IN THIS GUIDE · An opportunity presented through a staffing agency, where the employing relationship, the service contract, and the end client's duties must be mapped before the TN case is assessed
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Map the parties and the contracts between them
Ask for the actual documents rather than a description: the agreement between the agency and the professional, and the service agreement between the agency and the end client. Note who pays, who can end the assignment, who supervises daily work, and whether the professional is described as an employee or a contractor. These facts, not the wording of a job posting, are what any review of the arrangement will turn on. Make a dated chain of authority for each signature. A letter is stronger when its signer can be matched to the agreement and the stated supervision.
Describe the end client's duties precisely
The duties that matter are the ones actually performed at the end client, and they must fit the profession being claimed. Agency postings often use broad titles covering several roles at once. Ask the end client's hiring manager to describe the tasks, deliverables, tools, and reporting line, then compare that description against the agency's contract language and flag any inconsistency before it appears in two different documents. Separate invoice mechanics from employment control. The payor, worksite, supervisor and termination right should each be identified from a record.
Separate contracting from prohibited self-employment
Working through a contract is not disqualifying in itself. What is treated as prohibited self-employment is supplying services to a United States entity that the professional solely or controllingly owns, and adding an independent supervisor does not cure controlling ownership. If the professional holds, or is being offered, an interest in any entity in the chain, including an incorporated consultancy of their own, that fact belongs in front of counsel early. Use a task matrix that assigns each recurring duty to the claimed profession or flags it for further review before the support letter is finalized.
Take the whole structure to counsel before committing
Multi-party contracting arrangements are assessed on their specific documents, so a general answer about agencies has limited value. Give counsel the full chain: the agency agreement, the client service agreement, any incorporation records, and the duty description. Ask specifically whether the arrangement supports the profession claimed, whose letter should describe the position, and what should be presented at the time of entry. Keep the chosen procedure, expected entry date and assignment end date in one chronology so the presentation does not imply an open-ended engagement.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.