Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Identify the employer’s actual proposal
TN requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship, prearranged activity in a listed USMCA profession and the particular qualifications for it. Duties, remuneration and duration should describe the real engagement, not an ideal position inferred from a recruiting advertisement. Ask the employer to confirm who will supervise the work, who will pay the applicant, and whether the described duties require the listed profession. Those facts matter more than a job title. Hypothetical example: a landscape architect is offered a nine-month role preparing restoration plans for a US design firm. Before travel, she must decide whether the signed letter actually makes landscape-architecture duties central to the role. Her citizenship evidence, degree record, employer letter, compensation terms, and any required licensing record settle that question; a recruiter’s informal description does not.
Review the relationship and appropriate process
Identify the actual employer and disclose every ownership stake instead of relying on the recruiter’s summary. U.S. self-employment is not permitted; the prohibition is not limited to sole or controlling ownership of the U.S. enterprise receiving the services. A Canadian citizen may request TN admission at a U.S. port of entry without a TN visa stamp, or the U.S. employer may file Form I-129. Recruiter confidence cannot guarantee classification or entry. For a Canadian applicant, the usual process is to request TN classification during inspection with the supporting record; in appropriate circumstances, the employer can submit Form I-129 to USCIS. The chosen process does not cure an inaccurate role description. The position also cannot amount to work for a US enterprise that the applicant solely or controllingly owns, because that is prohibited self-employment.
Temporary work and credential review
For a recruiter-led proposal, review temporary intent and credentials against the employer’s actual offer rather than the advertisement. A foreign degree may need a reliable evaluation, and any licence required to practise is distinct from the TN entry credential. Disclose every ownership stake and ensure the U.S. engagement is not self-employment. Sequence the work before setting a move date: obtain the final employer letter first, compare it against the degree or other qualification evidence, then resolve any licensing issue that applies where the services will be performed. What commonly goes wrong is collecting polished records that describe different jobs. A completed review should show one consistent employer, profession, duty set, period, and qualification path.
Check the listing's own credential requirement with counsel
Nor does long experience substitute, because the Engineer entry provides no experience alternative; other entries on the list do, which is exactly why the entry has to be read rather than assumed. Check applicable practice requirements separately; the TN credential listing should not be represented as a blanket licence to perform every regulated act in the United States. A school’s new name neither supplies a missing qualification nor invalidates an otherwise relevant award; experience cannot universally replace the required education. Where the degree was granted outside Canada, Mexico or the United States, the evaluation report becomes the operative document, and it should address the listed requirement rather than general equivalence.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.