+ TN

The TN is available to Canadian and Mexican citizens under the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA.") To qualify, you must meet the criteria of one of the established categories of professions in the NAFTA list. The TN is granted for one year and unlimited one year extensions. The TN applicant must show that his/her intended stay in the United States is temporary. That means that s/he has a foreign residence that s/he has no intention of abandoning. The TN is valid for employment only with the company that petitions for your TN. Finally, the TN allows you unrestricted travel.

+ Religious Worker

The R1 is available to an applicant coming to the United States to work for a bona fide religions organization as a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation. The R1 is available for up to five years. The applicant must show that his/her intended stay in the United States is temporary. That means that s/he has a foreign residence that s/he has no intention of abandoning. The R1 must also demonstrate that s/he has been a member of the petitioning organization or an affiliate for the two years immediately preceding the filing of the petition.

+ Permanent Residency as a religious worker

To file a religious worker petition, the following conditions must be met:

• The beneficiary must have been a member of the same religious organization as the petitioning organization for the two years immediately preceding the filing of the I-360 application.
• The beneficiary must be coming to or remaining in the United States to carry on the activities of a minister or a religious worker.
• The beneficiary must have been performing the duties of the position that s/he is intending to fill for the two years immediately preceding filing the petition.
• The petitioner must be a bona fide non-profit religious organization defined as: a religious group or community of believers having some form of ecclesiastical government, a creed or statement of faith, some form of worship, a formal or informal code of doctrine and discipline, religious services and ceremonies, established places of religious worship, religious congregations, or comparable indicia of a bona fide religious organization.

+ Nurses

As a nurse you may be eligible to immigration to the United States based on a petition filed by your employer. The application process for a registered or professional nurse to obtain permanent residency involves two steps. The first step is filing an I-140 application with the US Citizenship and Naturalization Service (“USCIS”). As the Department of Labor recognizes that professional/registered nurses are in shortage in the United States, your employer may bypass the labor certification process and file directly with the USCIS. Your employer will have to post the job opportunity for ten consecutive days prior to filing the application.

The second step involves the filing of your green card application with the CIS. Once this application is filed, you will be able to obtain work authorization through the adjudication process of your application.

The USCIS requires a “visa screen” certification to be submitted at the second stage. Please contact the CGFNS to begin the process so that you will have the required certificate by the time you file the adjustment of status application.