Map the parties to each assignment
Identify who engages the applicant, pays them and directs the work, and explain any customer or intermediary. Project names can obscure the employing structure. Use the contracts and actual duties to describe the arrangement rather than treating every client as either automatically an employer or automatically irrelevant. Ask for the signed offer, master services agreement, statement of work and payroll explanation before drafting. Those records usually settle who is engaging the professional. A mismatch matters because an officer may see a customer-facing project description while the compensation and direction point to a different arrangement. Correct the factual description; do not solve the mismatch by calling every participant a client.
Assess professional eligibility
The proposed work must fit a listed USMCA profession and the applicant must meet its specific qualifications. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship. Canadian permanent residence, a professional reputation or a company’s urgent need does not replace those requirements. Build a duty-to-credential table rather than relying on a job title. It should list the actual tasks, the USMCA profession being claimed, the required credential, and the record proving that credential. If the position includes substantial duties outside the professional role, separate them and decide whether they are incidental. A degree alone cannot cure duties that do not match the selected category.
Identify the permission required
Review the applicable procedure for each actual employing arrangement, including any change or additional employment. An existing TN authorization is not an unrestricted permission to accept US work. Resolve the scope before the applicant begins an additional engagement. TN does not permit U.S. self-employment, and every ownership stake must be disclosed and assessed. A Canadian citizen may seek TN admission at a port of entry, or a U.S. employer may file Form I-129; the Canadian citizen does not need a TN visa stamp. A Canadian applicant can request TN classification during inspection or preclearance, while an employer can use the USCIS I-129 process where that procedure fits the case; Mexican applicants generally need a TN visa before seeking admission. The category cannot authorize work for a U.S. business the individual owns or controls. Decide which process applies before travel, especially where a second employer or a changed assignment is involved.
Coordinate the project calendars
Identify start and end dates and any overlap. The immigration process, status and authorized duties should support the schedule. A project deadline cannot convert an incomplete authorization step into permission to begin work. Keep a dated sequence of the intended authorization step, entry, start of paid services and any later change. The key record is often a dated contract or employer letter, not a hopeful project calendar. A recurring failure is beginning billable work while the parties are still deciding who will employ the person. A later explanation of urgency does not make earlier work authorized.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.