Did you know that as a Canadian citizen, you could be eligible for a special type of United States work visa available to Canadian citizens? This visa is the TN visa, and it is exclusively available to Canadian citizens under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
In order to obtain a TN visa, you need to have a job offer in a professional occupation under the NAFTA list, which includes occupations such as doctors, scientists and engineers. These occupations typically require a high level of education and skill.
But this is not the only requirement for the TN visa. There are other requirements you must meet when you go to apply for one.
Checklist for your TN visa application
When you go to apply for your TN visa, you need to have several important documents with you. The first is a valid Canadian passport, which must be valid until your TN visa expires, or about three years. This will demonstrate your intentions to leave the United States after your stay.
You must also provide additional evidence of your strong ties to Canada via other documentation such as homeownership information, information about your family or information about your finances in Canada.
Proving that you are qualified for the job you have been offered is also a very important component of the application, and you must provide immigration officials with an updated copy of your resume, information about your education as well as work history information.
You will also need a valid offer of employment from an employer in the US but this offer of employment needs to be formatted in a special way as a petition for a TN visa.
You should also have a licensed immigration lawyer review your application and supporting documents so that you are ready to make your application at the border, otherwise you risk being denied.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
