Read the general professional work overview
Encouragement is cheap and prearranged professional work is not. Before anyone assembles employment evidence, write down what the U.S. employer has actually committed to: the employer of record, the job title, the duties, the dates of the engagement and the pay. If those five facts cannot be stated without hedging, there is no TN offer yet, only interest. This worksheet separates the two, then shows which document settles each remaining question.
Identify the actual commitment
Hypothetical example: a Fort Erie warehouse-automation analyst is told by a U.S. contact to keep the conversation going about a role that has not yet been budgeted. That is interest, not employment. Ask for the support letter in writing and read it for the five facts an officer will look for: the employer of record, the listed professional activity, the duties in plain language, the dates of the engagement, and the salary or fee. A letter describing a project the employer hopes to win, or leaving the start date open, describes an intention rather than a job. Presenting an exploratory conversation as an agreed appointment is the failure this page exists to prevent, because it invites a finding that the work was never prearranged.
Apply the profession and credential requirements
Three separate gates decide whether this person can fill that offer. First, citizenship: a TN principal must be a citizen of Canada or Mexico, and Canadian permanent residence does not qualify however long it has been held. Second, the work must fall within a profession listed in USMCA Appendix 2; a job title invented by the employer is worth nothing if the underlying activity is not on the list. Third, the applicant must satisfy that listed profession’s own rule, and the entries do not share one standard. Some accept a baccalaureate, some demand a specific licence, and only a few allow stated years of experience in place of a degree, so read the entry for the exact profession instead of assuming experience is generally interchangeable. A degree earned outside Canada, Mexico or the United States needs a reliable credential evaluation, which is a different document from a translation and cannot be replaced by one.
Explain the arrangement and permission
Two questions remain once the offer is real: who employs the professional, and how admission actually happens. Name the employing entity and disclose any stake the applicant holds in it. Working in the United States for a company the applicant alone owns or controls falls outside what this classification permits, because it covers prearranged work for an employer rather than self-employment. A minority holding, or foreign ownership of the employer, is not a blanket bar, and the real structure should be assessed rather than assumed. On process, a Canadian citizen can normally request admission in this category at a port of entry, or through an employer-filed I-129, without obtaining a visa stamp, while a Mexican citizen normally obtains the visa first. Neither route waives temporary intent, and neither substitutes for a state practice licence where the profession requires one. Accompanying dependants admitted in TD status may enrol in study but are not authorized to work.
What else is on your mind?
Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.