TN Professionals (Canada and Mexico)
TN is the professional category the United States, Mexico, and Canada created for each other’s citizens. There is no cap, no lottery, and no petition to wait on in the ordinary case. A Canadian citizen can often be admitted the same day at a port of entry; a Mexican citizen applies for a TN visa at a consulate first.
What makes TN fast also makes it brittle. The profession list is closed, each profession carries its own credential requirement, and the officer decides in minutes on the documents in front of them. A case that is not clean on paper is refused in the moment, and a refusal follows you. We prepare TN applications to be decided correctly the first time.
At a glance
Who TN serves
TN works best when the profession, the credential, and the job description line up without argument. Most of our TN work is making sure they do before anyone stands at a counter.
The category is generous about speed and rigid about fit. Your profession has to be on the list and your credential has to be the one that profession requires.
There is no petition in the ordinary case, so the employer letter carries the weight the petition would. It has to describe a professional position, not a job the officer can reclassify.
Some roles simply are not on the list, some credentials do not match, and some plans make temporary intent impossible to maintain. Those cases need a different instrument.
What the officer checks
A TN application is decided quickly on a small number of points. Each one has a clean answer or it does not.
Self-employment is not permitted under TN. A Canadian or Mexican citizen who owns the sponsoring company should expect scrutiny, and often needs a different classification.
Common questions
TN is professional status under the USMCA agreement for Canadian and Mexican citizens working in one of the listed professions. There is no cap and no lottery, the credential requirements are specific to each profession, and Canadians can often be admitted at the border while Mexican citizens apply at a consulate.
Admissions run up to three years, and TN renews in three-year increments with no fixed overall ceiling, as long as the employment and the intent remain temporary in character.
Yes. An extension can be filed with USCIS on Form I-129, which avoids travel, or you can apply again at a port of entry or consulate. Which is better depends on timing and on how much travel you have planned.
No. TD dependents may live in the United States and study, but they are not authorized to work. Where a spouse needs to work, that becomes a separate filing on its own facts.
Do not simply try again at a different port. We look at what the officer actually found deficient, fix it on the record, and decide whether to reapply or to change instruments.
Schedule a call. You will get a straight answer on whether it works, what it would take, and what it costs. Or you can email using the details below.