotiate NAFTA. The Administration targeted the trade of goods aspect of NAFTA but did not directly take aim at the trade in services. Yet many saw the renegotiation, and the President’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order seeking the rigorous enforcement of immigration laws, seehere, as the end of the TN category under any new trade agreement. USMCA keeps much of the same TN category language of NAFTA. See USMCA here; see NAFTA here.

So what happens next?

While consensus was reached, USMCA still needs to be approved. President Trump, Prime Minister Trudeau, and President Peña Nieto have to sign the Agreement – which they purportedly plan to do before President Peña Nieto leaves office at the end of November possibly at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The countries would then need to ratify the Agreement. In the U.S., it is unlikely Congress will review USMCA before 2019. Nonetheless, both Republicans and Democrats have supported a trilateral agreement. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised President Trump for renegotiating part of the deal but noted that Congress would need to consider implementation measures for some labor provisions and access to the dairy industry. See here. Equally, incoming Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has stated he would not oppose the deal, see here, and Prime Minister Trudeau has already pledged compensation for Canadian dairy farmers impacted by the deal in an effort to support it. See here. So, for now, the TN category remains.

US, Canada reach an agreement on NAFTA rewrite, paving the way for an overhaul of the massive trade deal

Great that things are moving along with NAFTA….

 

US, Canada reach an agreement on NAFTA rewrite, paving the way for an overhaul of the massive trade deal

How Mexico and Canada saved NAFTA

Interesting Read

Long time no post sorry!! Here’s an interesting article especially when there is so much political coverage in the news lately…

Will Immigration Concerns Be Addressed in NAFTA or Will Swamp Forces Prevail?

Will Immigration Concerns Be Addressed in NAFTA or Will Swamp Forces Prevail?

By

President Trump signaled yesterday that he is open to dropping his newly announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports if the U.S. successfully renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. “We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,” Trump tweeted.

NAFTA – which went into effect in 1994 and is currently being renegotiated by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer – eliminated most tariffs on trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The trade agreement also created a little-known visa programthat allows foreign workers to take high-paying professional jobs in America.

Under NAFTA, the TN visa program permits Canadian and Mexican nationals to reside in the U.S. for three years and renew that status an unlimited number of times. Unlike other high-skilled visa programs, the TN visa program contains no protections for American workers.It is estimated that almost 100,000 TN visa holders are currently working in the U.S. in 63 highly competitive professions, including doctors, lawyers, dentists, and engineers.

Even though the TN visa program does not comport with President Trump’s policy of “Buy American, Hire American,” reports have surfaced that Lighthizer is not addressing it in negotiations, and administration officials who urged him to have been sidelined.

Earlier this month, Breitbart News obtained a draft letter from DHS staffers to Lighthizer highlighting the detriment to American workers caused by TN visas included in the current version of NAFTA. However, a holdover career official told the staffers to “stand down” and the letter was subsequently scrapped.

“DHS opposes the inclusion of immigration provisions in NAFTA, because such inclusion is contrary to the aims of Executive Order 13788 ‘Buy American and Hire American,’ would constrain DHS authority to regulate immigration, contravenes Congressional pronouncements, and arguably conflicts with negotiation objectives asserted in current trade promotion authority (TPA),” the letter reads.

It continues:

“All of these positions [filled by TN visa holders]are in high demand by qualified U.S. workers. The TN program is uncapped and includes almost none of the U.S. worker protections Congress has included for certain other temporary worker programs (such as the requirement that employers advertise the position, pay the worker the prevailing wage, and ensure that importing foreign workers will not adversely impact the working conditions of U.S. workers).

…

[R]etaining TN provisions in NAFTA is in tension with the President’s objectives underlying Executive Order 13788, in which he stated that, “to create higher wages and employment rates for workers in the United States, and to protect their economic interests, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to rigorously enforce and administer the laws governing entry into the United States of workers from abroad.”

If the steel and aluminum tariffs are indeed being used as leverage to squeeze Mexico and Canada on NAFTA, Lighthizer has the opportunity to come to an agreement that is in line with the president’s views on immigration, and thus favorable to American workers. Will he be able to hear the advice of well-intentioned agency staff this time around? Hopefully. If not, chalk up another victory for the swamp.

 

5 Simple Things to Remember For TN Application

As we head into Labor Day Weekend, just a few things to remember if you are heading to the border for your TN Visa….

  1. Allow some extra time for processing especially if you are applying at the airport PRIOR to your flight.
  2. Have all your documents ready and double – triple check that you bring original copies if requested.
  3. Review your job description/offer and make sure you understand it and how it relates to the TN job classification.
  4. Use your common sense when it comes to attire and general appearance.  Showing up in PJ’s and hung over is probably not a good idea.
  5. Make sure you comply with general customs and border rules such as carrying fruits, alcohol, tobacco, etc. It is the last thing you want to worry about.

Have a safe trip and Happy Labo(u)r Day!

Allow Extra Time For the TN Visa Application

How often do TN Visa applicants miss their flight due to the application processing time?  For me personally, I missed it twice before I finally learned to give myself extra time. The worse case scenario is 2 hours so add this to the time you think it takes for you to go through security line, and walk/shuttle to the gate.

If you are arriving into an US airport that have the boder/customs such as JFK, then that is a different story but then you have other things to worry about if your TN application is rejected.  Never happened to me before but that would be an interesting scenario and something maybe we should blog about one day.

Good luck and give yourself extra time!

Remember to declare your TN visa status every time you enter US

A common mistake that people make is that they do not declare their TN visa when entering into the US for pleasure.  Irrespective of your intention of entering the US soil, you MUST declare your TN status.

It’s true that some officers may look at you funny but that is maybe they are not aware of the rule.  If you do not declare your status, you may risk deportation.

Earth Day Idea for TN Visa

Just imagine if one day we can pre-submit all TN application information before crossing the border and all we need to prove at the border is our identity via fingerprinting or retina scan.  Less paper, less carbon footprint, and of course less stress. To execute it will take the same or less amount of work and will probably save wait time for both TN applicants and other passengers.