Short answer
General information, not legal advice. TNPath provides general educational information and document-automation tools. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, eligibility opinions or case-specific strategy. Only the officer who reviews an application decides whether it succeeds; for complex situations, consider an independent review by a U.S. immigration lawyer.
For most Canadian hires, your company does not petition the government for TN status. Your company offers the job and provides a signed employer support letter, and your hire applies for admission with a CBP officer at a port of entry or preclearance, where the application is decided when they apply.
An employer filing is optional: your company may file Form I-129 with USCIS instead in specific situations, described below. Either way, there is no lottery for TN status.
What TN status is
TN status is a U.S. nonimmigrant classification created by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), formerly NAFTA. It permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry to the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level.
People often call it the TN visa, including in job postings and in this guide. When the legal process and admission are being described, the more precise terms are TN status or TN classification. TNPath's guides focus on Canadian citizens.
Who TN covers, in general terms
USCIS describes the general conditions in these terms. A TN applicant is generally:
- a citizen of Canada or Mexico;
- working in a profession included in the USMCA list — all 63 professions are on the TN professions list;
- filling a position that requires a USMCA professional, under a prearranged full-time or part-time job with a U.S. employer or entity; and
- holding the qualifications to practise in that profession, meaning the credentials the listed profession requires.
The work must be prearranged business activities for a United States entity. TN status does not authorize a business or practice in which the professional will be, in substance, self-employed.
TNPath does not decide whether a given role or person meets these conditions. Only the officer who reviews an application decides whether it succeeds.
What your company provides
For a border application, what your company provides is straightforward:
- The job offer for the prearranged full-time or part-time job.
- The employer support letter. The documentation your hire presents may be in the form of a letter from the prospective U.S. employer, supported by credentials. See the TN support letter for what that letter affirms and what signing it involves.
- Reviewing and signing the letter, so the facts in it are your company's own.
- Employing the person once admitted, on the terms described in the application.
Nothing is filed with the government in advance for a border application. If your team is asking whether this counts as sponsorship, see Does a TN visa require employer sponsorship?
What happens at the border
A Canadian citizen applying from outside the United States does not apply for a TN visa at a consulate. Your hire 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, and CBP decides the application when they apply.
Your hire presents proof of citizenship, the letter and documentation described above, and their credentials, which may include diplomas, degrees or membership in a professional organization. Degrees from outside Canada, Mexico and the United States need an evaluation by a reliable credentials evaluation service.
If admitted, your hire is admitted in TN status for a period not to exceed three years. The fees your hire pays on admission are a $50 TN fee, plus a $30 Form I-94 fee at land ports of entry only, for $80 total at a land port and $50 at preclearance. Your company does nothing at this step and is not present for it.
The optional USCIS route
Instead of the border route, a prospective TN employer may file Form I-129 with USCIS on behalf of a Canadian citizen outside the United States, and premium processing is available. This route is used, for example, when the hire is already in the United States, or when your company prefers an advance decision from USCIS. If USCIS approves, your hire applies to CBP for admission with proof of citizenship and the approval notice.
In brief, the Form I-129 fee for TN is $1,015 for a paper filing, $965 online, or $510 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and for nonprofits, plus an Asylum Program Fee where it applies of $600, $300 for small employers or $0 for nonprofits, and optional premium processing of $2,965. The sponsorship guide explains this route in more detail.
Length of stay, renewals and job changes
Each TN admission is for up to three years. 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 or entity at a professional level and maintain status. An extension can be requested through USCIS in increments of up to three years, with the employer filing Form I-129, or a new three-year period can be requested at a port of entry supported by a new letter from your company.
TN status is employer-specific. A new employer means a new TN approval before work for that employer starts, either through a Form I-129 filing by the new employer or an application at a port of entry. A transfer to another location of the same employer, such as a branch or office, to perform the same services requires no action.
TN entry is temporary. Temporary entry means entry without the intent to establish permanent residence, and the stay must have a reasonable, finite end. TN status has no dual-intent doctrine.
The employer guides
This hub is the overview. Four detailed guides cover the questions employers and HR teams ask most often:
- Does a TN visa require employer sponsorship?: what sponsorship means, what your company provides instead, and when Form I-129 is used.
- TN vs H-1B for employers: how the two routes compare on petitions, timing, fees and process for your company.
- TN vs L-1 for Canadians: the intracompany transfer route compared with TN, side by side — the employer relationship, border applications, stay limits and fees.
- The TN support letter: what employers sign: what the letter must affirm, who signs it, and how to review a draft.
- TN employer checklist: a step-by-step checklist of what your company does, in order.
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.
Common questions
Do we have to sponsor a TN employee?
No, not in the petition sense for a Canadian applying at the border. Your company provides a job offer and a signed support letter, and nothing is filed with the government in advance. The optional Form I-129 route is the only employer filing, and it is used in specific situations described in the sponsorship guide.
What does our company actually have to do?
Offer the job, review and sign the support letter on your company letterhead, and employ the person once they are admitted. Nothing is filed with the government for a border application. Your hire presents the letter and their credentials when they apply.
How long can a TN employee work for us?
A TN admission is for up to three years at a time. Extensions are available in increments of up to three years, with no fixed limit on the total time in TN status, provided the work continues and the stay remains temporary.
Can our TN employee also work for another employer?
TN status is tied to the employer named in the application. Work for a second or new employer needs its own TN approval before that work starts, either through a Form I-129 filing or an application at a port of entry.
Who decides whether our hire's application succeeds?
The CBP officer who reviews the application at the port of entry or preclearance decides a border application. On the optional Form I-129 route, USCIS decides the petition first. TNPath provides general information and document tools, not decisions.
Sources
Last reviewed October 19, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with official sources before you rely on them.