TN Application for Graphic Designer with Degree in Communications Approved Today at Buffalo, POE.

The magazine publisher in this TN application sought to engage the temporary services of our client as a Graphic Designer specializing in layout and design for a variety of communications and media efforts, including ads, marketing and sales collateral, editorial layouts for the magazine, custom publications and marketing communications including annual reports and billboard.

In order to qualify under NAFTA for TN status as a Graphic Designer an applicant must possess “a Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate and three years experience.” To satisfy the minimum educational requirements under NAFTA, the applicant generally should possess a degree “in the field or in a closely related field.” The applicant in this case had a bachelor’s degree in Communication and approximately 4 years related graphic design experience. We argued that our client’s degree in Communication was sufficiently related to the Graphic Designer position to warrant the approval of her application for TN status.

We crafted our argument based on consistent language in the Occupational Outlook Handbook providing that Graphic Designers must be able to effectively communicate ideas in writing, visually, and verbally. We also procured a letter from one of our client’s former professors stating that the client’s degree in Communication provided a suitable and appropriate educational background for a position in Graphic Design. Once we made the connection between the client’s degree and the requirements for a position in graphic design, we faced little resistance in obtaining an approval for this case.