About TN Visa

What is TN Visa / TN Status?

TN (Trade NAFTA) status is a special non-immigrant status in the United States unique to citizens of Canada and Mexico in certain professions.

What employer needs to do?

In general term, there is no sponsorship needed for TN Visa. Therefore, there is no specific qualification requirement for employer. All employer needs to do is to issue two letters:

1 Employment offer letter, addresses to TN Visa / TN Status applicant. The applicant may be asked to show this letter by US customs and border patrol officer as an evidence of the employment.

2 TN letter, addresses to US Department of Homeland Security.

What are the critical points to write employment offer letter and TN letter?

1. Not all professions are qualified for TN Visa. For instance, in IT field, Computer Systems Analyst is the only exclusive computer TN profession. Therefore, whatever the employer designates the position title at their wish internally, in both employment offer letter and TN letter the title must be Computer Systems Analyst.

2. The length of TV Visa can not be over 3 years, renewable. This would not be a problem for contract position. However, for permanent position, in both letters the length of employment should not be stated as infinite. It would be better to state the period of employment as 3 years, renewable. Try to avoid the word “permanent” in both letters.

3. The basic academic qualification for TN Status is bachelor degree. It needs to be clearly stated in both letters.

4. Both letter needs to be written properly with company’s letterhead. Send both letters electronically to applicant in either PDF or Word format, or both.

5. Whatever the contract relationship is, TN Status must be employment relationship and cannot be self-employment. Therefore, the words “self-employment” is strictly forbidden in both letters.

Government’s Websites for TN Status

U.S. State Department information, Canadian and Mexican NAFTA professional workers
U.S. State Department update on NAFTA procedures, January 2004
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual on TN