Last Update: November 6, 1998

The ScAtTeReD Journal of a Trade Dependent



My TD experience all starts in about the middle of February, 1996. For the previous ten months, my boyfriend had been searching for a job in the field of computer science. Despite his fresh degree in hand and even a little experience in the field, interview after interview turned up nothing. It wasn't that these companies didn't want to hire a bright new employee, it was that these companies COULD NOT hire a bright new employee in the area my husband was interested in. Those of you Canadians understand the lack of employment opportunities in the country, especially for young men and women coming out of post-secondary institutions.

The lack of employment opportunities in Western Canada sent my boyfriend southward-bound. He began to look for a job in the United States. Within the first few days of exploring this option, we found the immigration webpage of Joseph Grasmick. Soon after this, interested potential employers started flooding my boyfriend with phone calls and email. Many of the potential employers were located in the eastern United States, and I was terrified that we would have to move a great distance from our friends and family.

Eventually my boyfriend spoke with a company in San Jose, California. Suddenly the prospect of moving to the United States wasn't looking so bad--San Jose being only about a thirteen hour drive from our home just south of Vancouver, B.C. The man whom my boyfriend spoke to had been having great difficulty finding someone to fill a technical support position in the company. Despite one year of system administration experience, my boyfriend was interested in this job for the opportunity of relocation and possibly further advancement within the company. This particular company was not fearful of the prospect of importing a Canadian employee, as the company owner himself was on a TN visa.

One week after his first telephone interview, my boyfriend was getting on a plane at the airport in Bellingham, Washington, and headed for San Jose, California to work at ClariNet Communications. I was left up in Canada with our then three month old son, Kyle, with no legal avenue to join my boyfriend in the United States.

I was never a person who believed that marriage made a relationship whole. I never had any reason to be married to my boyfriend; We had a child together. Our relationship with our child is life-long, which is more than I can say for the marriage certificates of many of our friends. I wasn't worried about splitting my time between my boyfriend in the US and my legal residence in Canada--afterall, I had crossed that border at least once every week on average since the time I was born.

Right from the start, going down to visit my boyfriend became extremely difficult. I was questioned at customs and immigration, I was refused entry into the country without having $50 US per day I would be visiting, I was told that I was not allowed to visit for longer than one month (despite the fact that you can legally vacation in the US for up to 6 months) at a time, I was made to produce return plane tickets for exactly one month from the time I was leaving. I went through great expense (both monetary and emotional) in order to keep my family together.

During the ten months I spent crossing the border every month or so, I was unable to attend school in either country. I could not attend school in Canada because I was spending almost as much time in the United States as I was Canada, and I could not attend school in the United States because I had no legal status in the United States. By September of 1996, I gave up returning to Canada for fear that I would no longer be permitted to enter the United States. I stayed on an extended visit with my (now) husband, and our family and friends came to California to see us. However, we had to return to Canada in December of 1996 for Christmas with our families. We both knew in our hearts that they would not allow myself and our son to return to the United States. On December 24th at 12:01am my husband and I were married, in Vancouver, B.C. Less than a week later, I was a legal resident of California.

I must've been crazy to think that my visa would solve all the problems.. It solved one problem, finally the United States government recognized my family as being a real family in the eyes of the law. And then there was more red-tape.

The first thing I did was go to get my social security number (SSN). Afterall, in the United States you're a number and not a name..without this number, you cannot get a driver's licence, a bank account, student number at a school..etc. Boy was I surprised when they said "No" to my request for a SSN. Afterall, I had made absolutely SURE that I would be able to get a SSN prior to even being married, late in 1996. I specifically asked them if all I would need was my birth certificate and my visa, and they said that yes, that was ALL I would need. Now suddenly the story was changing. Apparently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) decided to change the rules in December, and it now being January I was completely ineligable for a SSN. So I asked the SSA how I was supposed to get my drivers licence (legally required within 10 days after taking up residence in the state of California) without a SSN. They had absolutely NO idea how this was to be done. You see, the SSA decided to change the rules before they implemented a process by which to identify yourself with a number other than a SSN.

Finally in FEBRUARY (yes, over a month later) of 1997, I got a straight answer about my SSN. By this time, I had been driving "illegally" on my British Columbia drivers licence for over four weeks. The man on the 1-800 for SSA told me that I had to go into the local DMV and take the driver's test, pass it, and then go back to the SSA in order to get a SSN to take back to the DMV to have my licence issued. So, I immediately went to the DMV expecting "no problem ma'am", but rather I was met with confused looks and dirty glares. The DMV had absolutely NO IDEA about this process, and absolutely REFUSED to test me without my SSN first!

I have given up on the hope of getting a California state driver's licence...I've even been ID'd at the grocery store while buying wine and have had them ask the manager if they could ACCEPT my British Columbia driver's licence as ID. I suppose I just have to laugh it all off, it's a non-issue these days.



By summer I tried to get my permit from the DMV. Despite screaming child, I managed to pass the test. I took the permit to the SSA and after about 10 minutes of arguing and convincing, I was finally issued a SSN. By then I was pregnant with our second son, and I didn't take the driving test.

This Fall, Linda Deck, myself, and a number of other TN and TD visa holders put together a package of letters appealing to the Chapter 16 Working Group. They were supposed to be meeting near the end of 1997 and had agreed to look over and discuss our letters. As I write this, it's January of 1998 and the Chapter 16 Working Group has failed to meet legal mandate and meet in 1997 to discuss the issue of spousal employment.

In the middle of the whole letter-writing issue, Mason was born. 8lb 14oz, and an American citizen. The child, who didn't exist before any of this, has more rights in this country than his own mother.



Two weeks after Mason was born, myself and the kids went up to Vancouver. We went to the airport a few hours early in order to upgrade because I had the two babies. I was with my mom and my husband was at work. It was a good thing we'd gone early, I needed permission to take my kids out of the country. That confirms it, if for any reason I wanted to flee I wouldn't be allowed out of the US with our children unless my husband permitted it. I made him sign a notarized letter stating I was allowed to take the children out of the country. I keep it in the diaper bag.

In December, I finally completed my application to SJSU. Yet another barrier, I had to wait until the return of the lady who determines resident status from vacation. Her name is Jillana Hart. Finally, Jillana came back from vacation only to tell me that she had no idea if I would be able to be a resident or not. This was quite surprising, as back in 1996 I went to the International Student Advising Office at SJSU and was told that I would be considered a resident after one year on my visa. Jillana asked her supervisor (she herself having never heard of or seen a TD visa before) and the supervisor told her that I was exempt from establishing residency. By this time it was January.

I wish I could put into words how that made me feel. I wouldn't be able to go to school unless I could come up with about $6500 for tuition that semester. I was very upset. There's a little bit of hope, however, I'm allowed to appeal the decision with a lady in LA. Jillana gave me the name of the lady--Olivia Sanchez. I tracked Olivia Sanchez down on the web and got her phone number. I called.

For the first few minutes on the telephone, I was speaking to someone else who was relaying my messages to Olivia Sanchez. She didn't want to talk to me. I insisted. The only thing I needed to know from Ms. Sanchez is the reason my visa excluded me from establishing residency. I'm not sure she knows, she tells me the "typical" reasons why.

Today, January 19th, I found a copy of the Education Code. It says that you can be a resident unless the Immigration and Nationality Act excludes you from establishing residency. I'm not excluded from establishing residency in the INA...What gives? We'll have to wait eight weeks (backlog) until Ms. Sanchez finally gets to my appeal.

Today I also found out that the lawyer doing our RIR for the Green Card application almost quit our case over some of the e-mail that I sent him. Most of the e-mail was forwards from other lawyers agreeing that he was being a little neurotic in his collection of information for the RIR. I guess he was a little upset by it all. I can't really blame him, but it has been a year now since we first contacted his law office about the Green Cards.. and we've yet to file even the first piece of paper. I'm frustrated. We're renewing our visas right now..hopefully they'll be extended or else we'll have to leave the country. I was just starting to get used to it here, too.

I'm not sure what all this hurry is over the Green Card anyways. In a way I'd like to start it all and get it over with.. but another part of me doesn't want to have to endure the months (maybe years) of boredom while waiting for the Green Card to be approved. If we leave the United States during the process, without formal permission ("Advanced Parole") we'll be considered to be abandoning the Green Card process and will have to start all over again. I'm going to miss my family and friends up in Vancouver.

Because we're here on non-immigrant visas and we're applying for Green Cards (immigration) we might not be able to renew our visas. It's called dual intent, and as TN/TDs we're not allowed dual intent (it's not specifically permitted)... The ironic part about this is that we would be perfectly happy to remain non-immigrants if I was permitted a normal lifestyle here. The Green Card will mean I can finally work, and by the time we've completed the Green Card process my kids will be old enough that I'll probably want to go back to work.

The Working Group eventually met. December 15th, 1997. Talk about right at the line. They met in Mexico, but we don't know what was said yet. We have the summaries from previous meetings. I sent a FOIA request to see if I can't get any more information.

The Working Group formed a US group to look at the spousal employment issue. Now maybe we'll get somewhere, right? Good luck.


I got my appeal decision back from SJSU yesterday (Feb. 12). Denied. The arguments made by Linda MacAllister at CSU were completely off, however. She kept referring to "permanent residence" as meaning residence when they are two different things. I'm sending her a letter on Monday.

She never answered that letter. Here it is, three months later, and we finally spoke on the phone. She has some good arguments (must've consulted someone else).. and I buy into them, partially.. but I still think I have some pretty good arguments myself. I'm finally going to give up, it's not worth how terrible I feel each and every time I am let down.

Okay it has been a few months since I've written anything here and a lot has happened.. I'm taking courses at De Anza getting the general education requirements done.. Today I got accepted to SJSU, which is why I'm writing this. I'm still considered a non-resident but a lot has happened with that..

About three weeks ago (in October) a lawsuit was filed on my behalf against CalState. I think they have about another week or two to respond to it. Now that I'm accepted, my lawyer's going to file an injunction against the school so that I get resident tuition while this is being worked out. Registration starts in three days, however..and the injunction will take about a month. We'll see what happens with that.

Sooo, meanwhile I've managed to get into a distance program through the University of Victoria. As irony would have it, it was the program I wanted to take while still in BC anyways! So, I'm really enjoying that but I need the on-campus interaction of a university... I'm kicking myself for not having known about their distance degree when we first moved down here, I'd be finished by now and I may have saved myself a whole lot of depression in the early days.

I expect I'll hear something from CalState in response to the lawsuit in the next week or two... I'll try to add to the journal when that happens. I hope I'll have good news.

One more thing! The working group met last month ... no resolution to the spousal employment issue, but that was completely expected. I think my only way to ever be able to work again is to finish my degree and get my own TN or H-1B. That's why I have to keep fighting to go to SJSU...

I just got an email from someone who've developed into somewhat of a friend through all of this. She was a TD and just got her H-4. Guess what? CalState is considering her a resident immediately!!! They told me I'd have to wait another year or else we would've made the switch and I would be registering as we speak, without all these lawyers bills! I'm so frustrated!