b'TRAVELLINGTOTHEU.S.FORWORK?Avoid Delays and Refusals at the Border by Being PreparedBy Reis Pagtakhan and Jessica JensenT processing goes as smoothly as possible when applying TIGHTENING OF REGULATIONS AND U.S. LAWWith U.S. immigration regulations tightening, itsfor L status or any other status to work in the U.S.: increasingly important to pay close attention to the rules and regulations around business travel to the U.S. and to1.Make it easy for border agents to locate the materialbe as proactive and prepared as possible when it comesand information they require by having copies of to crossing the border. Recent developments at Canadianrelevant and requested documentation on hand. airports suggest that it could become more difficult for L-1The information provided to the border agent status holders to cross the border into the United States.should be consistent with the documentation L-1 status allows executives, managers and specializedprovided in the application package. knowledge employees from foreign countries to work in the U.S. for up to three years for a related U.S. company.2. Travellers should review submission materials ahead Following that, they can apply for a two-year extension. Toof time to make sure what they are telling the officer qualify, the individual seeking entry to the U.S. must haveis consistent with the information presented in the worked abroad in a similar capacity for a related companyimmigration package. Any inconsistencies can lead for one continuous year out of the three years precedingto much bigger issues such as being turned away at the filing of the L-1 petition. the border. Be prepared to answer anyAt the present time, Canadians applying for L-1 statusquestions accurately. at a point of entry for the first time are being processed in the normal fashion. However, Canadians applying for3.Thoroughly know the important details of yoursubsequent L-1 status after their old L-1 statuses havetravels such as your destination, the purpose of your expired are facing uneven treatment. While some are stilltrip and the duration of your stay.able to obtain L-status upon entry to the U.S., others are being turned back and told to apply by maila situation4.Arrive early to allow appropriate time forthat could cause untold headaches for workers (and theirquestioning to avoid rushing the appointment.employers) who conduct business in both countries. Travellers who show up at a port of entry expecting a5.Additionally, be sure to have enough cash on handrenewal or extension of their L-1 statuses run the risk ofto cover the application fees to ensure there are no being denied entry into the United States. issues with processing credit/debit cards.Given these developments, its important to ensure that any employees with L-1 statuses determine whetherIt is the individuals responsibility to prove to the officer they can apply for renewals at the border. For thosethat what he or she is actually doing is consistent with who cannot, they should file petitions well ahead of thethe immigration status for which he or she is applying. expiration dates of the original L-1s and allow substantialIf you cannot convince an officer, you run the risk of time for the applications to be processed. being refused. In addition, you run a greater risk of being Often, business travellers do not have months to wait:refused at the border if you do not have appropriate theyve already made travel plans in the immediate ordocumentation to support your request.short term, relying on the assumption that they can renewEarlier this year, we were approached by a number of their L-1s at the point of entry.different companies whose employees had been refused entry to the U.S. because they thought their employees BE PREPARED were able to work in the U.S. as business visitors. In Applications to enter the U.S. are reviewed by a realsome of these cases, the issue was quickly solved by person, not an automated system. As a result, hereobtaining the correct documentation to make the correct are some measures you can take to ensure that yourapplication. However, in other cases, documentation could 16 HRmatters www.cphrmb.ca'