Sole or controlling ownership of the entity receiving the applicant’s services is deemed self-employment, which TN does not permit. A noncontrolling equity interest is not automatically the same situation, but it still requires review of actual control, the professional engagement and the other eligibility conditions.
Check the ownership rule before assessing the rest of the arrangement
Request the capitalization table, voting provisions and any agreements that confer control. Do not treat nominal supervision as a solution where the applicant is the sole or controlling owner. Where the interest is genuinely noncontrolling, explain the actual allocation of authority and the prearranged professional work.
Counsel should assess the complete facts before any proposed restructuring is used as a basis for a TN application. Two further conditions belong in the same first conversation, because an ownership analysis that clears the applicant is of no use if either fails. The occupation must be one of the listed USMCA professions and the applicant must personally hold the qualification that entry requires; and the applicant must be a citizen of Canada or Mexico, since permanent residence in Canada does not satisfy that condition.
Where the business was founded by the applicant, expect the ownership question to be examined more closely at each later entry rather than settled once, and keep the governance records current so the answer can be given from documents rather than from memory.