“I recently received a job offer in New York as a registered nurse and am preparing to get my TN Visa at the border. Do I need HR to prepare a TN Support letter that specifies the requested employment period, or is my preliminary offer package enough?”
You do not need a document with a magic title, and an existing employer-issued offer can work if it supplies the required facts. The important fix is straightforward: have HR add the anticipated stay and any missing job, credential, or pay details before you apply.
Your citizenship determines where you apply, while the content of your employer’s paperwork determines whether your offer evidence is ready.
You may request from CBP at a designated port of entry. An employer-issued offer letter that already gives the RN role, duties, , qualifications, and pay may serve as your employer letter; it does not need the title “TN Support Letter.” Because USCIS specifically lists a letter from the prospective employer for this route, ask HR to issue or revise one if your package lacks those details. [8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.6); [USCIS TN guidance](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-usmca-professionals)
You need a TN visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate before requesting admission at the border. The State Department accepts a contract or employment letter as job-offer evidence, but it must convey the required work and stay details; a preliminary package missing them is not enough. [USCIS TN guidance](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-usmca-professionals); [State Department TN guidance](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/visas-canadian-mexican-usmca-professional-workers.html)
For either route, do not rely on paperwork that omits the anticipated stay or other required particulars. Have HR supplement it before applying; the regulation requires evidence of the profession, professional activities, anticipated stay, qualifications, and remuneration. [8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.6)
TN classification under this rule is for citizens of Canada or Mexico; a job offer or residence in either country does not substitute for that citizenship. [8 CFR 214.6(d)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.6)
For either nationality, the evidence must state an anticipated stay; a separately titled “TN Support Letter” is not prescribed by the regulation. [8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.6)
Build a complete employer-and-nursing packet before taking the route that applies to your citizenship.
Before applying
Ask HR to complete your employer evidence
Ask the New York employer to issue or revise an offer letter stating the Registered Nurse role, work location and duties, purpose of the job, anticipated length of stay, your nursing qualifications, and compensation. A proposed stay may be stated without promising a fixed-term job; TN admission is capped at three years. The controlling checklist is [8 CFR 214.6(d)(3)(ii)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.6).
Requisitos
Before visa issuance or border admission
Get your New York nursing and credentialing documents
Bring your New York-issued RN license, temporary license, or other temporary RN authorization and your health-care-worker certificate. If you graduated from a nursing school abroad and still need New York licensure, NYSED’s [RN Pathway 5](https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/registered-professional-nursing/license-requirements/pathway-5) directs you to submit Online Form 1 with a $143 license/first-registration fee and arrange education verification through TruMerit or your school’s Form 2F. If you have never taken NCLEX-RN and meet the other requirements, that page also provides Form 5 for a limited permit: you complete Section I, your employer completes Section II, and you mail it with $35; have the authorization issued before relying on it for admission.
Requisitos
Canadian-citizen route
If Canadian, present the packet to CBP
Request TN admission from a CBP officer at a designated U.S. port of entry or preclearance station; you do not first need a consular TN visa. The Canadian professional-classification fee is $50. If applying at a land border, CBP’s Form I-94 application fee is an additional $30, effective September 30, 2025. [USCIS TN guidance](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/tn-usmca-professionals); [8 CFR 103.7](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-103/section-103.7); [CBP I-94 fees](https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/help)
Requisitos
Mexican-citizen route
If Mexican, obtain your TN visa before traveling
Complete [Form DS-160](https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/), print its confirmation, pay the $185 TN visa application-processing fee, and apply through a U.S. embassy or consulate before requesting TN admission. The State Department generally requires a visa interview, with limited exceptions. Bring the completed employer evidence and nursing documents to the visa process and admission. [State Department TN instructions](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/visas-canadian-mexican-usmca-professional-workers.html); [visa fee schedule](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/fees-visa-services.html)
Requisitos
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
u/LionKitchen5479r/tnvisa16 ago 2026
The governing sources are DHS regulations, USCIS guidance, New York’s nursing licensing instructions, CBP fee guidance, and State Department visa instructions.
8 CFR 214.6
The regulation permits employer-letter evidence; it does not prescribe a document titled “TN Support Letter.”
(d)(3)(ii)
This documentation may be in the form of a letter from the prospective employer(s) in the United States or from the foreign employer, and must be supported by diplomas, degrees or membership in a professional organization.
8 CFR 214.6
The employer evidence must address the RN profession, duties, proposed stay, qualifications, and pay.
(d)(3)(ii)(A)–(E)
The documentation shall fully affirm: (A) The profession of the applicant under Appendix 2 to Annex 16–A of Chapter 16 of the USMCA; (B) A description of the professional activities, including a brief summary of daily job duties, if appropriate, in which the applicant will engage in for the United States employer/entity; (C) The anticipated length of stay; (D) The educational qualifications or appropriate credentials which demonstrate that the Canadian or Mexican citizen has professional level status; and (E) The arrangements for remuneration for services to be rendered.
USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part P, Ch. 4
USCIS describes an employer letter containing the offer, work, stay, and compensation details.
Documentation for change of status
A letter from the employer in the United States indicating an offer of employment, the activity to be engaged in, the anticipated length of stay, and the arrangements for remuneration;
USCIS TN USMCA Professionals
For a Canadian applying on entry, USCIS specifically lists an employer letter describing the work and length of stay.
Canadian citizens
Letter from your prospective employer detailing items such as the professional capacity in which you will work in the United States, the purpose of your employment, your length of stay, and your educational qualifications
State Department TN visa guidance
The State Department recognizes a contract or employment letter as evidence of the TN job offer.
Required documentation
To show that you have a job offer, provide a contract or employment letter from your employer in the United States confirming your upcoming employment in one of the professional occupations listed in Appendix 1306.d.1 of NAFTA Chapter 16.
USCIS TN USMCA Professionals
Canadian citizens can seek TN classification from CBP on admission without first obtaining a consular visa.
Canadian citizens
If you are a Canadian citizen residing outside the United States, you are not required to apply for a TN visa at a U.S. consulate. You may establish eligibility for TN classification at the time you seek admission to the United States by presenting required documentation to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at certain CBP-designated U.S. ports of entry or at a designated pre-clearance/pre-flight inspection station.
USCIS TN USMCA Professionals
A Mexican citizen cannot substitute a first-time border request for the required TN visa.
Mexican citizens
If you are a Mexican citizen residing outside the United States, you must obtain a visa to enter the United States as a TN nonimmigrant.
8 CFR 214.6
Three years is the maximum TN admission period, not a required guaranteed employment term.
(e)
A citizen of Canada or Mexico who qualifies for admission under this section shall be provided confirming documentation and shall be admitted under the classification symbol TN for a period not to exceed three years.
USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part P, Ch. 6
A TN nurse must show authorization issued for the state of intended employment—New York here.
Registered nurses
However, in order to be admitted as a TN nonimmigrant, the registered nurse must present a permanent state license, a temporary state license, or other temporary authorization to work as a registered nurse, issued by the state nursing board in the state of intended employment.
USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part P, Ch. 6
TN registered nurses also need the specified health-care credentialing certificate.
Registered nurses
In addition, registered nurses must present a certificate from TruMerit (formerly the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools or CGFNS) or an equivalent credentialing organization.
NYSED RN Limited Permits
New York’s RN limited-permit route is unavailable once someone has taken the NCLEX-RN.
Limited permits
If you have ever taken the NCLEX-RN, you are not eligible for a limited permit.
NYSED RN Pathway 5
For an eligible applicant, New York gives the Form 5 procedure and its fee.
Limited permit option
Complete Section I and then ask your prospective employer to complete Section II. Mail the completed form with the $35 fee to the Office of the Professions at the address at the end of the form.
NYSED RN Pathway 5
New York states the initial RN application fee for its foreign-nursing-school pathway.
Step 2
You must pay the $143 license and first registration fee by credit card.
8 CFR 103.7
The listed Canadian professional classification request fee is $50.
(c)(11)
Request for Classification of a citizen of Canada to engage in professional business activities under section 214(e) of the Act (Chapter 16 of the North American Free Trade Agreement). $50.00.
CBP I-94/I-95 FAQ
A land-border Form I-94 application costs $30 under the change effective September 30, 2025.
I-94 fee FAQ
Accordingly, the new fee to apply for a CBP Form I-94 at a land border port of entry will be $30.00, consisting of the $6 land border fee and the HR-1 $24 fee. This fee change went into effect on September 30, 2025, at 1700 EST.
State Department Fees for Visa Services
The State Department lists TN/TD under the $185 non-petition-based visa processing fee.
Nonimmigrant visa application processing fees
Non-petition-based nonimmigrant visa (except E): $185.00
State Department TN visa guidance
A Mexican TN visa applicant uses Form DS-160 and brings its confirmation to the visa interview.
Complete the online visa application
Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160 – Learn more about completing the DS-160. You must: 1) complete the online visa application and 2) print the application form confirmation page to bring to your interview
These are the official rules as published on the cited dates; rules and fees can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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