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TN Visa Overview
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By: Brian D. Zuccaro

Attorney at Law
Serotte Reich & Wilson
300 Delaware Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14202
P: 716.854.7525
F: 716.854.0294

TN Visa Basics


Restrictions under TN Visa Status

1. TN Visa Status is Employer Specific.

  • An individual may only work for the company that U.S. immigration granted employment authorization for under TN visa status.
  • An individual may not accept employment with any other employer.
  • However, an individual may obtain separate TN authorization for an additional employer.

2. Departure Required Upon Termination or Expiration.

  • An individual may not continue to work or remain in the United States after his or her period of TN authorized stay has expired. The period of authorized stay is indicated on the I-94.
  • When an individual's employment terminates in the United States, he or she is no longer in valid TN status and is required to depart the United States and return the I-94 to immigration officials upon departure.
  • There is no grace period following the expiration of an I-94 or termination of employment. Technically, once either of these events occurs, an individual must depart the U.S. immediately.

3. No Self-Employment Permitted.

  • An applicant for TN visa status may perform prearranged business activities for a United States entity, which includes an individual. 8 C.F.R. 214.6 (b).
  • To constitute pre-arranged professional services, a formal arrangement must exist to render professional service to an individual or an enterprise in the United States. The formal arrangement may be through an employee-employer relationship or through a signed contract between the businessperson or the businessperson’s employer and an individual or an enterprise in the United States.
  • The NAFTA immigration laws do not authorize the establishment of a business or practice in the United States in which the TN professional will be, in substance, self-employed.
  • A TN professional will be deemed to be self-employed if he or she will be rendering services to a corporation or entity of which the professional is the sole or controlling shareholder or owner.

4. Temporary Entry Requirement.

  • A TN professional worker may not possess immigrant intent, which means that the TN applicant only seeks temporary entry into the U.S. without the intent to establish permanent residence.
  • The TN applicant must satisfy the inspecting immigration officer that the proposed stay is temporary. A temporary period has a reasonable, finite end that does not equate to permanent residence.
  • In order to establish that a TN applicant’s entry will be temporary, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the inspecting immigration officer that his or her work assignment in the United States will end at a predictable time and that he or she will depart upon completion of the assignment.
  • While a TN Professional may not be subject to any limitation on the number of years he or she remains in the U.S. by extending nonimmigrant TN status, as there is with most of the other nonimmigrant classifications, long periods of TN status may be taken into consideration when examining the issue of immigrant intent.
  • An intent to immigrate in the future which is in no way connected to the proposed application for nonimmigrant TN status need not in itself result in a finding that the immediate trip is not temporary. An extended stay, even in terms of years, may be temporary, as long as there is no immediate intent to immigrate. Read more about Immigrant Intent and TN status.

Revised Dec. 24, 2008.