Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
The profession has to keep describing the work
Occupational Therapist is a listed profession and its rule is a state or provincial licence, or a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree. Meeting it once is not the end of the matter. If the role drifts into case management, scheduling or clinical administration, the work no longer answers to the profession, and that becomes visible at an extension or at a border crossing. Where an employer restructures a clinical role, the position should be reviewed rather than assumed to be unchanged.
The status is tied to one employer
This classification authorises work for the employer named in the application. It is not portable and does not permit U.S. self-employment; any ownership stake, voting rights and related control must be disclosed and assessed. A move to a different provider, including a related one under the same corporate group, requires a new application on the new facts rather than a notification. Agencies complicate this further, because the entity that employs may not be the entity where the work is performed, and both should be identified in the letter. Plan a change of employer as a process with lead time, not as a resignation.
Licensure runs on its own calendar
State licensure is granted by a state board and renewed on that board's schedule, with continuing competence requirements that must be evidenced. A lapse can suspend the ability to practise, and a practitioner who cannot practise is no longer performing the work the admission rests on. Log continuing education as it is completed rather than in the final month, keep the certificates, and note the renewal date on the household calendar alongside the immigration dates.
Extensions and the question of intent
Admission is granted for a defined period. A Canadian citizen may generally apply for TN admission at a port of entry without a TN visa stamp, or the U.S. employer may file Form I-129 with USCIS, including for an in-country extension where applicable. This is a temporary classification, and an applicant is expected to be coming for a temporary period rather than to establish permanent residence. A family that decides it intends to remain indefinitely should take advice on how that interacts with future applications, because the answer differs between categories and it is better understood early. Before choosing a filing route, identify the event that makes the answer urgent: a new hire, a replacement employer, a renewed licence, or travel after a material job change. A first review produces a document list matched to that event, not a recycled packet. The key records are the signed offer, a present job description, proof of citizenship, credentials, and any practice authority. Trouble usually starts when the title remains familiar but the duties have moved into general management, or when an applicant describes independent consulting although the receiving business is effectively their own. Resolve that mismatch before travel, because a favourable prior admission does not cure different current facts.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.