Traveling Outside of USA with TN Visa (Information supplied on this topic is from experience only, and in no way reflects policies, regulations, or laws from either Canada, USA, Manitoba, or Minnesota).

General:
I only decided to add this piece of information due to some recent postings on the Immigration Forum of Grasmick's WEB Site dealing with this very subject matter.  So, here is a copy of some recent postings from this discussion group. 

But first my conclusion:  Before traveling outside of the USA (except for return trips to Canada), and if you have your I-94 work-authorization card kept inside your passport, make sure you make notarized photocopies of this visa, and keep it in a separate place from your passport.  Pay VERY special attention when traveling - especially when checking in for flights.  These I-94 cards can very easily be removed from your passports as they are being mistaken for "travel visas".  One such thought is to carefully remove the I-94 card from your passport before travelling.  It is only placed/attached to your passport out of convenience, and unlike a travel visa, is NOT required to be kept in your passport.

First Posting:
"This is an FYI for any one holding a TN visa and traveling to Europe. When checking in for a flight to Ireland, as the agent was checking my passport she removed my TN visa from the passport. I asked her what she was doing and she stated that all landing visas were to be removed prior to departure form the U.S. (TN Visa filled out on I-94 card). After 15 minutes of polite discussion and explanation of the visa and that as a Canadian I did not require a landing visa I asked for her supervisor. Needless to say 45 minutes and two supervisors later I was still asking them to call INS or bring in an INS officer to solve the problem. Fortunately they finally called and in less than 1 minute the situation was resolved. As a commuter to the US returning to work after my vacation would have been a little tricky or just time consuming. I don't know how INS would have reacted to the story and if I would have had to obtain a new letter and have all my documentation with me (my professional license is posted at work). Needless to say when traveling abroad please stay aware of your passport and the goings on to the persons holding it. I neglected to mention that the initial removal of the visa on the drop counter which could easily not be seen by most."

Laura

Second Posting:
"I just returned from a trip to Asia, and upon return to the US, the immigration officer told me that my TN-Visa (I-94) should have been removed prior to departure, and that I would need a new I-94. He said that when traveling in North America, that the I-94 stays with you, but when traveling overseas, a new one needs to be issued. He was very polite about it, and issuing a new I-94 (w/o any documentation other than my existing I-94) took about 5 minutes. Another similar circumstance happened when traveling back to Canada on Air Canada. The agent took out my I-94 and was about to throw it away (again, behind the counter so unless I was paying close attention I wouldn't have noticed until I returned to the US!), but I saw what she had done, and made her give it back. I'm not sure why airline agents
are charged with immigration issues such as removing TN Visas upon departure, but they really don't know what they are doing. I have started taking photocopies of my employment/education documents with me when I cross borders because of these two incidents, as well as a copy of my current TN Visa". 

Leslie

Third Posting:

"The I-94s collected are returned to the INS. The I-94 is not a visa, but an indication of your status in the USA and your permission to be here. They are not your permission to enter. A visa (issued to non Canadians) is permission to *attempt to enter*. Your permission to enter comes from the INS officer on entry.

Renewal TNs by mail come on an I-797 with an attached I-94. The extension clearly states the the I-94 is to be retained if you are going to be returning to the USA *in the same status* during the validity of the I-94. It states NOTHING about where you are going.

For a non-Canadian, who has a visa stamp in their passport, this is not an issue, since the visa gives them the opportunity to re-enter. The Canadian does not have this. Therefore the onus is on the traveler to prove that he has valid TN status in the USA. A photocopy of the front and back of the I-94 is usually sufficient if someone lifts your I-94.  I wish someone would clear this mess up ... It causes a lot of grief to TNs."

Stuart

Please feel free to contact