TN Employer Checklist

Step 1: The offer

TN status is built on a real, prearranged job. Work through these items when your company makes the offer:

• A prearranged job. The offer is for a full-time or part-time job with your company, in a profession included in the TN list of professions.
• The role and its duties. Set out the role your hire will fill and the professional activities they will do, including a brief summary of daily job duties.
• Pay arrangements. State the arrangements for remuneration for the services to be rendered.
• Location. State where the work will be based, on the same terms the support letter will use.
• Anticipated duration. State how long the job is expected to last, up to three years at a time.

Keep the offer terms consistent. The support letter in Step 2 mirrors the same role, duties, pay, location and duration, so it is worth getting the offer itself right first.

Step 2: The support letter

The support letter is the main document your company provides. It is the letter from the prospective employer describing the professional capacity in which your hire will work, the purpose of the employment, the length of stay and their educational qualifications. In practice:

• Receive the draft. The draft is often prepared by your hire and sent to your company for review.
• Check every fact against the real job. Read the profession named, the description of the professional activities and daily duties, the anticipated length of stay, the educational qualifications or credentials described, and the arrangements for remuneration.
• Fix anything inaccurate. Correct any statement that does not match the actual job, the actual terms or the actual dates before the letter goes any further.
• Print on letterhead and sign. Once the letter is accurate, print the final version on company letterhead and have it signed.

Never sign a letter describing a different job. If a detail in the draft is not the job your company is actually offering, change the letter — do not sign it as it stands.

Step 3: Before the start date

For the usual border route, nothing is filed with the government in advance. Instead:

• Your hire applies in person. A Canadian citizen applies for admission with a CBP officer at a Class A port of entry, a U.S. airport handling international traffic, or a preclearance or pre-flight station. The officer decides the application when your hire applies.
• Admission is for up to three years. If admitted, your hire is admitted in TN status for a period of up to three years.
• Your hire pays the fees. Your hire pays the $50 TN fee on admission, plus the $30 I-94 fee at a land port of entry.
• Set the start date after the application. Plan the start date after the planned application, not before admission, because the period runs from when your hire is admitted.

There is an optional alternative: your company may file Form I-129 with USCIS for a Canadian citizen outside the U.S. instead of your hire applying first at the border. If USCIS approves, your hire then applies to CBP for admission with proof of citizenship and the approval notice, and should carry a copy of the I-129 and supporting documents. The Form I-129 filing fee for TN is $1,015 for a paper filing ($965 online; $510 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and for nonprofits). An Asylum Program Fee applies where it applies: $600, or $300 for small employers, $0 for nonprofits. Premium processing is optional at $2,965, for a USCIS response within 15 business days.

Step 4: The first days

• The I-94 record. On admission, your hire receives an I-94 record showing the TN period. Ask your hire to share the admission details your records need, including the end date, so renewals can be planned in Step 6.
• Normal onboarding. Complete your normal new-hire onboarding, just as you would for any other new employee: payroll, tax forms, systems and workplace setup.
• Travel during the TN period. Readmission during the period works simply: with an unexpired I-94 and no change of employer or activities, your hire can travel and return for the remainder of the period without presenting the support letter again, and without paying the fee again.

Step 5: If the job changes

TN status is tied to the named employer and the job described in the application, so changes are handled by type:

• A new employer. A new employer means a new TN before that work starts. The new employer can file Form I-129 with USCIS, or your hire can apply at a port of entry with documentation from the new employer. Employment with the new employer is not authorized before the request is approved.
• A transfer within your company. A transfer to another location of the same employer, such as a branch or office, to perform the same services requires no action.
• A move to a subsidiary. A move to a separately incorporated subsidiary or affiliate counts as a change of employer, even where the parent company is the same, and follows the new-employer route above.

Step 6: Renewals

Plan renewals before the current TN period ends:

• Renew at the border. A new three-year period can be requested at a port of entry before the previous period expires, supported by a new letter from your company meeting the same requirements as the original support letter.
• Or extend through USCIS. Your company can instead file an extension of stay with USCIS on Form I-129 while your hire is in the U.S.
• Three years at a time. Extensions and new periods are granted in increments of up to three years.
• No fixed total limit, but always temporary. There is no specific limit on the total time a person may hold TN status, provided they keep engaging in TN business activities for a U.S. employer at a professional level and maintain status. TN entry is temporary: the stay must have a reasonable, finite end, without the intent to establish permanent residence.

Reading this as the candidate?

Your hire can prepare the letter draft with TNPath and send it to you for review — or, if you are the candidate, start your TN visa packet and forward the draft to your employer. There is also a one-page summary written for HR teams: TN explained for HR.

Related guides

• For employers — the TNPath employer hub: reviewing a TN support letter draft, on letterhead, signed.
• TN visa employer guide — what TN sponsorship means for an employer, and what it does not involve.
• The TN support letter — what the employer letter must say, section by section.
• Changing employers — a new employer needs a new TN, and the timing that follows from that.
• TN renewal — renewing with the same employer, at the border or through USCIS.

Common questions

Sources

• eCFR: 8 CFR 214.6, Citizens of Canada or Mexico seeking temporary entry to engage in business activities at a professional level
• USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals
• USCIS: Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)

Last reviewed October 19, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with official sources before you rely on them.