TN-1/TN-2 Trade NAFTA Visa
The TN-1 visa category is available to Canadian and Mexican citizens. The U.S. may grant temporary entry to such individuals who are engaging in a business activity at a professional level on behalf of a U.S. employer. NAFTA defines “business activities at a professional level” as undertakings which require that the individual have at least a bachelor degree or appropriate credentials demonstrating status as a professional. The professions included at Appendix 1603.D.1 of NAFTA are listed below.
A Canadian citizen may submit the appropriate paperwork to a U.S. Immigration Officer at a Class A port-of-entry, a U.S. airport handling international traffic or a U.S. pre-flight inspection station. Mexican nationals must obtain a visa stamp in their passport prior to entering the US in TN status.
The TN category allows for an initial entry of up to three (3) years, with three (3) year extensions available for the following occupations and for the those meeting the associated requirements;
Accountant-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A., or C.M.A.
Architect-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Computer Systems Analyst-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate and three years’ experience.
Disaster relief insurance claims adjuster (claims adjuster employed by an insurance company located in the territory of a Party, or an independent claims adjuster)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims; or three (3) years experience in claims adjustment and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims.
Economist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Engineer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Forester-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Graphic Designer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate and three years experience.
Hotel Manager-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree in hotel/restaurant management; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate in hotel/restaurant management and three years experience in hotel/restaurant management.
Industrial Designer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate, and three years experience.
Interior Designer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience.
Land Surveyor-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree or state/provincial/federal license.
Landscape Architect-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Lawyer (including Notary in the province in Quebec)-L.L.B., J.D., L.L.L., B.C.L., or Licenciatura degree (five years); or membership in a state/provincial bar.
Librarian-M.L.S., or B.L.S. (for which another Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree was a prerequisite).
Management Consultant-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or equivalent professional experience established by statement or professional credential attesting to five years experience as a management consultant, or five years experience in a field of specialty related to the consulting agreement.
Mathematician (including Statistician)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Range Manager/Range Conservationist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Research Assistant (working in a post-secondary educational institution)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Scientific Technician/Technologist-Possession of (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the following disciplines; agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research.
Social Worker-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Technical Publications Writer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree, or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience.
Urban Planner (including Geographer)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Vocational Counselor-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree. Medical/Allied
Professionals
Dentist-D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental or state/provincial license.
Dietitian-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)/Medical Technologist (Mexico and the United States)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience.
Nutritionist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Occupational Therapist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Pharmacist-Baccalaureate or Licenciature Degree; or state/provincial license.
Physician (teaching or research only)-M.D. Doctor en Medicina; or state/provincial license.
Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license.
Psychologist-state/provincial license; or Licenciatura Degree.
Recreational Therapist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Registered Nurse-state/provincial license or Licenciatura Degree.
Veterinarian-D.V.M., D.M.V., or Doctor en Veterinaria; or state/provincial license.
Scientist
Agriculturist (including Agronomist)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Animal Breeder-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Animal Scientist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Apiculturist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Astronomer-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Biochemist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Biologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Chemist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Dairy Scientist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Entomologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Epidemiologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Geneticist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Geochemist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Geologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico and the United States)-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Horticulturist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Meteorologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Pharmacologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada)Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Plant Breeder-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Poultry Scientist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Soil Scientist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Zoologist-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Teacher
College-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
Seminary-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
University-Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree.
A business person seeking temporary employment under this Appendix may also perform training functions relating to the profession, including conducting seminars.
The terms “state/provincial license” and “state/provincial/federal license” mean any document issued by a state, provincial, or federal government, as the case may be, or under its authority, but not by a local government, that permits a person to engage in a regulated activity or profession.
“Post Secondary Diploma” means a credential issued, on completion of two or more years of post-secondary education, by an accredited academic institution in Canada or the United States.
“Post Secondary Certificate” means a certificate issued, on completion of two or more years of post-secondary education at an academic institution, by the federal government of Mexico or a state government in Mexico, an academic institution recognized by the federal government or a state government, or an academic institution created by federal or state law.
A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry for work in direct support of professionals in agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics.
A person in this category must be seeking temporary entry to perform in a laboratory chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic or bacteriological tests and analyses for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of diseases.
Traveling as a TN-1 Canadian
Canadian citizens are not required to obtain a visa stamp in their passports in order to reenter the U.S. in TN-1 status. Upon leaving the country for a trip to Canada or Mexico for a period of thirty (30) days or less, a Canadian should explain that s/he is a Canadian citizen and should be allowed to keep the I-94 card. The Form I-94 card is authorization to re-enter the U.S. following such trips.
If traveling to a third country, Canadians should relinquish the Form I-94 and the lower right portion of the approval notice upon departure and present a Canadian passport and the original I-797B “Notice of Action Approval Notice” issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) upon application for readmission.
Canadians will receive a Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) upon entry and the Immigration Inspector should note classification as H-1B. That Form I-94 should be valid for multiple entries for the duration of the TN-1 petition approval.