IN THIS GUIDE · Resolve the legal employer behind group letterhead
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Compare the offer with the working arrangement
Hypothetical example: the offer uses a parent brand but payroll and a customer contract name different companies. Identify who employs, pays and directs the applicant and what each entity does. Do not assume the most visible name is the legal employer.
Keep duties and credentials precise
Assess the real work against the specific TN profession and its qualification requirements, including permitted alternatives. Canadian permanent residence is not eligible TN citizenship. A group’s reputation or professional job title does not establish that the applicant has the required credential.
Explain client and ownership links
Disclose relevant agency, customer and ownership arrangements for review. Foreign ownership alone is not a blanket disqualification, while TN does not authorize general U.S. self-employment. A corporate label does not change the substance of who receives the applicant’s services.
Finalize a consistent factual account
Resolve material differences before relying on the supporting letter. Keep the actual legal names and explain their roles. An accurate entity key supports review but does not itself authorize work or guarantee that the proposal fits the category.
Apply the temporary-work and credential boundaries
TN concerns qualifying temporary professional activity for Canadian or Mexican citizens. Providing services to a U.S. entity solely owned or controlled by the applicant falls outside the permitted arrangement; a foreign business interest alone is not a blanket disqualification. Degrees from institutions outside Canada, Mexico and the United States require a reliable foreign-credential evaluation. Any licence needed to practise the profession in the United States is a separate question from the listed TN qualification.
Health-care worker certification is a separate admission requirement
The Forester entry is satisfied by a baccalaureate degree or by a state or provincial licence, and those are genuinely alternative routes rather than a combined requirement. Gather citizenship evidence and the degree, licence, registration, or experience documents that correspond to the particular occupation. Depending on what actually changed, the practical response can range from no new filing, to a new employer-specific letter for the next border entry or extension, to a fresh determination of whether the post-merger duties still fit a listed profession. A Canadian citizen seeking admission is questioned at a port of entry, a visa applicant is assessed by a consular officer, and a petition route adds a separate approval step before any admission. If the provincial licence is the credential, obtain the current membership record and any restrictions on practice. Where a licence exists, provincial technologist certification can help describe the discipline but is not the same as a professional engineer licence. Compare the award date, program name, and credential level across the diploma and transcript. A Canadian citizen can request TN classification from CBP on arrival or at a preclearance facility; an employer may instead submit Form I-129 to USCIS for the worker.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.