The TN visa checklist below provides a general idea of what is usually needed for Canadian or Mexican citizens working under certain professions to obtain their TN visa to work in the United States. To have a better understanding of this list, please read the TN visa overview for the big picture and review TN visa NAFTA professions list for details on what type of professions are included and what is required of each profession.
Please click to download the TN visa checklist for Canadian or Mexican professional NAFTA workers.
CONCLUSION (TLDR)
The overall emphasis on the documents and requirements/criteria of a TN visa petition is that the profession of the TN visa worker must be one of the professions listed in NAFTA and the person must be an employee of a U.S. employer or a Canadian or Mexican employer that is providing a service to a U.S. entity.
The requirements for a TN visa petition vary based on the profession and while ticking the boxes of requirements sounds simple enough, figuring out what job duties are appropriate and strategizing how the petition is presented is not. It is common practice and strongly encouraged to obtain an attorney for employment-based nonimmigrant visa petitions.
Alternatives to the TN Visa Petition
For people who do not qualify for the TN work visa, the closest alternative would be filing for an H1b visa petition (Australians can file for E-3 visa petitions) to work in the United States. Some other similar work visas include the O1A visa petition for persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics, and the H2A visa for agricultural workers.
Another possible alternative to filing a TN visa petition would be to file for a green card petition which is a permanent immigrant visa and not a temporary work visa like the TN visa. Typically, a person who is qualifiable for a TN visa would choose to file for an EB2 green card (for persons who have at least a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree and 5 years of post-college progressive work experience) or EB3 green card (for persons who have at least a bachelor’s degree). For more on green cards gained through work, please read the overview for employment-based green cards.
HAVE A TN VISA IMMIGRATION QUESTION? CONTACT US
If you have a TN work visa (Canadian or Mexican NAFTA professionals) immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
How we can help?
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify whether the TN visa is the appropriate nonimmigrant visa category for the client’s (or the client’s beneficiary’s) professional background and if there are other visa options for the client (or the client’s beneficiary). We will work closely with our client to prepare a convincing case for their (or it’s) TN visa petition and we will also strategize on how the TN visa petition should be presented to achieve the best chances of approval. It is strongly advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for a TN work visa petition due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued