IN THIS GUIDE · A biologist whose employer wants to lead with her experience instead of her degree
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Biologist carries no experience branch, so the parchment carries the case
Appendix 2 sets a separate rule for every occupation it lists. Management Consultant can be reached through five years of relevant work, and Scientific Technician or Technologist is reached through theoretical knowledge plus demonstrated ability rather than through any particular credential. Biologist is not written that way: the entry calls for a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, and nothing else is offered as a substitute. Marguerite holds a bachelor of science, so the requirement is satisfied, but a letter that buries the degree behind a career summary invites an officer to look for the branch that does not exist. The employer should name the degree first and treat the fourteen years as corroboration of fit, not as the qualification.
When the parchment and the passport disagree about a name
Marguerite's degree was conferred under a surname she no longer uses, and her provincial registration was updated years later. Nobody at the counter is obliged to assume the two documents describe one person. The repair is unglamorous and entirely within her control: carry the marriage or name-change certificate that links the two, ask the university for a letter confirming the conferral under both names if it will issue one, and make sure the offer letter uses the name in the passport rather than the name on the transcript. Any record not already in English needs a complete certified translation attached to the original, and a partial translation of a transcript tends to raise more questions than it settles.
The consultancy she runs on the side does not travel with her
Alongside her salaried role Marguerite invoices two neighbouring growers for seasonal water-column advice through a small company she owns. That practice is lawful here and irrelevant to the American application only if it stays here. TN does not permit self-employment in the United States, so she cannot continue billing American clients from a base there, cannot open an office for the practice, and should not accept the hatchery's suggestion that she start under a consulting contract while payroll is arranged. If the hatchery offers her equity as part of the package, that interest has to be disclosed and reviewed, because ownership changes how the relationship is read.
Where the application is actually made
A Canadian citizen needs no TN visa stamp. Marguerite may present the case in person at a land border port of entry, or at a United States preclearance facility inside a Canadian airport that offers inspection before departure, and a decision is made on the spot. The alternative is for the hatchery to file Form I-129 with USCIS and for her to travel once it is approved, which is slower but produces a reviewable record and suits an employer that dislikes an unwritten outcome. Admission is granted for a period not exceeding three years and is tied to the employment described, so whichever path is chosen, the paperwork must match the job as it will exist on the first day.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.