Ownership requires an individualized assessment of the actual arrangement because TN does not permit self-employment. This page cannot identify a safe percentage or declare that incorporation solves the problem. The listed profession and credential requirements also remain applicable; a strong professional match does not answer the ownership question.
Disclose the complete arrangement
Explain how the interest was obtained, what rights attach to it, and whether the applicant controls business or employment decisions. Include proposed changes, options, and side agreements that affect those facts. A hypothetical employee receiving equity compensation should not be treated as identical to a founder arranging work through a controlled enterprise.
Equally, neither scenario should be declared eligible from its label alone. A qualified adviser should review the governing documents and real practices together. Assemble the disclosure as a set of named records rather than a narrative.
Provide the share register showing the interest and its date of issue, the instrument under which it was acquired, the governing articles or agreement, and the proposed employment contract. Hypothetical example: a plant breeder holds a founding interest in a U.S. seed company and is offered professional breeding work by it.
The register establishes what is held; the shareholders agreement establishes whether the holder can direct the business; the employment contract establishes who supervises the breeding work and on what terms. Those three answer what a proportion alone cannot. Where an agreement is unsigned or a grant is promised but not made, say so explicitly, because an assessment given on a draft is an assessment of the draft.
The listed profession and credential requirements remain separate and must be evidenced in their own right.