IN THIS GUIDE · TN evidence planning for a graphic designer working across several concurrent project deliverables
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Identify the actual parties to the design engagement
Name the U.S. entity receiving the professional services, any agency or foreign employer, and the applicant’s ownership interests. A written contract can help explain prearranged work; calling someone a contractor or paying per deliverable does not alone answer the TN question. Review the real arrangement, including who assigns work and whether the applicant would establish a self-employed U.S. practice. Sole or controlling ownership of the entity receiving the applicant’s services is a disqualifying self-employment issue. A first review normally produces three things: a named receiving entity with its registration details, a written statement of who assigns and approves the work, and a list of every entity that pays or invoices. Where the applicant holds shares in any of them, record the percentage. Ownership figures collected late tend to arrive after a filing strategy has already been chosen.
Choose the correct Graphic Designer credential route
The profession list expressly includes Graphic Designer. Its credential alternatives are a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, or a qualifying post-secondary diploma or certificate together with three years of experience. The regulation defines which diploma and certificate credentials count; not every short training course qualifies. Identify the actual credential and experience records, then compare the offered duties with graphic design work rather than trying to place the applicant in an unrelated profession. Order the credential evidence in the sequence a reviewer reads it: the awarding institution, then the program length and completion date, then the experience that the diploma or certificate route requires. Experience letters should state duties and dates rather than praise. Where the degree was issued outside Canada or the United States, expect an evaluation to be requested and commission it early.
Document each deliverable as part of one coherent job
Describe how the proposed deliverables fit the professional engagement: the design functions, contracting parties, anticipated work period and arrangements for payment. Make any agency or multiple-entity relationship explicit. A contract that clearly describes the work is useful evidence, but clarity alone cannot cure a profession, credential or self-employment problem. Review the substance before changing the labels used in the documents. Write the engagement description as a timeline rather than a list. Show when the relationship began, what has already been delivered, what remains, and the anticipated end date, because TN admission is for temporary professional work with a foreseeable conclusion. A description that runs indefinitely invites the question of whether the applicant is building a practice instead of filling a role.
Decide the route once the structure is confirmed
Once employment status and profession match are both settled, move to the practical filing questions: which route applies given citizenship, what the employer still needs to prepare, and what timeline the deliverables require. Where the structure looks closer to self-employment or freelance contracting, discuss that outcome directly rather than reshaping the paperwork to fit a category that does not match the real arrangement. A clear negative answer now avoids a rejected filing later. Hypothetical example: a packaging converter asks a designer to refresh label artwork across three product lines over eight months, paying on delivery of each line. The converter directs revisions and owns the artwork, and the designer holds no interest in it. That set of facts supports prearranged professional work; had the designer invoiced through a company they controlled and set their own scope, self-employment would defeat the route regardless of how the contract reads.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.