1. You only have 60 days.
    The second MTB petition cycle opens October 11, 2019 and closes December 10, 2019. The previous cycle opened in October 2016 and the approved petitions that were signed into law in September 2018 expire December 31, 2020.

  1. The MTB petition portal can be used to renew old petitions that have no changes, amend an older petition that has changed, or submit a brand- new petition altogether.

  2. The petition submission must be completed in one sitting, there is no “Save & Continue Later” function. Likewise, there is no “back” button.

  3. MTB Petition System accounts are created instantaneously, allowing a petitioner to submit a petition directly after creating an account.

  4. When asked for Petitioner contact information, the contact person should not be a third-party representative, i.e. a lawyer. Independent representative contact information will have its own field further along in the submission process.

  5. Use caution when uploading documents with confidential business information. If a petitioner is going to do so, very clearly bracket the confidential information.

  6. When reporting future import estimates, the “Dutiable U.S. Imports” field is not necessarily duplicative of the base estimate you provide. This estimate takes into account potential duty-free quotas with countries under various trade agreements.

  7. Before you submit the petition, it is important to click the “Print Summary” button. This function allows the petitioner to view the complete petition as it will appear to the public, with any confidential business information not viewable. It is here that a petitioner can catch anything that should not be made public BEFORE the petition is submitted.

If you require assistance in submitting MTB Petitions, contact me at megan@braumillerlaw.com.