IN THIS GUIDE · Match an agronomy offer to the profession's own qualification rule
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Citizenship, not residence, opens the category
The controlling record here is a Canadian or Mexican citizenship document. A permanent resident card, a long Ontario address history and a Canadian driver's licence establish residence and identity, and none of them establishes citizenship. This is the first condition to confirm because it cannot be argued around: an applicant who is not a citizen of Canada or Mexico is outside the category regardless of how well the offer matches a listed profession. Where citizenship was acquired by grant rather than birth, the certificate is the document that carries the fact.
The Appendix 2 entry decides whether the job is in scope
Read the schedule entry rather than the job advertisement. The published list pairs each profession with the credential that profession requires, and a recruiter's chosen title has no effect on that pairing. A field-agronomy position that is genuinely advisory work on crop production is assessed against the agricultural entry and its stated degree requirement, while the same employer's sales-representative or crew-supervisor roles may not correspond to any listed profession at all. Where duties straddle two descriptions, the written duty statement, not the title, is what a reviewer weighs.
The credential rule belongs to the profession, not the employer
Each listed profession sets its own rule, and some accept a degree only, some accept a provincial or state licence, and some accept a defined combination of a lesser credential with stated years of experience. An employer's willingness to hire on experience alone does not substitute for the schedule's requirement. A degree awarded outside Canada, Mexico or the United States generally needs a reliable foreign credential evaluation. Any licence needed to practise in the destination state is a separate matter from the qualification the schedule names, and both may apply.
The employment structure can end the analysis early
TN covers prearranged professional work for an employer; it is not authorization for self-employment in the United States. If the applicant holds an ownership stake in the U.S. entity that would receive the services, that interest should be disclosed and examined, because providing services to a company the applicant owns or controls falls outside the arrangement the category permits. A minority interest in an unrelated Canadian business is a different question. Canadians are also not issued a TN visa stamp: the request is made at a port of entry or through an employer's I-129 petition.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.