BACKGROUND:    

• The applicant, a citizen of Mexico, was working in the U.S. under TN visa status as an Accountant.

• She was offered an Accountant position with a new employer where she would be responsible for handling the accounting functions for the company’s catering venues.

• The applicant possessed a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

SOLUTION:    

• Because of delays at the 3 posts processing TN visa stamps in Mexico, I recommended that the Applicant’s new employer file an I-129 petition requesting a change of employer on her behalf. In order to ensure timely processing, I also recommend that the petition was filed via premium processing.

• The challenge in this case was not necessarily ensuring that the petition was approved. The position offered was a solid Accountant role and the Applicant had a degree in Accounting. The real challenge was ensuring that the petition was approved without extended delay due to USCIS issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE).

• With USCIS TN filings it is important to prove to USCIS that the employer is a bona fide business and, in this case, would have a need for a fulltime Accountant in order to avoid an RFE under USCIS’ Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) Program.

• In order to establish this, I prepared a detailed employer support letter that explained the company’s operations and included as exhibits the company’s articles of incorporation and other documentation evidencing its ownership of several catering venues.

• In I-129 filings, it is also important to ensure there is no conflicting information, e.g. between the company’s name and/or address on its website and that found in state or commercial databases like Dun and Bradstreet (D&B). In this case, I ensured that the I-129 petition had additional documentation to explain that the company was operating its business under a different name than provided in its articles of incorporation.

FILING PROCESS:    

• Under USCIS’ new instructions this petition was filed at the Texas Service Center. For unknown reasons, the petition was transferred to the Vermont Service Center, which approved the case without an RFE. (Perhaps the TSC was not fully prepared to start processing TN cases, yet.)

Statements regarding prior application approvals our office has obtained are provided for informational purposes only. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.