The TN visa covers roughly 60 professional occupations that citizens of Canada and Mexico can use to work in the United States under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The TN visa eligible professions fall into four groups: general professions, medical and allied professions, scientists, and teachers. Each occupation on the list carries its own credential requirement, and the job you’ve been offered has to match one of the listed occupations for you to qualify. A bachelor’s degree (or a Mexican licenciatura) in a field related to the occupation is the default; some categories accept a state or provincial license or a diploma-plus-experience combination instead.
General Professions
This is the largest group. Unless a different credential path is noted, each role requires at least a bachelor’s or licenciatura degree in a field related to the occupation.
- Accountant: Bachelor’s degree, or a C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A., or C.M.A. designation.
- Architect: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Computer Systems Analyst: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster: Bachelor’s degree plus completion of disaster relief claims adjustment training, or three years of claims adjustment experience plus the same training.
- Economist: Bachelor’s degree.
- Engineer: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Forester: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Graphic Designer: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Hotel Manager: Bachelor’s degree in hotel or restaurant management, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate in the same field plus three years of experience in hotel or restaurant management.
- Industrial Designer: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Interior Designer: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Land Surveyor: Bachelor’s degree, or a state, provincial, or federal license.
- Landscape Architect: Bachelor’s degree.
- Lawyer (including Notary in the Province of Quebec): LL.B., J.D., LL.L., B.C.L., or a five-year licenciatura degree, or membership in a state or provincial bar.
- Librarian: M.L.S. or B.L.S. that required a prior bachelor’s degree for admission.
- Management Consultant: Bachelor’s degree, or five years of experience as a management consultant, or five years in a specialty field related to the consulting agreement.
- Mathematician (including Statistician): Bachelor’s degree.
- Range Manager / Range Conservationist: Bachelor’s degree.
- Research Assistant (at a post-secondary institution): Bachelor’s degree.
- Scientific Technician / Technologist: Theoretical knowledge of a qualifying scientific discipline, plus the ability to solve practical problems or apply research principles in that discipline. Must work in direct support of a supervisory professional.
- Technical Publications Writer: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Urban Planner (Geographer): Bachelor’s degree.
- Vocational Counselor: Bachelor’s degree.
The full list with credential requirements appears in Appendix 2 to Annex 16-A of Chapter 16 of the USMCA, which is incorporated into U.S. immigration regulations.1Office of the United States Trade Representative. USMCA Chapter 16 – Temporary Entry for Business Persons
Medical and Allied Professions
Healthcare occupations form the second group. Each requires at least a bachelor’s or licenciatura degree, and many also require a state or provincial license to actually practice.
- Dentist: D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia, or Doctor en Cirugia Dental.
- Dietitian: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Medical Laboratory Technologist: Bachelor’s degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
- Nutritionist: Bachelor’s degree.
- Occupational Therapist: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Pharmacist: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Physician (teaching or research only): M.D., Doctor en Medicina, or a state or provincial license.
- Physical Therapist / Physiotherapist: Bachelor’s degree, or a state or provincial license.
- Psychologist: State or provincial license, or a licenciatura degree.
- Recreational Therapist: Bachelor’s degree.
- Registered Nurse: State or provincial license, or a licenciatura degree.
- Veterinarian: D.V.M., D.M.V., or Doctor en Veterinaria, or a state or provincial license.
Physicians face the tightest restriction. TN status for physicians is limited to teaching and research positions. Clinical patient care on its own does not qualify.1Office of the United States Trade Representative. USMCA Chapter 16 – Temporary Entry for Business Persons
Scientists
The scientist category is broad. Every role requires a bachelor’s or licenciatura degree, and the occupation itself must be one of the following:
- Agriculturist
- Animal Breeder
- Animal Scientist
- Apiculturist
- Astronomer
- Biochemist
- Biologist
- Chemist
- Dairy Scientist
- Entomologist
- Epidemiologist
- Geneticist
- Geochemist
- Geologist
- Geophysicist
- Horticulturist
- Meteorologist
- Pharmacologist
- Physicist
- Plant Breeder
- Poultry Scientist
- Soil Scientist
- Zoologist
Teachers
The teacher category is narrower than it sounds. Only positions at the college, university, or seminary level qualify. K-12 teaching is not eligible for TN status. A bachelor’s or licenciatura degree is the minimum requirement.1Office of the United States Trade Representative. USMCA Chapter 16 – Temporary Entry for Business Persons
How the Credential Rules Actually Work
The default across most categories is a bachelor’s degree (or Mexican licenciatura) in a field directly related to the occupation you’re applying under. Field-match matters. An accounting degree supports an Accountant application; a biology degree does not. The degree must come from a recognized post-secondary institution, and degrees earned outside North America typically need a formal credential evaluation showing equivalency.p>
Several categories accept alternative paths. Graphic Designers, Hotel Managers, Industrial Designers, Interior Designers, Computer Systems Analysts, Medical Laboratory Technologists, and Technical Publications Writers can qualify with a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of relevant experience. Engineers, Architects, and Land Surveyors can qualify through a state or provincial license instead of a degree. Management Consultants have the most flexibility: a bachelor’s degree works, but so does five years of experience either as a management consultant or in a specialty field related to the consulting engagement.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations
Scientific Technicians follow a unique path. Instead of a degree, they must show theoretical knowledge in a qualifying discipline (agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics) together with the ability to solve practical problems or apply research principles. They also have to work under the direct supervision of a professional who individually qualifies in one of those same disciplines.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations
The employer’s support letter has to make the credential match visible on the page. It should identify the specific TN category, describe the duties in enough detail that an officer can see they fall within the listed occupation, and state the length of the position and the pay arrangement.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. TN USMCA Professionals A vague “consultant” description that never ties the duties to Management Consulting as USMCA defines it is one of the most common reasons applications are questioned or denied.
State Licensing Is a Separate Question
Being approved for TN status is a federal immigration decision. It does not, by itself, authorize you to practice a regulated profession in the state where the job is located. The U.S. Department of State notes that proof of state licensure is not required to receive TN classification, but state or local authorities may separately require you to hold a valid license before you begin working.4U.S. Department of State. Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA Professional Workers
This is where healthcare workers, engineers, lawyers, and architects most often get caught out. A registered nurse admitted in TN status still needs a nursing license from the state where the job sits. An engineer may need a Professional Engineer license. Licensing fees and processing times vary widely by state and profession. If you later file for a TN extension, you’ll also need to show that any required license remains valid.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 4 – Extension of Stay and Change of Status
Self-Employment Does Not Qualify
TN status requires a prearranged job with a U.S. employer or entity. Self-employment does not qualify for any of the listed occupations. You cannot use TN status to start your own business, work as a freelancer, or provide services to a company you own or substantially control. Canadian or Mexican citizens who want to work for themselves in the United States have to look at other classifications, such as the E-1 Treaty Trader or E-2 Treaty Investor categories.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
Even where the U.S. company is legally separate from you on paper, USCIS will deny the application if you are the sole or controlling shareholder or exercise de facto control over the entity offering the employment. The analysis looks at factors like whether you established the company and whether you hold primary decision-making authority, regardless of your formal ownership percentage.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
Nonimmigrant Intent Applies to Every Category
TN status is a single-intent classification, regardless of which of the roughly 60 occupations you’re applying under. Unlike H-1B or L-1 holders, who can openly pursue a green card while maintaining nonimmigrant status, TN professionals have to be able to show they intend to leave the United States when their authorized stay ends.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. TN USMCA Professionals
Filing an immigrant petition, such as Form I-140 or Form I-130, is treated as strong evidence that you intend to live in the United States permanently. A CBP officer who sees a pending immigrant petition when you try to re-enter may conclude that you’ve abandoned your nonimmigrant intent and deny admission. The same issue can come up on a TN extension. Some people manage this by first switching to a dual-intent visa category before starting the green card process; others rely on timing or consular processing. The stakes are high enough that immigration counsel is worth the cost before you file anything on the immigrant side.