The Ultimate Guide On How To Get Your TN Visa

Before learning about the steps to follow in order to get your hands on a TN visa, it is crucial to understand what it really is. The United States allows people to reside and work in the country only those individuals who have nonimmigrant visas for a temporary stay.

To those individuals who have obtained immigrant visas for permanent residence. And the people of Canada and Mexico have been given a special visa known as TN visa under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

NAFTA has helped create special economic and trade relationships between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. So, under this agreement, citizens of Canada and Mexico are eligible for obtaining a nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) that allows them to work in the country. So to learn more about how to get your TN visa, read on as we’ve put together an extensive guide that will surely come to your rescue.

TN Visa Requirements

Several requirements you need to meet make you eligible for the visa. Some of them are as follows:

• Must be a citizen of Canada or Mexico
• Must qualify as a NAFTA professional, and the business activity or job position must be under the NAFTA professional occupations list
• Must have a full-time or part-time job offer an employer in the U.S.

Please note that while these are the 3 main requirements, there are several others that need to be met too. These include being qualified with stated qualifications and certifications as well as having a position on the TN visa professions list.

Application Processes

If these 3 general requirements are met, you can apply for a TN visa. If you are a Canadian citizen, you can apply at a U.S. port of entry or at a designated pre-flight inspection station.

If you’re a Mexican citizen, you can apply for your visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate in Mexico. To help you out with the entire application process, you could always hire TN visa attorneys who will help you with your application process.

You need to also fill out the visa application form, get the right photograph for the form, and get all the other documents you need. This includes your valid passport, contract or letter of employment in the United States and documents that prove you meet the minimum education and/or work experience requirements.

Attend Your Visa Interview

The next step is scheduling an interview where a consular officer will see if you qualify for your TN visa. Along with providing the officer with all the necessary documents, the consular may ask you some basic questions, including the purpose of your entry, breakdown of your job responsibilities, your expected period of stay in the U.S., etc.

In certain cases, they may also request you for additional documents that will be used as further evidence to further your TN status eligibility.

Visa Processing Cost And Time

TN is relatively inexpensive when compared to other nonimmigrant work visas. It may cost you anywhere between $56 and $460, depending on how you obtain the visa. The processing time is dependent on the same factor. For instance, applying at a US port of entry could take only upto a few hours.

Whereas, if you are petitioning by mail, it could take upto 6 months. However, you could expedite the process by paying a small fee. But remember, the fee will only speed up the process but does not guarantee that your visa will be granted.

TN Visa Denial

Your visa could be denied due to several reasons. This includes grounds of inadmissibility and if the consulate finds that there is no record of the job offer. In such cases, you can reapply for your TN visa. But keep in mind that the second time around the process might not be as straightforward.

Since they have rejected your visa application on serious grounds, there would be higher scrutiny the second time around too. So as a returning applicant, you must thoroughly address any and all issues in your application before you will be granted admission into the United States.

We hope that the above-mentioned points will help you better understand what a TN visa is and how to obtain it.