TN Letter: How should it look? What should it contain?

Tn Visa Status allows Canadian and Mexican nationals to live and work in the United States for up to three years at a time. To qualify for a TN Visa you must have an offer of employment from a U.S. company to work in a profession that is listed on the NAFTA occupation list. For each profession, the Statute also lists the education credentials that are required. 

You can learn more about the TN Visa when you click here.

TN Employment letter is one of the documents you will need to bring to your TN interview.

The government is actually very specific about what they want to see on the TN employment letter. The TN Employment letter should contain the following:

• Your job title in the U.S.,
• The TN category you are qualifying under + explanation how you qualify (e.g. based on degree/experience),
• Your remuneration (salary, and other benefits),
• Duration of your employment in the U.S.,
• Detailed job description describing the duties you will perform in the U.S. (it should be described in a way that the CBP officer who knows nothing about your industry understands the industry/the job you will perform),
• Background about the Company you will work for (explanation about what the company does – what products it sells/what services it provides, when it was set up, how many employees it has in the U.S./worldwide) + link to the Company’s website,
• Background of the Applicant: This section should list all your degrees and educational information, perhaps list the relevant courses you took while studying and which will help you to perform the job, and should list your previous employment experience.

One other important thing is that the letter is on the company’s official letterhead – the letterhead should contain the Company’s name, address, phone number and email address.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to bring the original signed TN letter – CBP/Consulate don’t accept photocopies and the letter you present must be the originally signed letter. You will need to coordinate with the employer in advance so you receive the original letter in time before your interview.

The TN letter that should be signed by your supervisor in the U.S. company/someone from your department/someone from the HR. They key is that the person who is signing the letter is familiar with your job duties, your background and qualifications, and is able to explain to a CBP officer what you will be doing in the U.S. in case they call.

You should let the person who will be signing the letter know when you plan to come to the U.S. and let her know that CBP may call to confirm the information in the letter so the signatory is available to answer the phone.

Please see our blog post on How many times you can renew TN visa here.

Please see our blog post on Whether you need to apply for a new TN visa if you change employers.