TN Visa Professions List: Qualifying Occupations and Degree Rules

The TN visa professions list covers roughly 60 occupations set out in the USMCA appendix and codified at 8 CFR 214.6(c), grouped into business, healthcare, science, and education fields.1eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level Most require a bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree in a related field. A handful accept a state or provincial license, a professional designation, or a post-secondary diploma combined with three years of experience. If the job you have been offered is not on the list, TN status is not available no matter how qualified you are.

Business and General Professions

These titles cover accounting, design, law, consulting, and technical writing. Each is paired with its minimum credential.

  • Accountant: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a CPA, CA, CGA, or CMA designation.
  • Architect: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Computer Systems Analyst: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree plus completed training in disaster relief claims adjustment, or three years of claims adjustment experience plus that same training.
  • Economist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Engineer: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Graphic Designer: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Hotel Manager: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree in hotel or restaurant management, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate in the same field plus three years of management experience.
  • Industrial Designer: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Interior Designer: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Land Surveyor: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state, provincial, or federal license.
  • Landscape Architect: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Lawyer: LLB, JD, LLL, BCL, or Licenciatura degree (five years), or membership in a state or provincial bar.
  • Librarian: MLS or BLS, where the BLS required a prior bachelor’s degree for admission.
  • Management Consultant: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or five years of experience as a management consultant, or five years of experience in a specialty related to the consulting agreement.
  • Mathematician (including Statistician): bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Range Manager or Range Conservationist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Research Assistant at a post-secondary institution: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Scientific Technician or Technologist: theoretical knowledge of a qualifying discipline plus the ability to solve practical problems in that field. Covered in more detail below.
  • Technical Publications Writer: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Urban Planner: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.

Healthcare Professions

Healthcare roles generally require a degree plus a license in the state where you plan to practice. A few have additional credentialing requirements before entry.

  • Dentist: DDS, DMD, Doctor en Odontologia, or Doctor en Cirugia Dental, or a state or provincial license.
  • Dietitian: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Medical Laboratory Technologist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience.
  • Nutritionist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Occupational Therapist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Pharmacist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Physician (teaching or research only): MD, Doctor en Medicina, or a state or provincial license.
  • Physical Therapist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.
  • Psychologist: state or provincial license, or a Licenciatura degree.
  • Recreational Therapist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Registered Nurse: state or provincial license, or a Licenciatura degree.
  • Veterinarian: DVM, DMV, or Doctor en Veterinaria, or a state or provincial license.

Two extra requirements catch applicants off guard. Registered nurses must present a certificate from TruMerit (formerly the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools) or an equivalent credentialing organization, together with a permanent state nursing license, a temporary state license, or temporary authorization from the state nursing board where they will work.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations Medical laboratory technologists must likewise present a healthcare worker certification.

Physicians face a firm limit. TN status covers teaching and research positions only. Direct clinical practice is not permitted under this classification.

Science Professions

The science category is the longest on the list. Every title below requires a bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree in the relevant scientific field. A biology degree will not qualify you for a geophysicist role, even though both appear here.1eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level

  • Agriculturist (including Agronomist)
  • Animal Breeder
  • Animal Scientist
  • Astronomer
  • Biochemist
  • Biologist
  • Chemist
  • Dairy Scientist
  • Entomologist
  • Epidemiologist
  • Geneticist
  • Geochemist
  • Geologist
  • Geophysicist
  • Horticulturist
  • Meteorologist
  • Pharmacologist
  • Physicist
  • Plant Breeder
  • Poultry Scientist
  • Soil Scientist
  • Zoologist

Teaching and Forestry Professions

Three more occupations round out the list.

  • College, University, or Seminary Teacher: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Silviculturist: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree.
  • Forester: bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, or a state or provincial license.

Teaching is limited to post-secondary institutions. Kindergarten, elementary, and high school positions do not qualify. The teacher’s degree must relate to the subject taught.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations

When Experience or a Diploma Can Substitute for a Degree

For most TN categories, a bachelor’s degree is mandatory and cannot be replaced by experience. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual states this plainly.3U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 402.17 USMCA Professionals – TN and TD Visas A few categories are genuinely different.

Management Consultants

This is the rare category where experience alone can qualify you. You need a bachelor’s degree in a field related to the consulting work, five years of experience as a management consultant, or five years of experience in a specialty related to the consulting agreement.4eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level Experience-based applications need a professional credential or detailed documentation of those five years. USCIS scrutinizes this category closely because the title is broad enough to be abused.

Scientific Technicians and Technologists

No bachelor’s degree is required for this category. You need theoretical knowledge in one of these disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics. You must also be able to apply that knowledge to solve practical problems or conduct research.1eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level The role is not standalone. You must work in direct support of a professional in one of those listed disciplines.

Diploma-Plus-Experience Paths

Seven occupations accept a post-secondary diploma or certificate combined with three years of relevant experience in place of a full bachelor’s degree: computer systems analyst, graphic designer, hotel manager, industrial designer, interior designer, technical publications writer, and medical laboratory technologist.4eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level Three years means three years doing that specific kind of work. Tangentially related experience in a different role rarely holds up.

Engineer: A Common Category With a Computer-Work Restriction

Engineers are among the most frequent TN applicants. The qualification is straightforward: a bachelor’s degree in the relevant engineering field or a state or provincial license. USCIS draws a firm line, however, on computer-related work. An engineer cannot fill a computer-related position under TN status unless they hold credentials as a computer engineer or software engineer in a recognized engineering specialty that offers full engineering credentials, such as a professional engineering license.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations A software developer with a computer science degree does not qualify as an engineer. The correct category for that person is Computer Systems Analyst, which has its own requirements.

Economist: Narrower Than the Title Suggests

Economists qualify with a bachelor’s or Licenciatura degree, but USCIS reads this category narrowly and looks at what you actually do rather than your job title. If your primary duties are financial analysis, market research, or marketing, you do not qualify as an economist for TN purposes, even when your employer uses that title.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2 Part P Chapter 6 – Requirements for Specific Occupations The work must involve genuine economic analysis: studying supply and demand, analyzing fiscal policy, conducting econometric modeling, or similar research-oriented activity.

Self-Employment Is Not Permitted in Any Category

Every TN category assumes prearranged work for a U.S. or foreign employer. You cannot use TN status to start your own business or run your own practice. The regulation defines self-employment to include working for a corporation where you are the sole or controlling shareholder.4eCFR. 8 CFR 214.6 – Citizens of Canada or Mexico Seeking Temporary Entry Under USMCA to Engage in Business Activities at a Professional Level Applicants sometimes incorporate a one-person consulting firm and try to petition themselves. That does not work. The State Department’s guidance treats services rendered to an entity you own or control as self-employment.3U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 402.17 USMCA Professionals – TN and TD Visas Even if your profession is on the list, an ownership arrangement will sink the application.