IN THIS GUIDE · A licensed forestry professional whose Canadian work is invoiced through her own company
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
The profession is listed, and the profession's own rule governs
TN is limited to occupations set out in the USMCA professional appendix, and each entry carries its own minimum requirement. Forester appears there with a requirement of a baccalaureate degree or a state or provincial licence. That means Priya's registration with the provincial regulator can carry the credential half of her case on its own, even though her degree is in a related field. What the appendix does not do is stretch to cover adjacent work. If the Oregon employer principally wants her to run a crew, quote contracts or manage a district office, the duties have drifted away from the listed profession and the credential no longer matters, because the job no longer matches the entry.
Employment, not a continuation of the consulting practice
The classification requires prearranged professional work for an employer in the United States or under a contract with a U.S. entity, and it does not permit an applicant to be self-employed in the United States. Priya's habit of invoicing through her own proprietorship is exactly the pattern that draws questions. If the Oregon company puts her on payroll, supervises her work and issues a letter saying so, the arrangement reads as employment. If instead it proposes a services agreement with her proprietorship, renewable monthly, with her setting her own hours and carrying her own liability insurance, an officer may reasonably read that as her running a business in the United States, which TN does not allow.
Ownership stakes have to be disclosed and thought about
Applicants sometimes hold a small share in the U.S. company that wants them, whether through an equity offer or a family connection. That is not automatically fatal, but it has to be disclosed, and the larger the stake and the greater the control that comes with it, the harder it becomes to describe the relationship as employment rather than self-employment. If the Oregon employer offers Priya equity as part of her package, the size of the stake, whether it carries voting control and whether she could be dismissed by others are the facts to put in front of an adviser before she signs anything.
How a Canadian citizen actually applies
A Canadian citizen does not need a TN visa stamp. Priya can present her documents to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry and request admission in TN status, or her employer can file Form I-129 with USCIS and have her enter after approval. The port-of-entry route is faster but is decided on the spot by an officer reading her paperwork cold; the petition route is slower, costs a filing fee and produces a written decision she can rely on. Where the duties or the credential involve any judgement call, many applicants prefer the written decision.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.