The search for good workers is an everyday activity and they can come in from different countries. If you are a business owner located in the US, you can have employees from Mexico and Canada with simple documentation.
The TN visa is beneficial both for the owners and the workers, so it is a tool that should be regularly used. However, you have to inform yourself about it before you engage in submitting your TN application.
To help you with the informative process, we have made this article where we show some of the things you need to know as an owner. Make sure that you read on, so you can use this tool in full potential.
Table of Contents
1. What this document does
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If you want someone who is not from the states to be involved in your business and work in the office that you have, they are required to possess this document. It is a legal paper that allows them to stay in the states although they are not being a regular citizen.
Usually, people are allowed to stay for half a year as a tourist. However, with the TN document, they can stay for about three years. That is enough time for them to accommodate their new conditions.
To be able to have them employed in your firm, you will have to get a TN offer, that your firm accepts workers from abroad. Without it, the person that you wanted to join your business will not able to stay for long.
We managed to find more detailed information about TN Visa requirements and other important factors on this website.
2. Your firm can apply only if it is under NAFTA’s professions
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Before you apply for recognizing workers from abroad, you have to make sure that your firm is eligible for this option. To do that, you will have to visit the free trade agreement’s site and see if the field you run your business in is allowed.
Almost all of the big fields are included in the TN option. As an example, running an IT firm, accountant, or being in the medical field will permit you to have employed people that are not from the states.
Even if your firm is not in the direct field, you can still be accepted. The best thing you should do is to inform your lawyer and let them gather all the information you need. Being legally advised is an additional benefit that you should use.
3. Select the proper institution
The documentation that you need to provide, has to be submitted to an institution depending on where does the employee comes from. Since there are three different places where you can apply, you have to make sure that you are doing that in the correct place to be more efficient.
If the person you want to work with within your firm comes from Mexico, they should be addressing the embassy or consulate. However, they have required an additional form depending on where do they apply. In addition, depending on where they choose to submit their application, the price for that process differs.
In case the person comes from Canada, the institution where they submit their documentation is the border protection or the USCIS. They are not required additional forms and documentation.
With that being said, depending on the country that your next employee comes from, that should be the institution you need to contact. This is also important for the renewal of their visa and gathering the papers for the continuation of their working process in your firm.
4. There is a specific time they last
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As a business owner, you have to worry if your workers have done all the documentation correctly, and they can come to work the next day. The TN paper lasts for about three years. In that time your worker can stay in the states, and be present every day at work. However, as time goes by, you will have to help them get the visa extensions.
Your job as the owner of the firm is ensuring the country that your worker is needed for your business, and that they don’t have intentions to gain a new passport. After that, the employee submits an extension application, and you wait for the approval.
Make sure that you do this at least two or three months prior, so the person does not have to go back to their native country in the meantime. Not only that this causes a stressful situation, but you will also lose progress since you will be missing an asset.
5. There can be rejections
Sometimes things cannot go as planned. Even if you have arranged everything on your end, and have fulfilled your duty to come up with a TN letter, the person you wanted to join you may be rejected.
When things like this happen, they are not completely conclusive and they are far from over. Next time, they can hire a professional who has done applications for a working visa in the past. Coming up with a complete application and giving the impression that you don’t want to gain new citizenship lowers the chances of being denied.
6. Make sure you stay eligible
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When the person arrives, you have to make sure that everything goes perfectly. There is additional documentation needed, that the person has to acquire upon arrival. This means that they have to be checked and given work authorization so they can obtain the I9 document.
Assure yourself that the dates on this document is matching the date when they got the TN paper and have been approved to join your business.
Lastly, you should make sure that the person keeps the job that has been arranged from the beginning which granted them the working visa. Also, make sure their obligations and wages stay consistent.
Conclusion
Although getting all the required documents can be stressful, the actual process is relatively quick. Obtaining the TN paper benefits that favor both sides. No matter the origin country that the person comes from, they can stay in your firm for as long as they want since you can renew their allowance every time before it ends.
Using this visa tool, you will upgrade your firm with a person that will help you improve even more. The borders do not have to limit your business possibilities, and this document proves that.
