TN Visa’s Role in the U.S. Labor Market and Its Uncertain Future

(UNITED STATES) The TN visa, grounded in the USMCA trade pact, is undergoing its sharpest reset in years after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued immediate changes on June 4, 2025. In updated guidance to the USCIS Policy Manual, the agency tightened qualifications across several professions and moved to bring decisions in line with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border. The goal is to cut uneven rulings, but the new rules raise the bar for applicants and push employers to prove job fit with far more detail.

USCIS focused on occupations that have seen frequent confusion: engineers, economists, computer systems analysts, scientific technicians, and medical laboratory technologists. Officers are instructed to closely compare job titles and daily duties with the TN visa occupational list and to apply degree rules strictly. The updates apply to cases filed on or after June 4, 2025, and officers are already using the new standards at land borders and airports.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, companies across healthcare, engineering, and lab sciences still view the TN visa as essential to filling skill gaps. Yet the new limits are expected to shrink eligibility in tech and finance roles, especially where duties fall outside the classic definitions in the USMCA job list.

Policy changes — key rules and immediate effects

USCIS highlighted several bright-line rules. Applicants and employers should pay close attention to the following:

• Self-employment is not permitted. If the worker is a sole or controlling owner of the entity, the case will be denied as self-employment. A bona fide U.S. employer must control the work.
• Employment must be through a U.S. entity. A foreign company with U.S. operations cannot sponsor the TN visa directly unless there is a clear U.S. employer or a contract with a U.S. entity showing an employer-employee relationship.
• Degrees are enforced strictly. When the occupation calls for a bachelor’s degree, experience does not replace the degree unless the TN category explicitly allows it. Degrees from outside the United States 🇺🇸, Canada 🇨🇦, or Mexico require an academic equivalency evaluation.
• Job fit must be specific. Titles and duties must closely match the selected TN category. Many software and IT roles no longer pass under the Engineer category unless the role and degree are engineering-specific.
• Healthcare support roles are limited. Patient care support work does not fit under Scientific Technician/Technologist unless it directly supports scientific research or lab work.

On processing, USCIS and CBP confirmed that TN visa applications can be filed at any Class A port of entry, including northern and southern land borders and airports with CBP posts. Pre-clearance and pre-flight filings are limited to stations within Canada. Employers now face a higher documentation bar, with support letters expected to show how the offered role meets the precise TN visa category, degree requirement, and daily duties.

Employers and professionals filing inside the United States should use Form I-129 for changes of status or extensions. The official USCIS page for TN professionals, including eligibility and process details, is available at: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-nafta-professionals

Impact on applicants and employers

The TN visa continues to support key U.S. sectors. Hospitals and labs use it to bring in medical laboratory technologists and clinical scientists. Manufacturers and energy firms hire engineers for plant design and safety. Universities and private labs rely on scientific technicians for research support. These patterns remain, but several effects are already visible:

• Smaller candidate pools in tech where roles blend software, data, and product functions that do not match the listed TN visa categories.
• More RFEs (requests for evidence) and delayed border decisions when job descriptions are vague, overly broad, or filled with mixed duties across fields.
• Extra planning time for HR teams to draft detailed letters that explain how the role maps to the USMCA profession list and why the worker’s degree is a direct match.

Practical examples

• Example 1: A Canadian “software engineer” who codes and manages product roadmaps may no longer fit under Engineer unless the degree is in engineering and the duties are engineering-heavy (e.g., hardware-software integration or systems design requiring engineering judgment).
• Example 2: A civil engineer with a Canadian bachelor’s in civil engineering hired to perform structural analysis for U.S. projects remains a strong fit.
• Example 3: A lab technologist who runs complex assays in a CLIA-certified lab can qualify, especially if the work supports research or diagnostic analysis.
• Example 4: A clinical support worker who mainly assists with patient care will struggle unless duties clearly center on lab methods tied to scientific study.

The labor market impact cuts both ways. Employers in urgent-need fields like lab science and engineering will still rely on the category, but higher documentation standards may slow hiring. Smaller firms may feel the pinch most because they often lack in-house counsel to prepare detailed support letters and ensure job descriptions stay within TN visa boundaries.

Political context and outlook

The policy shift arrives as President Trump’s administration places greater emphasis on job protection and tighter employment-based vetting. Officials frame the June changes as a clean-up effort to ensure TN cases meet the trade deal’s narrow professional scope.

At the same time, the USMCA framework gives the category a degree of stability, at least until the 2026 review. The U.S. Trade Representative is reviewing trade obligations ahead of that timeline, and discussions could touch the list of approved professions.

• Some policy voices propose updates to reflect the modern economy: adding data analysts, certain cybersecurity roles, and green energy specialists.
• Supporters argue the TN visa should keep pace with cross-border project needs.
• Others caution that broadening the list could dilute worker protections if not paired with clear degree and duty rules.

For now, the practical guidance is direct: follow the June 2025 standards closely and prepare for detailed vetting. Applicants should confirm that the degree matches the TN visa category. Employers should craft letters that set out daily duties, reporting lines, worksites, and how the role fits the USMCA profession table. Where a foreign degree is involved, include a recognized educational evaluation. And where duties cut across fields, trim the job to the core functions that squarely match the TN category.

Practical steps for 2025 filings

1. Confirm the role appears on the USMCA profession list and matches the updated criteria.
2. Gather degree documents and obtain an academic equivalency if the degree is from outside the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
3. Secure a detailed employer letter linking duties explicitly to the TN visa category.
4. Apply at a Class A port of entry or file inside the country through USCIS, as appropriate.
5. Keep renewals consistent with the original category and documentation.

For in-country filings by the U.S. employer, use Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker): https://www.uscis.gov/i-129. Family members seeking or extending TD status may use Form I-539: https://www.uscis.gov/i-539. These forms must reflect the same job fit and education rules that now guide initial entries at the border.

Key takeaway: The TN visa remains a vital North American tool, but the bar is higher. Careful job design, precise degree matching, and thorough employer letters are now the difference between smooth approvals and avoidable delays. Stakeholders should track the 2026 review year, as any USMCA changes could reshape the category again.

The bottom line: plan earlier, document fully, and align roles tightly to the USMCA profession definitions to reduce risk and accelerate approvals under the June 4, 2025 USCIS guidance.