Read the general eligibility basics overview
A signed offer describes a job, not a person's immigration status. TN classification is limited to citizens of Canada or Mexico; Canadian permanent residence, however long-standing, does not satisfy that requirement. Before treating any offer term as workable, confirm which document in the file actually proves citizenship rather than residence.
Separate the offer terms from the status question
An offer can specify duties, salary, and start date with total accuracy and still sit on top of an unresolved eligibility problem. Read the offer for what it commits the employer to, then set that aside and ask a separate question: does the person named in the offer hold the citizenship the intended category requires? These are independent facts, and a well-drafted offer cannot answer the second one.
Identify what document actually proves citizenship
A Canadian permanent resident card, a provincial ID, or a driver's license shows residence or identity, not citizenship. Only a passport or citizenship certificate does that. If the file contains only residence-type documents, that gap needs to be resolved before any conditions in the offer are worth negotiating, because a category built on citizenship cannot be reached by clarifying job terms alone.
Route unresolved conditions to the right reviewer
Once citizenship is confirmed or found lacking, remaining offer conditions can be handled on their own track: duties clarified with the hiring manager, compensation confirmed with HR, start date confirmed against processing timing. If citizenship is not established, the more useful next step is identifying which category, if any, fits the person's actual status, rather than continuing to refine an offer that a citizenship-dependent category cannot use.
Check for a second citizenship before closing the file
A permanent resident of Canada is not automatically outside the category, because the requirement is citizenship of Canada or of Mexico, and some people hold one of those alongside the residence they think of as their status. Ask directly whether the person holds any other citizenship, whether by birth, descent, or a naturalisation completed years ago and rarely used. A Mexican citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident may be eligible on the Mexican citizenship, and the practical consequences differ, since the procedures available are not identical for Canadian and Mexican citizens. Where no qualifying citizenship exists, record that plainly and turn to what the person's actual status and history could support, rather than continuing to refine an offer the category cannot use. Do not treat a naturalisation application in progress as a qualification; eligibility is assessed on citizenship actually held. Hypothetical example: a food-microbiology technologist assumes their permanent resident card is the relevant document, and the first review establishes that a Mexican passport held since childhood, not the card, is the fact that decides the conversation.
What else is on your mind?
Does Canadian permanent residence give me access to TN?Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.