Optimizing TN and L Petitions Submitted to CBP

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is attempting to steer TN and L applicants to certain ports of entry and pre-flight inspection facilities in Canada for “optimal” processing. TN and L petitions can still be submitted at any Class A port of entry. However, CBP has designated certain ports of entry “that will ensure a more efficient approach to processing the high volume of TN and L applicants.”

The list includes major airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Quebec, as well as ten major land port of entries, including Highgate, Derby Line, Alexandria Bay, Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, Champion, Detroit Canada Tunnel, Detroit Ambassador Bridge, Blaine Peace Arch, and Sweetgrass, MT. The CBP website also lists preferred time for the presentation of petitions, with most ports favoring times in the middle of the week. They really need to accommodate applicants on the weekend as well, since many working in the U.S. will drive to the border to renew over the weekend.

Time will tell how this plays out, but I am skeptical. In the old days, the ports used to have Free Trade Officers who were expert in NAFTA matters.  They would usually take a reasoned approach to adjudications, and were amenable to hearing from attorneys on more technical points. Since 9/11, that has fallen by the wayside, and there have only been limited attempts by the agency to cultivate and put forth such expertise. Meanwhile, adjudications at the border have become increasingly erratic. These tendencies of border adjudicators have led some attorneys to opt for the less convenient processing that is possible with USCIS.

If the agency is going to do this, I would suggest that it is needed at more than 10 land ports. There are many, many more ports of entry on the Canadian border, and they all should have expertise in NAFTA matters.

Further, it is a little concerning that CBP highlights as the impetus for this program “the need for a more efficient approach to processing high volume of TN and L applicants.” Efficiency can mean many things, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but it’s not usually the first word that comes to mind when someone seeks an adjudication of a matter. Fairness is what most people seek first.

All this said, building a bank of NAFTA expertise within the agency is much needed, and this is possibly a start.