International Faculty and Scholars Office

TN Mexican and Canadian NAFTA Professional Worker

NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement. It creates special economic and trade relationships for the United States, Canada and Mexico. The nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) visa allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, as NAFTA professionals to work in the United States. Permanent residents, including Canadian permanent residents, are not able to apply to work as a NAFTA professional.

Requirements for Canadian Citizens

Canadian citizens usually do not need a visa as a NAFTA Professional, although a visa can be issued to qualified TN visa applicants upon request. However, a Canadian residing in another country with a non-Canadian spouse and children would need a visa to enable the spouse and children to be able to apply for a visa to accompany or join the NAFTA Professional, as a TD visa holder.

To apply for visa, please see the requirements under the section "Mexican Citizens – Applying for a TN Visa – Required Documentation," below.

Requirements for Mexican Citizens

As of January 1, 2004 the procedures were simplified for Mexican citizens by removing the requirement for petition approval and for filing of a labor condition application. Mexican citizens are no longer subject to numerical limitation for these professionals. Mexican citizens still require a visa to request admission to the United States.

Mexican Citizens – Applying for a TN Visa – Required Documentation

Mexican citizens may apply at consular sections around the world for a NAFTA professional (TN) visa. As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for most visa applicants. Interviews are generally by appointment only. As part of the visa interview, a quick, two-digit, ink-free fingerprint scan can generally be expected. The waiting time for an interview appointment for most applicants is a few weeks or less, but for some embassy consular sections it can be considerably longer.

For detailed information about additional documentation and qualifying requirements, please visit the U.S. Department of State website.