Read the general professional work overview
Three parties often appear in one TN file: the business that wants the result, the company that signs the employment agreement, and the professional who performs the work. Only one of them is the employer whose offer TN is measured against. Set out who pays, who supervises and what the professional will actually do, because a purchase order describes a commercial outcome and never substitutes for the prearranged professional engagement the classification requires.
Identify the employer and customer roles
Hypothetical example: a Lincoln food-processing manufacturer contracts with a U.S. bottling plant to commission a new filling line, and an engineer on its own payroll travels to run the installation. The plant is the customer; the Ontario manufacturer remains the employer. Write the file that way — name the U.S. entity receiving the services, the Canadian entity paying salary, the supervisor who directs the day’s work, and the wage or fee already agreed. Attach the signed engagement, not the sales quotation. A statement of work priced by deliverable tells an officer what the customer bought; it does not state duties, hours, remuneration or the temporary period, and those are the facts a TN admission actually turns on.
Match the activity to a listed profession
TN is a list, not a general skilled-worker route. The activity must sit inside a profession named in the USMCA Appendix 2 schedule, and that entry sets its own credential rule: many professions accept a baccalaureate or licenciatura, several accept a post-secondary diploma or certificate together with three years of experience, and a few call for a state or provincial licence instead. Read the entry before settling on a job title. The principal must hold Canadian or Mexican citizenship — a work permit, a permanent-residence card or a long Canadian employment history is not citizenship. A degree awarded outside Canada, Mexico or the United States needs a credential evaluation establishing equivalence; a certified translation is a separate document that renders the text without assessing it. Experience is not a universal substitute for a required degree, and it counts only where the profession’s own entry says so.
Review the actual ownership and permission
Ownership is something officers ask about directly. Services performed for a U.S. entity that the applicant solely owns or controls fall outside what TN permits, because the arrangement is self-employment wearing an employer’s name; a minority stake, or work for a company that happens to be foreign-owned, is not a blanket exclusion, so disclose the shareholding and let it be assessed rather than leaving it out of the letter. Sequence matters as well. A Canadian citizen ordinarily requests TN admission at a port of entry or a preclearance facility with the documents in hand, or the employer files Form I-129 in advance, and no TN visa stamp is issued; a Mexican citizen ordinarily applies for the visa at a consular post before travelling. Neither route removes the requirement to intend a temporary stay, and neither supplies the practice licence a regulated profession separately demands under state law. A customer’s installation date is a commercial deadline, not authorization to begin 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.