Professions Qualifying for TN Status Under the USMCA

What this list is. TN classification is available only to a citizen of Canada or Mexico whose occupation appears on a fixed list of professions. That list is Appendix 2 to Annex 16-A of Chapter 16 of the USMCA, and the Department of Homeland Security reproduces it, with its official annotations, at 8 CFR 214.6(c). The table below sets out each profession alongside the minimum education requirement and any alternative credential that the appendix accepts in place of a degree.

The same list under a new name. The professions and their credential requirements were carried over unchanged when the USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement. Older references to NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 describe the same occupations, so a reader working from an older source will find the substance familiar even though the citation has changed.

The list is closed. An occupation that does not appear below cannot support TN classification, however strong the credentials, and a job title that merely resembles a listed profession is not enough; the actual duties must fall within the listed profession. 8 CFR 214.6(c).

How to read the second column. Where the only entry is a baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree, that degree is the minimum and work experience cannot be substituted for it. Where the appendix offers an alternative, such as a post-secondary diploma or certificate combined with three years of experience, or a state or provincial license, the alternative has to be satisfied on its own terms rather than approximated. Underlying all of this is the regulatory definition of business activities at a professional level, which requires at least a baccalaureate degree or the appropriate credentials establishing professional status in a listed profession. 8 CFR 214.6(b).

A listed license is a credential, not permission to practice. For professions such as architect, engineer, forester, land surveyor, and lawyer, the appendix accepts a state or provincial license as an alternative to a degree. That license functions only as proof of professional standing for the classification. Whether the state where the work will be performed requires its own license, registration, or bar admission before the professional may lawfully practice there is a separate question governed by state law, and satisfying one does not satisfy the other.

Degrees earned outside North America. A degree from an educational institution not located in Canada, Mexico, or the United States must be accompanied by an evaluation from a reliable credentials evaluation service specializing in foreign educational credentials. 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii).

Documenting the claim. The employer letter or other supporting documentation must identify the profession claimed under the appendix, describe the professional activities, state the anticipated length of stay, set out the qualifying credentials, and explain the arrangements for remuneration. 8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii).

Appendix 2 to Annex 16-A of Chapter 16 (Annotated)

Notes to the appendix

1. A business person seeking temporary employment under this appendix may also perform training functions relating to the profession, including conducting seminars.
2. The terms “state/provincial license” and “state/provincial/federal license” mean any document issued by a state, provincial, or federal government, as the case may be, or under its authority, but not by a local government, that permits a person to engage in a regulated activity or profession.
3. “Post-Secondary Diploma” means a credential issued, on completion of two or more years of postsecondary education, by an accredited academic institution in Canada or the United States.
4. “Post-Secondary Certificate” means a certificate issued, on completion of two or more years of postsecondary education at an academic institution, by the federal government of Mexico or a state government in Mexico, an academic institution recognized by the federal government or a state government, or an academic institution created by federal or state law.
5. The term “Mathematician” includes the profession of Actuary. An Actuary must satisfy the requirements to be recognized as an actuary by a professional actuarial association or society operating in the territory of at least one of the Parties.
6. A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry for work in direct support of professionals in agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics.
7. A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry to perform in a laboratory chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic, or bacteriological tests and analyses for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of diseases.
8. The term “Biologist” includes the profession of Plant Pathologist.

Source of the annotations. The notes above are the annotations that accompany the appendix as published at 8 CFR 214.6(c).

Related pages. For the eligibility standards, the separate Canadian and Mexican procedures, periods of admission, extensions, and TD family members, see TN Professionals: Canada and Mexico. For an orientation to the other temporary work classifications, see Common Work Visas. For the general framework governing requests to remain longer in a nonimmigrant classification, see Extension of Stay. Questions about whether particular duties and credentials fit a listed profession may be directed to the firm through the contact page.