Short answer
After admission in TN status: (1) pull your I-94 from CBP’s website the same day and check the class of admission, the admit-until date and your biographical details; (2) apply for a Social Security number — SSA recommends waiting 10 days after arrival so it can verify your documents online; (3) complete Form I-9 with your employer when you start; and (4) report your U.S. address to USCIS, and every later move within 10 days, on Form AR-11. Then diarise your admit-until date and start renewal planning months before it. Source: CBP I-94, SSA, USCIS.
Step 1: check your I-94 the same day
Form I-94 is your arrival record: it shows that you were admitted, in what class, and until when. For a TN holder it is the document that proves both your status and your authorization to work for the TN employer. Admission is recorded electronically, so retrieve the record from CBP’s official I-94 website as soon as you can after crossing and save or print a copy for your files and your employer.
Check four fields against what you asked for and what your letter said:
- Class of admission: TN (and TD for each family member).
- Admit-until date: the end of the period granted, up to three years.
- Name and passport number: spelled and numbered exactly as in your passport.
- Date of entry: the day you were admitted in TN status.
Checking now matters because the same record feeds your employer’s verification, your Social Security application and your next entry. An error found on day one is a correction; the same error found at a renewal, three years later, is an excavation.
If your I-94 is wrong
First, work out who issued the record. If CBP admitted you at a port of entry or preclearance, CBP’s Deferred Inspection sites handle corrections to the arrival record — the wrong class of admission, inaccurate biographical information, or an incorrect period of admission. CBP publishes the list of Deferred Inspection sites with their locations and contact details; some take correction requests by email or phone, others by appointment. Bring or send your passport, a printout of the I-94 showing the error, and the documents that establish what the admission should have been — for a TN holder, the support letter and the credential evidence you presented.
If your TN was approved by USCIS on Form I-129 and the I-94 came attached to the approval notice, the correction goes through USCIS, not CBP. And a correction fixes a record that was made wrong; it is not a way to change an admission an officer made deliberately on the documents presented. If CBP declines to correct a record and the point matters, consider an independent review by a U.S. immigration lawyer before the admit-until date arrives.
Step 2: apply for a Social Security number
SSA’s rule is that “only noncitizens authorized to work in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can get an SSN” — a TN holder qualifies, because TN status is DHS work authorization for the TN employer. Employers use the number to report your wages, and you will be asked for it throughout U.S. working life. Applying is free.
Timing: SSA recommends that, if you are not applying through an immigration application, you “wait 10 days after arriving in the United States to apply for an SSN. This will make it easier for us to verify your DHS documents online” and speeds up processing. You can start the application online, then visit a local Social Security office or Card Center with the required documents within 45 days, or complete the paper Form SS-5 process.
Bring originals. SSA requires proof of identity and work-authorized immigration status — your current immigration documents and your unexpired foreign passport. Form I-94 and an admission stamp showing a class of admission permitting work are both on SSA’s list. Documents “must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies,” and at least two separate documents are required, though one document can serve two purposes. One thing you do not need an SSN for, despite a common assumption: SSA notes you do not need one to get a driver’s licence. Licensing is run by each state, with its own document list — check your state’s licensing agency for what it asks of a new resident in TN status.
Step 3: Form I-9 with your employer
Every U.S. employer must verify the identity and employment authorization of each new hire on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Your part is to complete your section no later than your first day of work and to present acceptable documents — you choose which documents to present from the lists printed on the form, and the employer examines them and completes its section within the first days of employment. For a TN holder admitted at the border, the passport together with the I-94 record showing TN status is the combination that speaks to both identity and work authorization.
Two TN-specific points for the HR file. First, your authorization is employer-specific: the I-94 supports work for the TN employer named in your application, not work generally. Second, the admit-until date on your I-94 is the date your employer will diarise for reverification; when you renew or extend TN status, expect to present the new record. See the TN employer checklist for the employer’s side of the same paperwork.
Step 4: report your address, and every move
Most noncitizens living in the United States — including workers in TN status — must notify USCIS of each change of address within 10 days of moving. The report is made on Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card, or through the USCIS online change-of-address service. Filing is free, and each family member is reported individually.
Practical traps: a change-of-address filing with the postal service does not notify USCIS; a hotel or a friend’s address you land at and then leave for a lease is still a sequence of addresses; and if you also have anything pending with USCIS, the address on that case needs updating as USCIS instructs, in addition to the AR-11. Put “AR-11 within 10 days” on the same checklist as the mail forwarding whenever you move.
Your family’s first steps
A spouse and unmarried children under 21 admitted in TD status share some of this list and are excluded from the rest. USCIS states that TD family members are “not permitted to work while in the United States, but they are permitted to study,” and their TD period runs no longer than the TN holder’s. Because SSA issues numbers for work, a TD spouse generally cannot get an SSN; for tax filing, the IRS route is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Each family member has their own I-94 to check and their own address to report when you move. See TD status for your family.
Put the end date in the calendar
TN status is granted for up to three years at a time and can be extended, but nothing renews itself. Note the admit-until date from your I-94 — not the date in the offer letter, and not three years from your start date if the officer granted less — and set two reminders: one six months out, to plan the renewal route, and one six weeks out, to have the packet or petition moving. The renewal routes, and the timing rules that go with them, are in how to renew a TN visa. Working past the admit-until date without an approval in hand is not an option your employer can waive.
Keep the packet you arrived with
Your TNPath letter and packet guide stay yours to re-read at renewal time. $99 USD, one time, for the Word letter and PDF guide.
Common questions
What should I do first after my TN visa is approved?
Retrieve your I-94 record from CBP’s official I-94 website and check three things: the class of admission (TN), the admit-until date, and the spelling of your name and passport number. Your I-94 is the record your employer, the Social Security Administration and future officers will rely on, so errors are worth fixing immediately, before they surface somewhere else.
How do I fix an error on my I-94?
Errors made by CBP at admission — a wrong class of admission, biographical information or period of admission — are corrected through a CBP Deferred Inspection site. CBP publishes the list of sites, with contact details; bring your passport, your I-94 printout and the documents that show what the admission should have been, such as your support letter. An I-94 issued by USCIS on an approval notice is corrected through USCIS instead.
When can I apply for a Social Security number on a TN visa?
The Social Security Administration recommends waiting 10 days after arriving in the United States to apply, because that makes it easier for SSA to verify your Department of Homeland Security documents online and speeds up processing. Applying is free. You can start the application online and then visit a Social Security office or Card Center with the required original documents, or complete Form SS-5.
What documents do I need for a Social Security number?
SSA requires documents proving your identity and your work-authorized immigration status: your current U.S. immigration documents and your unexpired foreign passport. Acceptable immigration documents include Form I-94 or an admission stamp showing a class of admission permitting work. Documents must be originals or copies certified by the issuing agency — photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted — and you must provide at least two separate documents, though one document can sometimes serve two purposes.
Can my spouse on TD status get a Social Security number?
Generally no. SSA states that, in general, only noncitizens authorized to work in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security can get a Social Security number, and TD family members are not permitted to work in the United States. A TD spouse who needs a number for tax filing can apply to the IRS for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead.
Do I need a Social Security number to start work?
Your TN status, recorded on your I-94, is your work authorization for your TN employer — the SSN is the number your employer uses to report your wages. You also complete Form I-9 with your employer at the start of employment, presenting acceptable documents from the lists on the form. Apply for the SSN promptly so payroll can be set up correctly, and tell your employer the application is in progress if the card has not arrived yet.
I am moving apartments next month. Do I have to tell USCIS?
Yes. Most noncitizens in the United States must report each change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving, using Form AR-11 or the USCIS online change-of-address service. Updating your address with the postal service does not do this, and each family member’s address must be reported.
Sources
- CBP: I-94 official website
- CBP: Deferred Inspection Sites
- Social Security Administration: Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens (Publication No. 05-10096)
- USCIS: Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
- USCIS: How to change your address (Form AR-11)
- USCIS: TN USMCA Professionals
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.6, Citizens of Canada or Mexico seeking temporary entry to engage in business activities at a professional level
Last reviewed October 19, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with official sources before you travel.
See also: moving to the U.S. on a TN visa: household goods, your car and your pets.