Chapter 3 - Documentation and Evidence

A. Filing Requirements

1. Canadian Citizens

Canadian citizens residing outside the United States may choose to file a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with USCIS requesting initial TN status. Canadian citizens may also file Form I-129 if requesting an extension of status while currently in valid TN status, or if requesting a change of status to TN from another valid nonimmigrant status. Canadian citizens usually do not need a visa as a TN professional,^[1] although the U.S. Department of State (DOS) can issue a visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate to qualified Canadian TN visa applicants upon request. A Canadian citizen without a TN visa may also apply for TN nonimmigrant status at a U.S. port of entry.^[2]

2. Mexican Citizens

Mexican citizens must file a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with USCIS if requesting an extension of status while currently in valid TN status, or if requesting a change of status to TN from another valid nonimmigrant status. Mexican citizens residing outside the United States must apply for a TN visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate.^[3]

B. Evidence

1. Business Activity Requirements

The applicant for TN nonimmigrant classification must demonstrate that he or she will engage in business activities in the United States at a professional level in a profession listed in NAFTA/USMCA. The alien must provide documentation describing the professional activities that he or she will perform for the U.S. employer or entity, including a summary of the daily job duties, if appropriate.^[4]

2. Degree Requirements

If a profession requires a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, experience cannot be substituted for that degree. In some professions, an alternative to a bachelor's degree is listed. For some professions, experience is required in addition to the degree.^[5]

Degrees, diplomas, or certificates received by the alien from an educational institution outside of the United States, Canada, or Mexico must be accompanied by an evaluation by a reliable credentials evaluation service that specializes in evaluating foreign educational credentials.^[6]

Experiential evidence should be in the form of letters from former employers. If the alien was formerly self-employed, business records attesting to that self-employment must be submitted.

3. Professional License Requirements

The alien must meet applicable license requirements to practice a licensed profession in the U.S. state in which the alien intends to practice.^[7]

In certain circumstances, although a profession may generally require licensing, there may be duties within the occupation that do not require licensing. A state may require a profession to be licensed for certain activities but not for all activities engaged in by the profession.

For example, a dentist must possess a license in the United States to practice dentistry, but if a Canadian or Mexican citizen is coming to the United States as a TN nonimmigrant to give a seminar on dentistry, a U.S. license is not necessary. A Canadian TN applicant may establish qualifications as a dentist by showing a Canadian provincial license such as a Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. or a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry D.M.D.^[8]

Similarly, a Mexican dentist coming to give a seminar on dentistry might show a professional license in dentistry from the Federal Secretary of Education’s General Directorship of Professions such as a Doctor en Odontologia Degree or a Doctor en Cirugia Dental Degree.^[9]

As another example, a Canadian lawyer might be seeking admission as a TN nonimmigrant to offer professional-level legal advice about Canadian law but is not going to practice law in the United States. Such a Canadian citizen would need only to establish qualification as a lawyer in Canada, such as a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or provincial bar membership. The same would apply to a Mexican lawyer seeking admission as a TN nonimmigrant offering professional legal advice about Mexican law but is not going to practice law in the United States.

USMCA allows for temporary entry to perform training functions relating to any of the cited occupations or professions, including conducting seminars.^[10] However, these training functions must be conducted as a prearranged activity performed for a U.S. entity. The subject matter of the training must also be at a professional level. The training function does not allow an alien seeking admission as a TN nonimmigrant to conduct seminars that are not prearranged.

Footnotes 

[^ 1] Even though the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) replaced NAFTA, the USMCA retains all substantive elements of the former NAFTA, and the United States continues to use the TN designation for NAFTA and USMCA professionals.

[^ 2] For information on applying for TN nonimmigrant status at a port of entry, see U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s For Canadian and Mexican Citizens webpage and USCIS’ TN USMCA Professionals webpage.

[^ 3] See 22 CFR 41.59(c). See 9 FAM 402.17-7, Temporary Entry.

[^ 4] See 8 CFR 214.6(b) (definition of business activities at a professional level). See 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii)(B).

[^ 5] For a complete list of professions with minimum education requirements and alternative credentials, see NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 and Chapter 16, Annex 1603, Section D. See 8 CFR 214.6(c).

[^ 6] See 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii).

[^ 7] See 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii) (the applicant must meet “the criteria to perform at” the proposed professional level).

[^ 8] See NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 (Dentist).

[^ 9] See NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 (Dentist).

[^ 10] See NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1, n 1.