Read the general professional work overview
When HR and a hiring manager describe the role differently, identify and resolve the discrepancy before finalizing the support file. The goal is one accurate account supported by the people responsible for it. Choosing the more convenient document without resolving the conflict can leave the application based on incompatible facts.
Describe each conflict specifically
Record the disputed term and the documents containing it: duties, reporting line, duration, work location or compensation. Separate minor formatting differences from substantive disagreements. A short issue log helps the employer address the actual problem instead of circulating another draft that changes wording without resolving the underlying arrangement.
Obtain clarification from the responsible person
Ask who has authority to confirm the disputed term. A manager may explain duties while another team controls contractual terms. Keep the resulting clarification with the final documents. Avoid relying on an informal reassurance when the signed record still states something materially different.
Control the final version
Label superseded drafts internally and confirm which signed documents form the current file. Do not alter older signed records yourself or conceal relevant history from the adviser. Before submission, review the final set as a whole so a correction in one document has not created a new inconsistency elsewhere.
Ask which company is making the offer
Conflicting records often disagree about the employer, not only the duties. Establish the legal entity that will engage the applicant, the entity that will supervise, and whether a staffing intermediary sits between them. TN requires prearranged professional employment with a U.S. employer, or with a U.S. entity contracting for the services; self-employment is not permitted, so this is a substantive question rather than a formatting one. Hypothetical example: a poultry science role is advertised by a group’s corporate recruiter, supervised at a processing facility operated by a subsidiary, and paid through a shared services company. Each of those is a real arrangement. The file should say which one employs the applicant and how the others relate to it, in the employer’s own words.
Give each record back to the person accountable for it
Match every disputed item to the person who can change it and to the document it lives in. Duties belong to the supervising manager. Contract terms, entity name and signature authority belong to whoever administers the employment. The applicant’s credential evidence belongs to the applicant, and nobody else should be redrafting it. Send one issue at a time with the exact wording at stake, and ask for a reissued document rather than an explanation layered on top of a signed record. Where an answer arrives from someone without authority to give it, note that and ask again. The employer describes the position. The applicant must hold the credential the USMCA appendix specifies for the professional category being claimed. Keeping those two responsibilities apart makes the final package easier to review.
What else is on your mind?
Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.