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LORRAINE · TN FIELD GUIDE

Does moving to a new department affect TN eligibility?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

It can, though not automatically. What matters is whether the duties actually performed still match a listed profession and remain professional in character, and whether the employer and the prearranged position are still as described. A reporting change with identical duties raises different questions than a redefined job.

Look at the duties, not the department name

Departments are internal labels; the assessment looks at what the person will do. A move that keeps the same professional work under a different manager may need little more than a corrected letter. A move that shifts the work toward tasks outside the listed profession, or toward duties that are no longer professional in nature, is a substantive issue and should be reviewed before anyone relies on the existing file.

What the rules require is that the applicant meets the listed profession's standard, and an officer at a port of entry has minutes rather than hours to reach that conclusion. Admission in the category turns on Canadian citizenship, on the Land Surveyor entry’s own degree-or-licence rule and on the American position genuinely being professional surveying. Confirm Canadian or Mexican citizenship, temporary professional activity, and an arrangement that is not substantive self-employment through the applicant’s controlled U.S. enterprise.