Read the general professional work overview
Most TN problems are classification problems wearing a paperwork costume. Before assembling anything, decide which named USMCA occupation the work actually is, then read that entry’s own qualification rule and collect only what it asks for. A file organised in that order produces three clean groups of documents: proof of citizenship, proof that the specific entry’s requirement is met, and a description of duties that matches the entry rather than the employer’s internal job architecture.
Name the occupation before you name the documents
Hypothetical example: Bastien runs mechanical and thermal testing on polymer samples at a Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover moulding plant and is offered work at a materials laboratory in Indiana, where the internal title would be Laboratory Operations Lead. That title appears nowhere in Appendix 2. The entry that fits is Scientific Technician or Technologist, and it is unusual: it requires theoretical knowledge in a listed scientific discipline together with the ability to solve practical problems in that discipline, and the work must be in direct support of a professional in one of those disciplines. So the first document to obtain is not a transcript but a letter from the U.S. laboratory naming the chemist or engineer he will support and describing the support relationship.
Read the qualification branch that actually applies to you
Appendix 2 entries do not share a single standard. Some require a baccalaureate or licenciatura. Some accept a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus a defined number of years of experience. A few, such as Management Consultant, allow an experience-only route, and others turn on a licence. Bastien’s entry does not ask for a degree in the ordinary way at all, which changes what the file should contain: coursework and technical training records evidencing theoretical knowledge, plus a factual account of the practical problem-solving he does. Collect the evidence the entry names, and resist the instinct to pad the file with impressive documents it never asked for, which mostly invites questions about the ones it did.
Keep citizenship and duties in their own lanes
Three groups of documents, kept apart, make a file readable. Citizenship is proved by a Canadian or Mexican passport or citizenship certificate; a permanent residence card does not establish it and should not be offered in its place. Qualification is proved by whatever the entry requires, with a credential evaluation where the credential is foreign to both countries. Duties are proved by an employer letter naming the position, the worksite, the salary, the anticipated period and a description written in the vocabulary of the Appendix 2 entry rather than of the company’s org chart. Where French-language documents are involved, arrange certified translations early rather than at the counter.
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.