TN-1 Visa for Canadians - Academic Equicalency and Credentials Evaluation

This is Part II of my original post IBD Barriers to Entry For Canadians and How to Overcome Them

Disclaimer: Nothing on here is intended to be legal advice. Please ask your relevant immigration / legal council for advice that suits your circumstances.

Background: Canadian MBA, IBD at a Big Five Canadian Bank, now IBD in NYC at a good BB. I have personally used the TN-1 Visa several times, only once with USCIS pre-approval. Also have friends who have used the Visa also. This is based off our collective experiences.

I often get questions about the TN-1 Visa because it's most likely the Visa used to cross the border. (H1-B is too rigid for someone who wants to cross immediately).

You've networked, interviewed and are close to an offer. But now HR wants to make sure you can work in the US, but maybe they don't want to wait for USCIS pre-approval (one month delay). You want to understand the TN-1 Visa because you don't want to be left high and dry when you are THIS close.

You know you will need to have a Credentials Evaluation (Academic equivalency - proving your degree is equivalent to a four-year economics undergraduate degree). But what does that mean?

Often, the customs officer will sit with you and review your transcript (bring an original in an envelope sealed from your university registrar. If you want a preview order extra copies).

There is a magic number (I want to say 18, but I can't remember exactly) of courses that the border officer will want to see to qualify you.

Below are the primary categories of classes:

1. Economics Courses

Obviously, if you have courses that start with economics prefixes - ECON 101, then that counts. Micro Econ 101/201, Macro Econ 101/201 are the most obvious choices.

2. Anti-Requisites

These are courses that supersede standard econ courses. Example: You took Science Math 101, 201, and 301 which were similar or more complicated than Econ Math 101, 201, and 301.

3. Complementary Courses

Related/supplementary courses. Example: An econ undergrad might require some business or CS courses. Business 101 or Programming 101 is part of the Econ curriculum.

4. Electives

Electives: An econ degree requires taking courses in other faculties as part of electives.

This is the worst case I've heard of customs officers caring this much. However, if you are feeling uncertain, but want to make sure you have your ducks in a row, you can have the material to walk the customs officer through your transcript if they ask for guidance.

Other things to note, these rules/concepts generally apply for other categories too (Accountants, Computer Science etc.)

Also, avoid the Management Consultant category as much as possible even if you are actually a Management Consultant. Management Consultants get red flagged because they are the broadest TN category which people often use to try to squeeze people through who don't fit any other category. Border officers know this and often heavily scrutinize Management Consultant TN-1s.