IN THIS GUIDE · Prepare the individual case when two professionals plan related U.S. work
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Assess each professional against the listed requirements
TN requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship and qualifying temporary activity in a listed USMCA profession. Each profession has prescribed qualifications and specifically permitted alternatives; experience is not a universal degree substitute. Two people with similar titles may have different credentials or proposed responsibilities.
Keep the actual qualification records individual
Degrees from institutions outside Canada, Mexico or the United States require reliable evaluation. Translation and any licence needed for U.S. professional practice are separate matters. The employer’s willingness to hire a team cannot waive a particular person’s qualification rule or substitute a colleague’s degree.
Describe each real employer and relevant control
Providing services to a U.S. entity solely owned or controlled by the applicant is prohibited under TN. A foreign business interest alone is not a blanket bar. Explain the actual parties, ownership and duties for each person. Additional employers or engagements need the appropriate assessment rather than an assumption that a team contract creates unrestricted permission.
Coordinate dates without assuming a shared decision
Canadians generally may seek TN admission without a TN visa; Mexicans generally require one. The work must remain qualifying and temporary. An employer can propose a joint start while each applicant’s process and permission remain individual. One person’s approval does not guarantee the other’s admission or authorize their work.
The U.S. position must itself be management, described honestly
Institutions typically hold several records beyond the transcript: a degree conferral or completion letter on registrar letterhead, a certified statement naming the credential and the date awarded, the diploma itself, and in some cases a verifiable online credential record. When the duties described lean toward management, sales engineering, or a hybrid role, ask whether the offer letter can be rewritten to reflect the technical core of the position more accurately, or whether the position genuinely falls outside the profession. A Canadian citizen applies for TN at a port of entry or pre-clearance location, or the employer files Form I-129 with USCIS; no visa stamp is involved. Once the degree comparison and licensing question are answered, assemble the job offer, duty description, transcripts, evaluation report, and any licensing correspondence into one file the reviewer can assess as a whole. Engineer requires a baccalaureate or licence; Scientific Technician/Technologist requires theoretical knowledge of a discipline and the ability to solve practical problems, with the work performed in direct support of a professional in that field. A diploma means at least two years of post-secondary education at an accredited Canadian or U.S. institution; the certificate alternative has specified Mexican government or recognized-institution issuance requirements and at least two years of study. For Canadian citizens, the choice is ordinarily between seeking TN classification with supporting records when arriving for inspection and an employer's USCIS petition on Form I-129; the sequence depends on facts and planned travel. A Canadian normally requests TN classification during entry inspection or preclearance; an eligible employer can instead submit an I-129 petition to USCIS.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.