How the TN visa works

For Canadian and Mexican professionals

Who qualifies

All four of these have to be true:

1. You are a citizen of Canada or Mexico. Permanent residents of those countries do not qualify.
2. You have a job offer from a U.S. employer (or a foreign employer contracting your work to a U.S. company) in a profession on the TN list.
3. You hold that profession’s credential, usually a bachelor’s degree or licenciatura in the field. A few professions accept a licence, a diploma plus three years’ experience, or experience alone.
4. The job itself is professional work in that profession, and the stay is temporary. You cannot work for a company you own or control.

The degree has to fit the profession, not just the job title. An economics degree does not make you a TN Engineer, even in an engineering job.

The professions

The list has four groups: general professions (Engineer, Accountant, Computer Systems Analyst, Management Consultant and 21 more), medical and allied professionals (Registered Nurse, Pharmacist, Physical Therapist and others), scientists (Chemist, Biologist, Agronomist and 20 more) and college, seminary or university teachers. Nothing outside the list can be a TN, however senior or well paid.

• Physician is teaching or research only. Clinical practice does not qualify.
• Research Assistant must be at a college or university.
• Scientific Technician must work in direct support of a scientist or engineer, who should be named in the letter.
• Registered Nurse needs a U.S. state licence (NCLEX) and a VisaScreen certificate. Practical and vocational nurses (LPN/LVN) are not on the list.
• Software roles go in as Engineer with an engineering degree, otherwise as Computer Systems Analyst, and the letter should describe analysis and design, not coding alone.

How to apply

Canadians need no visa. At a U.S. port of entry or airport preclearance, you show:

• proof of Canadian citizenship (your passport)
• the employer’s support letter (see below)
• your degree, transcripts and any licence, plus a credential evaluation if your degree is from outside the U.S. or Canada

The officer decides on the spot and, if approved, issues an I-94 record showing TN status. Alternatively the employer can file Form I-129 with USCIS before you travel.

Mexicans first get a TN visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate in Mexico: the online DS-160 form, the visa fee, and an interview where you bring the same documents. With the visa in your passport you are then admitted at the border.

Either way, bring originals, keep the letter specific, and make sure the job title, the TN profession and your degree tell the same story.

Once you have it

• Each admission is for up to three years, and can be renewed without a lifetime limit, as long as the work stays temporary and professional.
• TN status belongs to one employer. To change jobs you need a new TN for the new employer before you start; you can hold TN with two employers at once if each one is approved.
• Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come in TD status. They may study but may not work.
• If the job ends, there is a grace period of up to 60 days (or until your I-94 ends, if sooner) to find a new TN employer, change status or leave.
• TN is for temporary work. Starting a green card while on TN is possible but can make renewals and border crossings harder, so talk to an immigration lawyer before your employer files.

For employers

What it takes (less than you think)

• No petition is required for a Canadian at the border or a Mexican at the consulate.
• No lottery and no annual cap.
• No Labor Condition Application and no prevailing wage filing.
• The start date can be days away for a Canadian hire, a few weeks for a Mexican hire (the consular appointment).

What you do provide is a support letter, and a normal offer at professional pay. Many employers have an immigration attorney write the letter; some do it in-house once they have a template.

The support letter

On company letterhead, signed by someone with hiring authority. It should state:

• the TN profession the job falls under, in the words of the list (for example “Engineer” or “Computer Systems Analyst”)
• the job title and a description of the duties that shows they are professional work in that profession
• the education the job requires, and that the candidate has it (name the degree and school)
• the start date and the expected length of the job, up to three years
• the salary and any other pay
• where the work happens

Most refusals come from the letter: duties that read as sales or general management, a profession that does not match the candidate’s degree, or a vague job description. Specific beats long.

After the hire

• Complete Form I-9 as usual: the employee’s passport with the TN I-94 record is the work authorisation.
• Track the I-94 end date. To extend, file Form I-129 with USCIS before it lapses, or have the employee reapply at the border (Canadians) or consulate (Mexicans).
• A material change in the job, such as different duties, may need a new TN. A raise does not.
• If you plan to sponsor a green card, sequence it with the employee’s TN renewals; ask your attorney before filing PERM or I-140.

Say it in the posting

“We do not sponsor visas” is written with H-1B in mind, and it turns away Canadian and Mexican professionals who need no petition at all. If you would hire on TN, say so: “TN candidates are welcome; we provide the support letter.” Find TN Visa Jobs reads every posting for exactly this, and puts jobs that say it first.

Hiring on TN? Contact us →

Official sources

• USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals
• U.S. State Department: visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA professional workers
• 8 CFR 214.6, the TN regulation and its list of professions

Match labels are informational and do not constitute legal advice.

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