IN THIS GUIDE · Check the listed profession and the actual duties before treating an offer as a TN case
Read the duties before the title
Hypothetical example: a Halifax engineering graduate receives an offer titled 'Project Engineer' at a U.S. shipyard's American affiliate, but the attached duties list is largely about scheduling subcontractors. Ask the employer for the actual day-to-day tasks and deliverables. The listed profession is matched to the real work performed, not to whichever title sounds closest to it. Make a one-page comparison between each material duty and the claimed profession. If a duty supports neither the profession nor the stated employment relationship, decide whether the employer will remove it, explain it, or accept that TN may not fit.
Apply the profession's own credential rule
Each listed profession has its own stated degree, licence or accepted alternative. An experience-based alternative available for one profession cannot be assumed to apply to a different one. Keep original transcripts and licence documents, and only commission a credential evaluation or translation once the applicable procedure and profession are confirmed. Use a document owner for every claim. The employer should control the job description and pay terms; the applicant should control identity and qualification records. A client or agency may need to confirm assignment facts. This division makes contradictions visible early.
Confirm the employer relationship and any client assignment
Document the specific position, pay and intended period. If the applicant would be assigned to a client site through an agency, identify who actually directs the work and disclose any ownership interest the applicant holds in either company, since TN restricts U.S. self-employment and an unreviewed ownership stake should not be assumed to be harmless or disqualifying without looking at the facts. Choose the travel presentation or petition route only after the role and evidence are stable. A new client assignment, ownership change, or materially different duty list is a reason to review the classification rather than assume the original analysis travels unchanged.
Resolve present intent before choosing the procedure
Choose the procedure only after testing the applicant’s present intent, because an employer petition does not create a different intent standard from a border request. TN is not a statutory dual-intent classification. The applicant must intend the immediate stay to be temporary and cannot presently intend to remain permanently. A separate future possibility of immigration, or repeated TN renewals, is not by itself conclusive evidence that the current stay is permanent. Review the offer’s stated duration, the applicant’s current plans, and any pending immigrant matter together; do not manufacture a promise that no future immigration will ever be considered. Hypothetical example: a Halifax technical publications writer accepts a two-year medical-device documentation assignment while the writer’s spouse pursues an unrelated immigrant case. The employer letter should describe the temporary professional work and its endpoint, while the household records the spouse’s process separately. The writer should answer questions truthfully and avoid treating either the spouse’s filing as an automatic TN bar or the Form I-129 route as a cure. Settle that analysis before resignation or non-refundable travel, then select the presentation channel that fits the established facts.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.