Skip to content
CHELSEA · TN FIELD GUIDE

Can a Chelsea contractor qualify for TN when her own corporation holds the U.S. client contract?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

Yes, provided the U.S. enterprise receiving the services is not owned or controlled by her. Her corporation is a foreign employer supplying a professional to a U.S. client, which TN permits.

Separate the employer from the enterprise served

The TN regulation permits a Canadian citizen to work for a foreign employer that provides prearranged professional services to a U.S. entity. The bar is on self-employment in the United States, which means the applicant may not be the owner or controlling person of the U.S. enterprise she serves. A Chelsea analyst who is the only shareholder of her Canadian corporation can still qualify because the logistics company, not her company, is the entity benefiting from the services. The support letter should therefore come from her corporation, identify her shareholding openly and attach the client agreement. She must also satisfy the professional-list conditions on her own account: Canadian citizenship, a listed occupation, the diploma-plus-three-years or degree route, and temporary intent. Ownership disclosure and profession fit are assessed separately, and both must succeed.

A first review separates four issues: citizenship, the named profession, the credential, and the proposed work arrangement. The passport, support letter, degree records, and signed engagement should tell the same story. If duties are mainly outside the listed profession, a polished title will not repair the mismatch. The Canadian applicant can request TN admission from CBP or use an employer-filed USCIS petition; neither route permits a self-employed TN engagement in the United States. Hypothetical example: a hydrologist is asked to supervise field sampling for a municipal water contractor. The deciding record is the scope of work, which must show professional hydrology rather than a general labour assignment.