Read the general professional work overview
Graphic designer qualifies through a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, or a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus three years of experience in graphic design. Because design portfolios can look impressive without matching either documentary path, the file needs paperwork that actually proves the credential or the experience, not just work samples.
Do not let a strong portfolio substitute for required documents
A portfolio can usefully describe the work an applicant has done, but it does not on its own establish a degree or the required diploma or certificate plus three years of experience. Gather the actual transcript or diploma/certificate alongside the portfolio. The practical consequence is an ordering problem: assemble the documentary path first and treat the portfolio as supporting material showing that the work is genuinely design work. Obtain the transcript or the diploma directly from the institution, together with a statement of the program length, because the regulation distinguishes a post-secondary diploma or certificate from shorter training. Where the experience route is relied on, count the three years against dated letters rather than against a resume, since resumes routinely round periods up and overlapping engagements can appear to cover more time than they do.
Document the experience path with real specificity
An applicant has a one-year graphic design certificate and four years of freelance design work for various clients. Verify whether that certificate is a "post-secondary" credential as the category requires, and gather individual client or employer confirmations of dates and design duties rather than a single self-authored client list, since self-reported summaries of freelance work are harder to verify than third-party letters. Hypothetical example: a designer holds a three-year diploma and spent four years in an in-house studio at a furniture maker, followed by two years of freelance work. The in-house period is easier to evidence, because a single employer can confirm dates, duties, and supervision in one letter. For the freelance period, ask each client for a short dated confirmation of the design work performed rather than compiling a list. Third-party confirmations are what a reviewer can test; a self-authored summary invites the question of what supports it.
Confirm the employment structure, not only the design work
If prior design work was performed as an independent freelancer, confirm the proposed U.S. position is a genuine employer-employee or contracted-client relationship, not a continuation of independent freelance practice, since self-employment does not qualify. Check the proposed arrangement against the rule that TN does not accommodate self-employment. Ask who directs the work, who owns the output, whether the designer may send a substitute, and whether the applicant holds any interest in the receiving entity. A history of freelance practice is not itself a problem, but a proposed arrangement that simply continues that practice under a new client name is. Where the answers point that way, address it before the file is assembled rather than after an officer has begun reading it.
What else is on your mind?
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?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.