IN THIS GUIDE · An employer letter written around an internal job code: obtaining a factual description of the duties without inventing a listed profession
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Ask the employer what the code stands for
Request the internal job architecture entry behind the code: the role family, the standard responsibilities attached to it, and the level definition. Many employers maintain this documentation for compensation purposes and can share it on request. It usually converts a string such as a grade and requisition number into ordinary sentences about what the person does, which is the raw material a duty letter needs. Hypothetical example: a dental-materials analyst receives an offer whose code says only "P4". The useful first request is the manager's current task list, the products analysed, and the decision-maker who can confirm it, before anyone chooses a profession name.
Have the hiring manager describe the actual work
Internal definitions describe a category; the hiring manager describes this job. Ask for the tasks the professional will perform, the tools or methods used, who the work supports, what it produces, and how time is divided across activities. Ask for concrete examples from the current quarter. A description built from real work is both more accurate and easier to verify than an expanded code. A first review can produce a duty-by-duty comparison between the signed description and the possible schedule entry. The manager's dated confirmation, rather than a recruiter’s summary, is normally the record that settles whether a stated task is genuinely part of the position.
Do not name a profession the duties do not support
It is tempting to select a listed profession first and write the duties toward it. That inverts the analysis and risks a description that does not match the job. The duties come first; whether they fit a listed profession, and which one, is a legal judgment made afterwards. If nothing on the list fits, that is an answer worth having before an application is prepared. Separate the duties question from the credential question. Official degree records, transcripts, licences where applicable, and experience letters answer different parts of the analysis; a persuasive duty letter cannot cure a missing qualification required by the selected profession.
Take the description to counsel for the mapping
Profession listings carry precise credential requirements, and some include alternative routes. Management Consultant, for instance, includes a listed route based on five years of experience as a management consultant, or five years in a specialty related to the consulting agreement, which is not the same as any managerial employment. Counsel reads the actual listing against the actual duties before anything is filed or presented. Decide on the procedure only after the mapping is stable. A Canadian applicant may seek TN classification on entry after inspection, while an employer can request USCIS approval using Form I-129; a Mexican applicant generally needs a TN visa before seeking admission. The same factual record should support whichever procedure is chosen.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.