Read the general professional work overview
A Pointe-des-Cascades applicant may receive an offer describing services for a customer of the proposed employer. Explain the actual entities and work without treating the customer’s project name as the whole TN arrangement. The first review should produce an entity-and-duty chart, the profession selected from the TN list, and a document list tied to each claim. A Canadian may request classification from an inspecting officer when seeking entry, or the employer may submit Form I-129 to USCIS; neither route permits disguised self-employment. Hypothetical example: a woodwind-pad acoustics consultant is assigned through an engineering firm to improve a musical-instrument maker’s sealing process. The decision is whether the employer, duties, credential, and control described in the records support the selected professional category.
Identify the real duties and relationships
Record who offers the professional work, the customer’s role and the services actually proposed. Hypothetical example: an employer letter names a project but does not explain what the applicant will do. Obtain an accurate description rather than replacing the missing duties with a generic project summary. Ask whose work is supervised, who pays, and who may end the assignment, then match those answers to the support letter and contract. A project name is only a label; the record that settles the point is the agreement and the actual duty description. Resolve a mismatch before choosing a filing route.
Test the individual’s profession and credentials
TN requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship and the prescribed qualifications for a listed professional activity. A customer’s request does not create a new listed profession. Experience is not universally interchangeable with a required degree, and degrees from institutions outside Canada, Mexico or the United States require reliable foreign-credential evaluation, separate from translation. Read the selected listing before ordering evaluations or asking the employer to finalize its letter. The concrete choice is whether the available credential satisfies that listing, whether another stated route applies, or whether the proposed work needs a different analysis. A translation explains language; it does not establish equivalency.
Keep the temporary arrangement and ownership clear
Describe actual compensation and intended duration. Services to a U.S. entity solely owned or controlled by the applicant are prohibited under TN. Do not assume that inserting another company’s name resolves the real ownership or employment issue. The consultation should identify the arrangement that exists, not manufacture a stronger-looking chain of documents. Map ownership, payment, and direction of work before relying on an intermediary contract. The decision is whether the applicant is genuinely working for an independent U.S. employer rather than performing services through a paper arrangement for a controlled business. Correct disclosure is more useful than a chain of labels that obscures control.
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.