[Afton]

IANAL, but am a Canadian. My belief is that TN status is a "non-immigrant" status. It is, by definition, temporary. Applying for a GC declares immigrant intent. H1B, by contrast is 'dual-intent'.

OTOH, I don't think they actively seek you out to revoke your TN status, but it would make border crossings pretty much a non-starter.

All this is remembered from when I was on a TN status from Canada ~5 years ago.

[8note]

how do border crossings go for TNs. I'm about to get one, and am planning on visiting back reasonably frequently. Is that a problem at all?

[spoonie]

My friends recommend signing up for the Nexus program to facilitate speedy crossings. As I understand it you are effectively re-applying for your TN at every re-entry and could be rejected. That said, my friends all go back to Canada many times a year without issues.

[YZF]

Not a problem in practice. I crossed the border dozens of times with a TN (I actually lived in Canada but worked in the US) and know of many others. Generally as long as you aren't in violation of the intent of TN you should have nothing to worry about.