Read the general professional work overview
A general human-resources letter and a technical manager’s description may disagree about the proposed position. Reconcile the actual facts before assembling the TN file. The goal is an accurate account of the work, not matching terminology for its own sake. Hypothetical example: an analog sound-archive cataloguer is offered a digitisation role, but the employer letter calls the position an archivist while the duty schedule describes routine scanning. The decision is whether the signed duties and qualification records support the claimed listed profession before any presentation. A Canadian or Mexican citizen may request TN classification during inspection or preclearance, or an employer may use an I-129 petition with USCIS; TN cannot cover work through a U.S. enterprise the applicant owns or controls.
Identify the factual disagreement
Hypothetical example: human resources describes a permanent support role while the manager describes a defined engineering assignment. List the duties, reporting relationship, work locations and intended duration each document describes. Ask the employer which account is accurate and what explains the difference. An ongoing job is not itself the same question as whether entry is genuinely temporary; have those issues assessed separately. Create a comparison sheet with the offer, support letter, résumé and credential records in separate columns. Mark the source that settles each duty, degree, licence or dates-of-employment statement.
Resolve the profession and credential questions
TN requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship, a listed profession, accepted profession-specific qualifications and prearranged professional employment. Determine which actual duties support the profession claimed before ordering more academic evidence. A degree from an institution outside Canada, Mexico and the United States requires a reliable foreign-credential evaluation. Foreign-language records submitted to USCIS require full English translations certified for accuracy, completeness and translator competence. Obtain corrections from the person who can truthfully make them before assembling translations or exhibits. It is safer to resolve a contradiction at its source than to explain it after the file is complete.
Keep the correction traceable
Have the appropriate employer representative confirm the current description with the actual signature date. Preserve superseded versions and explain substantive changes, especially if a document was already submitted. Do not ask either writer to certify facts outside their knowledge. Give the reviewer the reconciled evidence and any unresolved question rather than leaving them to choose between two inconsistent job descriptions. A corrected letter supports review; it does not guarantee the TN decision. What goes wrong is often small but material: an unsigned schedule, a title without duties, or a credential that does not match the identity documents. The record, rather than a later verbal explanation, should settle each point.
What else is on your mind?
Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.