Canadian citizens who are interested in working in the United States have a special option that is not available to their counterparts in other countries: TN status.* Like H-1B status, TN status allows an alien to work in the United States on a temporary basis. Furthermore, TN status has several advantages over H-1B status, such as ease and cost of application.

So should Canadian citizens take advantage of this option? Or is applying for an H-1B visa a better option for them? The answers to these questions will vary depending on an alien’s individual situation and priorities.

About TN

History

In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was established between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As its name suggests, NAFTA’s main purpose was to reduce various restrictions on free trade between its three member countries.

One of the ways it did this was by establishing a new nonimmigrant status for Canadian and Mexican citizens in the United States. Called TN, this status was meant to provide an easy way for Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in the United States on a temporary basis.

Description

TN status allows Mexican and Canadian citizens to work in the United States in a specific set of designated professions. TN status lasts for one year at a time but can be renewed indefinitely in one-year increments.

Furthermore, Canadian citizens who apply for TN status do not have to apply for a visa in advance; rather, they can simply apply with USCIS when they cross the border into the United States. Clearly, the opportunity to bypass the lengthy visa process is a significant one and one of TN’s main advantages.

Requirements

TN status (for Canadian professionals) has only four requirements:

(1) Canadian citizenship
(2) Offer of employment in approved profession (list of approved professions)
(3) Necessary credentials for the approved profession—usually a bachelor’s degree or higher, as well as any required license
(4) Nonimmigrant intent

TN vs. H-1B

Many Canadian citizens who would like to work in the United States will find themselves in the position of choosing between TN and H-1B. Here is an analysis of the similarities between the two, the advantages of TN, and the advantages of H-1B.

Similarities between TN and H-1B

• Temporary duration

Although H-1B visas are valid for three years, and TN status is valid for one year, both options are temporary.

• Required job offer and credentials

Both require a job offer from a U.S. employer, as well as the necessary credentials (education/experience and licensing) for that job.

• Dependents

Under both options, the beneficiary’s dependents can accompany the beneficiary to the United States. However, under both options, those dependents cannot work unless they are specifically authorized to do so.

Advantages of TN over H-1B

• Easier

Canadian citizens can apply for TN status in person when they cross the border. They do not need to submit documentation to USCIS by mail, as they would if they were filing an H-1B petition.

• Faster

Because applications for TN status take place in person, the turnaround time is much faster for TN applications. In fact, the TN application process can be completed within a single hour; applying for an H-1B can take several months.

• Cheaper

The application fee for TN status is $50. Generally, an H-1B petition requires a combination of fees:

(1) $320: base filing fee
(2) $500: fraud prevention and detection fee
(3) $750: additional fee if the petitioner employs no more than 25 full-time equivalent employees in the United States; ($1,500 if the petitioner employs more than 25)
(4) $1,000: premium processing fee (if premium processing is chosen)

• No quota

In the last few years, the H-1B quota has become a major obstacle to aliens applying for H-1B visas. Last year, USCIS received double the quota on the very first day it accepted applications. As a result, a random lottery system was used to determine which applications would be selected for processing.

No quota applies to TN applicants. Each TN case is judged on its own merit, regardless of how many other cases have been approved. Furthermore, the absence of a TN quota means that applicants do not have to worry about timing their applications correctly, as H-1B applicants do; TN applicants can apply for TN status whenever they wish.

• Indefinitely renewable

Usually, an H-1B visa can be renewed only once, meaning that an alien can work in the United States on an H-1B visa for only six years total. TN status, however, can theoretically be extended indefinitely as long as the alien renews it once a year.

Advantages of H-1B over TN

• Longer initial duration

An H-1B visa is valid for three years at once and can be extended for another three. TN status, on the other hand, is valid for only one year at a time.

• Larger scope of professions

TN status is only available to aliens who work in one of 63 professions. The requirements for the job offer in an H-1B petition are less strict: the job must only be a “specialty occupation” that “requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge.”

• Dual intent

This is a crucial advantage of H-1B status for aliens who eventually plan to immigrate to the United States. Aliens in H-1B status are allowed to have dual intent—that is, even though their visas are temporary, they are allowed to express an intention to immigrate to the United States. Aliens in TN status, however, are not allowed to express this intention.

There are a few ways that an alien can express an intent to immigrate, including buying residential property in the United States. However, the most significant method for the purpose of this discussion is filing an immigration petition. If an alien in TN status files an immigration petition, that alien probably will not be able to renew his or her status the next time it expires (his or her present status will not be jeopardized).

This rule creates a tricky timing issue for aliens who want to file immigration petitions while in TN status. Essentially, if they do not wish to leave the United States, they must count on their petitions being approved before their TN status expires. And since TN status lasts for only one year, this can be a risky situation, especially when things get particularly busy at USCIS.

While it may be possible to work around this issue—see this article for a strategy for aliens in TN status who plan to file PERM-based immigration petitions—it does present a substantial obstacle that is completely absent for H-1B visa holders, who can file immigration petitions whenever they wish without affecting their status (or their ability to renew their status). Therefore, dual intent is the most significant advantage of applying for an H-1B visa versus TN status.

Canadians Filing H-1B Petitions

For some Canadian citizens, the possibility of applying for TN status represents a significant advantage that is not available to aliens from other countries. However, some Canadians wonder whether they have an advantage in the H-1B application process as well.

The short answer to that question is no: no such advantage exists. Canadian citizens are not exempt from the H-1B quota. Furthermore, an advanced degree from a Canadian institution does not qualify an alien for consideration under the special “advanced-degree quota,” the extra 20,000 spots allotted to aliens with advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

So Canadian citizens should know that their citizenship will not gain them any advantage if they choose to file an H-1B petition. They will be on a level playing field with all the other aliens who apply for H-1B visas.

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*TN status is also available to Mexican citizens. However, the requirements for Mexican citizens is slightly different; our focus in this article is restricted to Canadian citizens.