TN status for Canadians and Mexicans: who can use it and how entry works

Who is TN for, and who is it not for?

TN comes from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020 without changing its immigration rules.

It is for a citizen of Canada or Mexico coming to do professional-level work, full-time or part-time, for a US employer or entity under an arrangement made before entry. Citizenship is what counts: permanent residents of Canada or Mexico cannot use TN.

It is not for running your own business. TN does not allow a business or practice in which you would in substance be self-employed, including work for a company you solely own or control. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), its guidance to consular officers, points such people to the E-1 or E-2 treaty classifications.

Sources: USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 1; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers; 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas)

What must be true?

The regulation is 8 CFR 214.6. Read with the USCIS TN page, it asks for five things:

• Citizenship of Canada or Mexico.
• A profession on the USMCA list (Appendix 2 to Annex 16-A of Chapter 16), which 8 CFR 214.6(c) reproduces with the minimum credential for each one.
• A US position that actually requires that professional. Officers look at the duties, not the job title.
• A prearranged full-time or part-time job or contract with a US employer or entity. A third-party agency can be the employer only if the person is going to fill a specific, identified position.
• The qualifications of the profession: the degree, license or alternative credential the list sets, plus any experience it requires.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals; 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas)

How Canadians apply

A Canadian citizen outside the United States does not need a visa. They can apply for TN admission to a CBP officer at a US Class A port of entry, a US airport handling international traffic, or a preclearance station in Canada, bringing proof of Canadian citizenship, the employer’s letter, and a credentials evaluation if one applies. If the CBP officer is satisfied, the person is admitted in TN status and the stay is recorded on Form I-94, the arrival and departure record. The regulation requires Canadians to pay a fee on admission.

Alternatively, the US employer can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with USCIS first. If USCIS approves it, the Canadian presents the USCIS notice and proof of citizenship to CBP, carrying a copy of the petition and its documents.

One case needs a visa even for a Canadian. The State Department says a Canadian who lives outside Canada with a non-Canadian spouse or children, and who plans to enter with them, needs a TN visa so the family members can apply for their own TD visas.

Sources: USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 1; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers

How Mexicans apply

A Mexican citizen must have a TN visa. The steps are: complete the online nonimmigrant visa application (Form DS-160), pay the application fee, and attend an interview, which is generally required, at a US embassy or consulate (USCIS points to posts in Mexico) with the employment letter and proof of education or experience. The consular officer decides whether to issue the visa. A US license is not required for the visa, though the State Department suggests including proof of one if available. Licensing can still matter after the visa: the State Department says state authorities may require proof of a license once you arrive, and a registered nurse also needs a health care worker certificate. The TN professions guide covers the extra licensing rules for nurses.

The visa only lets the person travel to a port of entry and ask to come in. CBP decides on admission, and the I-94 shows the period of stay, which is separate from the visa’s own validity.

Sources: State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers; USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas)

What goes in the job letter?

The letter can come from the US employer or from the foreign employer. Under 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3) it must fully affirm:

• The applicant’s profession on the USMCA list.
• A description of the professional activities, with a brief summary of daily duties if appropriate.
• The anticipated length of stay.
• The educational qualifications or credentials showing professional-level status.
• The arrangements for pay.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas)

How long can you stay, and how do extensions work?

Each TN admission is for up to three years, and the admission document is marked “multiple entry.” There is no cumulative limit on time in TN status, provided the person keeps doing TN work and maintains status. Unlike H-1B or L-1, there is no statutory maximum stay.

There are two ways to continue. The employer can file Form I-129 with USCIS while the worker is in the United States, for an extension of up to three years. Or, if the worker has not violated TN status, they can leave before the I-94 expires and seek a new admission with a new employer letter: Canadians at a port of entry with the fee, Mexicans also presenting a valid passport and unexpired TN visa.

If the TN job ends, 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) allows a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days, once per validity period and never past the I-94 date. DHS can shorten it, and it does not by itself allow work.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals; 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas); 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)

Can you plan for a green card while in TN status?

This is the main difference from routes like H-1B and L-1. The statute treats TN applicants as if they were seeking an ordinary nonimmigrant classification, so the presumption of immigrant intent in INA 214(b) applies. You must satisfy the officer that the stay is temporary: that the assignment has a reasonable, finite end and that you will leave when it is done.

The FAM softens this: a future intent to immigrate that is unconnected to the current trip does not by itself make the trip non-temporary, and repeated renewals that lead to a long stay may still be temporary if there is no immediate intent to immigrate. How a pending green card step affects a particular TN application depends on the facts, and the official sources give no fixed rule.

Sources: 8 U.S.C. 1184(b) and (e) (INA 214(b) and (e)); 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas); 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j)

Changing or adding an employer

TN status covers work for the employer or employers it was granted for. To change or add an employer from inside the United States, the new employer files Form I-129, and work for that employer is not authorized until USCIS approves it. A Canadian can instead leave and apply for readmission with the new employer’s documents; a Mexican can apply for a new TN visa. A move to another branch or office of the same employer for the same work needs no filing, but a move to a separately incorporated subsidiary or affiliate does.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 5; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j)

Forms and government fees

Government fees only; they change, so check the official pages when you pay. Lawyer fees, credential evaluations and travel are separate.

• Form I-129 for TN (initial petition for a Canadian abroad, change of status, extension or new employer): as of 19 October 2026, the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/16/26) lists $1,015 on paper or $965 online per petition, or $510 for a small employer or nonprofit, plus the Asylum Program Fee ($600 for most petitioners, $300 for a small employer, $0 for a nonprofit).
• Premium processing (Form I-907), optional: the same schedule lists $2,965 per TN petition, on top of the filing fee, where USCIS has announced premium processing for that benefit.
• Canadians applying at the border: the regulation requires a fee on admission. The amount is not in the official sources cited here; CBP’s website has current requirements.
• Mexicans: a State Department visa application fee per person, plus a visa issuance fee if one applies to the nationality. Check the State Department’s fee pages.

Sources: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule (edition 10/16/26), Form I-129 and Form I-907; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers

How long does it take?

No official source sets a TN timeline. Visa interview waits vary by embassy or consulate. USCIS publishes Form I-129 processing times on its processing-times page.

Family members (TD status)

A TN worker’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 can hold TD status, coming with the worker or following later. They do not need to be Canadian or Mexican. They are admitted for the same period as the TN worker, may study full-time, and cannot work in TD status.

Canadian family members need no visa, and admission of TD family members carries no fee. Non-Canadian family members need TD visas. To extend or change to TD status inside the United States, family members file Form I-539 with evidence of the TN worker’s status. That is a separate application from the TN worker’s Form I-129.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 5; 8 CFR 214.6(b), (d), (e), (h)-(j); State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers; USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals

Common problems

• A job title that matches the list but duties that don’t. The FAM’s example is a “computer systems analyst” letter for work that is really data entry or programming, neither of which is a TN profession.
• Living in the United States and teleworking to a job based abroad for your own convenience, which the FAM says TN does not allow.
• Expecting to change status inside the US from a J-1 subject to the two-year home residence requirement. USCIS says such a Canadian cannot change to TN in the United States but may leave and seek TN admission.
• Starting work for a new or additional employer before USCIS approves the petition.

Sources: 9 FAM 402.17 (USMCA Professionals - TN and TD Visas); State Department: Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 4; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part P, Chapter 5

How Visa Trouble can help

We can point you to official information, but we don’t assess or prepare TN applications. Free route discovery at Visa Trouble can show routes worth comparing if your plans go beyond this one. Visa Trouble is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.