Some companies turn to TN visa as work shortage continues

I have known companies with operations in both the U.S. and Mexico that have used this visa to allow their employees in Mexico to seamlessly work in the U.S. However, due to staffing shortages, companies are now utilizing the TN visa to fill labor gaps and attract talent. 

According to a recent New York Times article by economics reporter Ben Casselman, the U.S. economy lost 22 million jobs during the first two months of the pandemic in 2020. It has now gained all of those back and added a half million more. Long-term employment is now the lowest it has been in 20 years, which makes a case against the belief that Americans don’t want to work. What has happened is people have upgraded their jobs from being a waiter to working in a warehouse or factory.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs website, to be granted a TN visa, the applicant must be a citizen of Canada and Mexico and must have arranged full-time or part-time work with an employer. Self-employment is not permitted. 

The applicant must also work and have qualifications in a profession that is on the NAFTA list, which includes scientists, architects, accountants, engineers, management consultants, and people in the medical field.

Mexican citizens applying for the TN visa must submit paperwork at a U.S. consulate office and participate in two interviews. The first is to submit fingerprints. The second is an interview with a consular officer who will determine the applicant’s eligibility.  

Applicants must pay a non-refundable, non-immigrant application fee of $160 before scheduling the first interview. If the application is approved, then they have to pay a $104 reciprocity fee for a one-year visa and $382 for a four-year visa.  

Canadian applicants can bring their paperwork to a U.S. port of entry where they will be issued the visa. The application fee is $50 plus $6 for an I-94 form, which allows multiple entries into the U.S. past a designated border zone for a specific time period. 

Spouses of TN visa holders working in the U.S. are issued a TD visa, or what is known as a NAFTA-dependent visa.

Obtaining a TN visa used to be fairly quick, but the process now takes longer. 

“Before the pandemic, it used to take about two weeks to obtain a TN visa,” El Paso attorney Carlos Maldonado said. “Now, it takes between three to five months because in 2020 and 2021 many people who needed to renew their tourist or business visa were not able to schedule an appointment with a consulate office. So there is a bit of a backlog now that appointments are again being scheduled.”

The TN visa works especially well for U.S. companies operating near the U.S.-Mexico border, where many Mexicans may prefer to live in their Mexican city and cross to work in the U.S. every day. In cities such as Juárez, there are multiple educational institutions graduating engineers, business managers, chemists, scientists and teachers. All of these professions qualify for the TN visa.

Maldonado is seeing more and more companies utilizing the TN visa to access talent in both Mexico and Canada. 

“There is so much talent across the border that would jump at the opportunity to earn a good paycheck in the U.S., develop a career and provide for their families in Mexico,” he said. As the U.S. population ages and businesses struggle to find qualified workers, the TN visa could well become part of their overall strategy to build their workforce.

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Jerry Pacheco is executive director of the international Business Accelerator, a trade counseling and training program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at jerry@nmiba.com.