IN THIS GUIDE · TN entry from Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover: the occupation decides, not the job title
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
The occupation must appear on the list, spelled out
There is no category of work that is close enough. Appendix 2 names its occupations individually — Accountant, Architect, Computer Systems Analyst, Economist, Engineer, Graphic Designer, Industrial Designer, Interior Designer, Land Surveyor, Lawyer, Librarian, Management Consultant, Technical Publications Writer, Urban Planner and the rest, together with a defined set of medical and scientific occupations and, for teaching, only college, seminary and university teachers. Occupations that sound professional but are absent cannot be admitted under a neighbouring heading: a production manager, an operations manager, a business or data analyst, a K-12 teacher, or any skilled trade such as electrician, welder or cabinetmaker has no TN entry. The first task is therefore to hold the written duties against the list and pick the entry that genuinely fits, or conclude that none does.
Citizenship, and only citizenship
TN is open to citizens of Canada and Mexico. Canadian permanent residence, however long held and however settled the family, does not create eligibility, and this is the single most common misunderstanding among people who have lived in Quebec for decades on a PR card. A Canadian citizen normally presents the file to a CBP officer at a land border port of entry or at preclearance and receives admission without a visa stamp; alternatively the U.S. employer may file Form I-129 with USCIS in advance, which some employers prefer for planning reasons. A Mexican citizen ordinarily applies for a TN visa at a U.S. consulate first. The route into the status differs; the underlying occupational test does not.
Employment by someone else, not self-employment
The position must be prearranged with a U.S. employer that will direct the work. Self-employment in the United States is not permitted under TN, and the boundary is drawn by control rather than by the wording of an agreement. Invoicing a U.S. client through your own Quebec corporation, or arriving to run a U.S. business you own, does not become employment because a contract calls it a service engagement. A minority holding in a Canadian company you leave behind is usually a different matter, but it should be disclosed with its percentage and its relationship to the U.S. work, so that an officer is not left to reconstruct the arrangement from an incomplete answer at the counter.
What travels with the status, and what does not
Admission is granted for a defined period and may be extended, but TN is temporary by design and each extension is examined afresh against the same occupational test. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 may be admitted in TD status; TD holders may study in the United States, and they may not accept employment, which regularly surprises households where both adults work. If the accompanying spouse intends to earn, that intention needs its own route and its own filing rather than an assumption that dependent status will stretch. Nothing in TN leads by itself toward permanent residence, and nothing in it authorises work for an employer other than the one named.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.