Read the general professional work overview
Hypothetical example: Nkechi is a Canadian citizen and a licensed land surveyor in Victoria County, retained by an American firm that needs boundary and topographic work on a series of coastal properties. She will present herself at a preclearance facility with no visa and no prior approval, which means everything an officer ever sees about her case has to be inside the folder she is carrying. Assembling that folder is the application, and a large share of the refusals in this category are folder problems rather than eligibility problems.
What each document in the folder is there to answer
Four questions get asked and each needs its own paper. Citizenship is answered by a Canadian passport, never by a permanent resident card or a driving licence. The profession is answered by the Land Surveyor entry, which is met by a baccalaureate degree or by a provincial, state or federal licence, so Nkechi's licence certificate does the work a parchment would otherwise do. The prearranged employment is answered by a letter from the American firm naming the profession in the schedule's own words, describing the surveying duties concretely, and stating the period, the remuneration and who she reports to. The temporary character of the stay is answered by the period requested and by the terms of that same letter.
Two licences that sound like a single question
Her Nova Scotia licence satisfies the immigration credential rule. It does not authorize her to practise land surveying in an American state, which is governed by that state's own registration board and has nothing to do with admission. Different authorities decide the two questions on different criteria, and an applicant can satisfy one while failing the other. Nkechi should therefore ask the retaining firm which of its own licensed surveyors will be responsible for the work she performs, and should carry that answer with her, because a role requiring a registration she does not hold raises a question about whether the employment described can lawfully happen at all.
Originals, translations, and the price of one bad crossing
Carry originals or properly certified copies rather than photographs on a telephone, and leave a duplicate set with the employer in case the folder goes missing. Anything not in English needs a complete certified translation attached to it. Self-employment in the United States falls outside the category, so a contract engaging her own Nova Scotia practice to run an American surveying operation is a materially different arrangement from a firm retaining her professional services under its direction, and that distinction should be settled before she travels. A refusal is recorded and asked about afterwards, which is why an hour spent checking the folder beats any argument made at the counter.
What else is on your mind?
Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.