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TN status
TN status is a special status for Canadian, American and Mexican non-immigrants that wish to work in the United States or Canada. Canadian citizens with a TN visa can work in specific fields in the USA and visa-versa.
In order to obtain TN status (also called TN visa or a NAFTA work visa), the applicant needs to have an offer of employment in one of the specific categories and meet specific requirements. Applicants will need to present the specific offer of employment and the necessary supporting documents to obtain an american or canadian TN visa to work. TN/NAFTA visa applications are usually presented at a port of entry or at pre-flight inspection in airports. TN status, if admissible, will then be immediately granted and the applicant will be given an I-94 card reflecting TN status.
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Who is eligible for TN status?
Only Mexican, Canadian and American professionals working in specific fields can be admitted to work in the USA and Canada under TN-1 status. Once a worker is granted a TN work visa, he may work in the United States or Canada for the employer for which the TN visa was granted. A TN professional that wishes to change employers will need to undergo the application process again. The TN applicant would need to reenter the country again to apply for a new work visa. Below is a list of professions that qualify for a TN visa application along with the required specifications:
Accountant - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or C.P.A, C.A., C.G.A., or C.M.A.
Agricultural (Agronomist) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Breeder - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Scientist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Apiculturist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Architect - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Astronomer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Biochemist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Chemist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
College teacher - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Computer Systems Analyst - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate and three years experience
Dairy Scientist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Dentist - D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor enOdontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental or state/provincial license
Dietician - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Economist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Engineer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Entomologist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Epidemiologist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Forester - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Geneticist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geochemist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico and the United States) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Graphic Designer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or post-secondary diploma and three years experience
Horticulturist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Hotel Manager - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree in hotel/restaurant management; or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate in hotel/restaurant management and three years experience in hotel/restaurant management
Industrial Designer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate, and three years experience
Insurance Claims Adjuster - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree and training in insurance adjustment for disaster relief claims; or three years experience in claims adjustment and training in insurance adjustment for disaster relief claims
Interior Designer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate, and three years experience
Land Surveyor - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree or state/provincial/federal license
Landscape Architect - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Lawyer (including Notary in the province of Quebec) - L.L.B., J.D., L.L.L., B.C.L., or Licenciatura degree (five years); or membership in a state/provincial bar
Librarian - M.L.S. or B.L.S. (for which another Baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree was prerequisite)
Management Consultant - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or equivalent professional experience as established by statement or professional credential attesting to five years experience as a management consultant, or five years experience in a field of specialty related to the consulting agreement
Mathematician (including statistician) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)/Medical Technologist (Mexico and the United States) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or post secondary diploma or post secondary certificate, and three years experience
Meteorologist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Nutritionist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Occupational Therapist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state provincial license
Pharmacist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state provincial license
Pharmacologist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Physician (teaching or research only) - M.D., Doctor enMedicina; or state/provincial license
Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Plant Breeder - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Poultry Scientist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Psychologist - State/provincial license; or Licenciatura degree
Range Manager/Range Conservationist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Recreational Therapist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Registered Nurse - State/provincial license or Licenciatura degree
Research Assistant (working in a post-secondary educational institution) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Scientific Technician/ Technologist - Possession of (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the following disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research
Seminary teacher - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree University - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Social Worker - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Soil Scientist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Sylviculturist (including forestry) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Technical Publications Writer - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree, or post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate, and three years experience
Urban Planner (including Geographer) - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Veterinarian - D.V.M., D.M.V., or Doctor enVeterinaria; or state/provincial license
Vocational Counselor - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Zoologist - Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Duration of stay and extension of a TN visa
The period of stay for a TN work visa is between 1 and 3 years. A TN visa holder may request an extension of his stay.
Termination of employment under TN status
Once a TN worker stops working for the employer for which the TN visa was granted, he is expected to leave the country withing 10 days.
Children and dependents
The spouse and children of TN status professionals may apply for a TD status in order to accompany the applicant in the country as long as they are citizens or permanent residents in the applicant's country of origin. Although a TD status does not allow them to work in the United States, they can live with a TN professional and go to school.
Be advised
TN status application can be perceived to be straight forward. A TN professional must be very well prepared for his TN application. A denial due to many factors is always a challenge to overcome. Many TN classifications such as Management Consultant and Scientific Technician are always under high scrutiny.
Please contact our staff for a free consultation before applying for TN status. Applicants are never too prepared for their TN status application.
Please note that different port of entries and even different USCIS/CBP officers within the same port of entry can have different interpretations of the TN applicant title, duties and qualifications. We at USA VISA EXPRESS monitor the different port of entries and their interpretation of NAFTA. Our FREE CONSULTATION again would be useful before applying for a TN. When applying for a TN be alert and answer only the questions that are asked. If you feel your TN application will be denied it is recommended to withdraw your TN application and consult TN/US Immigration consultants. A TN denial is always complex to correct. When applying for the TN you may also ask to consult a US immigration Supervisor or NAFTA specialist.
Further inquiries
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