IN THIS GUIDE · Ask whether the job is really the profession it is named after
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Where the professional character quietly disappears
Ask the employer to describe a typical week in tasks rather than responsibilities. If most of the week is supervising crews, coordinating equipment and managing schedules, the role may be a genuinely senior one and still not be the listed profession. The question to put is direct: what proportion of the work requires the professional qualification, and what would happen if someone without it held the position. An employer who has never had to answer that will often discover the role needs redefining, which is far better learned now.
The licence nobody mentioned
Many technical and health professions are licensed by the destination state, and immigration permission does not confer the right to practise. The question belongs to the state regulator rather than the employer, and it should be asked in writing: is this occupation licensed here, what does an Ontario-qualified applicant have to do, and how long does it take. Where a licence is required and does not yet exist, the honest position is that the start date depends on the regulator. Assuming the employer has checked is a common and expensive error.
The ownership question that has to be asked
TN does not permit self-employment in the United States. Where an applicant holds or is being offered an interest in the U.S. entity, or owns part of the Canadian company arranging the work, the arrangement needs to be examined rather than left unmentioned. The questions are who directs the work, who pays for it, and whether the applicant would in substance be working for themselves. Small contracting and technical businesses often carry informal ownership arrangements that nobody has written down, and this is the point at which they matter.
The route chosen for the wrong reason
A Canadian citizen may apply at a port of entry or be the beneficiary of an employer's I-129 petition, and no TN visa stamp is issued. Port presentation is chosen for speed, which is reasonable where the file is complete and self-explanatory, and unwise where the professional character of the role needs explaining. A decision is made on the day with no opportunity to supplement. Ask honestly whether the file would persuade a reader who knows nothing about the industry; if not, the slower route protects the outcome.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.