Avoid a Possible Denial of your TN Application.
Do not risk the denial of your TN application and the possible loss of a job opportunity. Let us review your TN application before you go to the border or pre-flight inspection. Once U.S. Customs and Border denies a TN application, it will become extremely difficult to obtain a subsequent approval.
With the limited availability of H-1B visas numbers, the NAFTA TN category can often be the sole nonimmigrant classification available for a Canadian (or Mexican) citizen to pursue a U.S. employment opportunity. Do not close out the TN category to you by submitting an uninformed application for TN status.
Trouble Spots and TN applications with high frequency of denial:
“Mismatched” TN Applications: Whenever there is not an exact match among the job offer, the TN occupational category, and the applicant’s degree or credentials, an applicant for a TN should expect heightened scrutiny of his or her TN application. For example, consider the following two applications for a TN under the Accountant occupational category. An applicant with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting applying for a job offer involving traditional accounting duties should not face much resistance with a properly prepared application. An applicant with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce with a job offer involving some accounting duties, but also operational and business analysis duties would have a more difficult time obtaining a TN as an Accountant.
Immediately Suspect TN Categories: The Management Consultant and Scientific Technician/Technologist TN categories. Because these two categories do not require a bachelor’s degree, U.S. immigration officials consider these two categories to be the most widely abused TN categories. As consequence, an application under either category is subject to heightened scrutiny. The Management Consultant category is also the most misunderstood category by both applicants and immigration inspectors. An application for a Management Consultant TN needs to expressly address the trouble spots that frequently lead to denials in this category.
Highly Technical, Specialized Job Duties: If someone outside your field reads your TN Support Letter and cannot understand what you will be doing in your prospective job, then it is a good chance the inspecting CBP officer will not be able to understand. Cases involving highly technical, esoteric, and specialized job duties that are not easily recognizable as falling under one of the TN occupational categories are also at risk of denial.
CBP has already Denied My TN Application. What now?
Has CBP already denied your TN application?
Was the denial based on a ground of inadmissibility, e.g., previous criminal conviction or violation of U.S. immigration status? If so, click here to read about inadmissibility issues.
Was the denial of the TN application based on the merits of the application? For example, did CBP contend that you applied under the wrong TN occupational category or that you do not qualify under a particular TN occupational category? If so, go to Rehabilitation of Denied TN Applications.