3 YEAR TN VISA STATUS APPROVAL FROM USCIS FOR SCITECH

We initially assisted the client in obtaining TN visa status under the category of Scientific Technician – Engineer at a border port-of-entry. The client possessed a three-year post-secondary diploma in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology. His position involved providing research and development, engineering, and quality control assistance with respect to the employer’s biomedical laboratory test and validation equipment.

The client met all the requirements for the Scientific Technician TN visa category as provided in the Williams Memorandum, which lists 5 criteria for establishing eligibility for TN visa status as a SciTech. The client was supervised by and working in direct support of a Lead Engineer, who possessed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. This satisfied the first two criteria of the Williams Memo regarding working in support of a professional engineer. His post-secondary diploma in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology satisfied the third criterion’s theoretical knowledge requirement. His job functions were consistent with those of an engineering technician as provided for in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and his work was not normally performed by the construction trades. He therefore met the fourth and fifth criteria of the Williams Memo.

The employer wanted to extend the client’s TN visa status and we assisted in preparing the I-129 petition to request the extension by mail. There were no substantial changes to the client’s engagement. He therefore continued to meet the substantive requirements for the SciTech TN visa category. As this was his first extension of TN visa status, we did not expect USCIS to question whether the client still met the temporary entry requirements for the TN category.

We filed the I-129 extension of status petition in July 2009 with supporting documentation establishing the client’s eligibility for the SciTech TN category as outlined in the Williams Memo. We received USCIS’ approval of the TN for a 3 year period today.