May 31, 2017
Voice Your Support for the TN Visa Category
On May 23, 2017, the Office of the United States Trade Representative published notice in the Federal Register that the U.S. intends to begin negotiations with Canada and Mexico to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement. As you likely know, one of the provisions of NAFTA created the TN visa category. With a TN, citizens of Mexico and Canada may enter the U.S. for up to three years at a time to provide professional services in a defined list of job categories. The existence of the TN nonimmigrant category allows many employers to easily recruit and retain highly skilled workers from our neighbors to the north and south. Before beginning its re-negotiation efforts, the U.S. Trade Representative is calling for online comments from interested parties and they will hold an open hearing on June 27, 2017.
If you would like to voice your support for the TN visa category, please use this link to submit your written comments by June 12, 2017: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/23/2017-10603/request-for-comments-on-negotiating-objectives-regarding-modernization-of-the-north-american-free. (Click on the green “SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT” button on the right-hand side of the screen).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold the public hearing on NAFTA renegotiation, seeking to hear from stakeholders, on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 9 a.m. in the Main Hearing Room of the United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. In order to provide testimony, participants must submit written notification of attendance and a summary of testimony by June 12, 2017. Those giving notice of attendance should do so through the link above, and must provide their name, address and phone number. The summary of testimony should be uploaded by using the “Upload File” field. The name of the file should include the name of the person testifying.
Please let us know if you have any questions or encounter any issues in submitting your comments to the U.S. Trade Representative.