Visa Lawyer Blog
We process many TN visa cases at our office and through our self help kit guide on the TN Visa Expert Site. The TN visa is available for Canadian and Mexican citizens. The applicant must be coming to work in the United States as one of 65 job titles defined in Chapter 16, Annex 1603, Appendix 1603.d.1.
and possess the required education and/or experience.
Some applicants do not seem to fit the typical job title listed, and our job is to try to stir them in the correct direction. I wanted to bring an example of a recent successful case where we did just that. This applicant held a Bachelor of Commerce with a double Concentration in Organizational Behavior and Marketing from McGill University and a Master’s of Applied Positive Psychology from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. Original job title was a personal coach. I have looked further into her company and other duties and reralized that Technical Writer could work. This is a good General job title that can be used very effectively when crafting NAFTA TN applications. It worked, and you can read her story below including the cover letter that we used.
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Hi Jacob, I’m in, With a fresh new TN visa in hand!
I brought a book with me, and when I went in the office, I sat down and started to read. When the agent called me, he asked what position I was applying for. I said “Technical Writer” and then laughed and added “I’m a bit of a nerd!”. He then quickly tried to find my degrees to make sure I qualified and after seeing my transcript, he said “You have a 4.0 GPA?” So I replied “Well… I already said I was a bit of a nerd!” So the agent added it all up – she gets here, sits down and reads, applies for Technical Writer and has a 4.0 GPA on her Master degree from UPenn – that’s solid! He then looked at my articles that I had printed as a proof of experience and started to read them quickly – he said he needed to read them for his own benefit, so that confirmed I was qualified!
He didn’t know that Technical Writer was on the TN list, so he had to dig out a document with all the job descriptions, find it, read it and then compare with my letter. He said I had a very nice letter and asked a few questions to validate some of what he had read, but I really didn’t get a hard time at all! I was actually surprised that it went so easy!
Half hour later, he was taking my picture and finger prints! And so here I am, very happy to be in and very grateful you advised me to go for Technical Writer! Thank you, Jacob!
Warmly,
MJ
See her Letter below
Technical publications writer approved letter
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Customs & Border Protection
Port of Entry
Re: NAFTA Professional Employment Authorization (TN1)
Applicant: MJ, seeking employment with OT
Dear Free Trade Officer:
NATURE OF THIS APPLICATION
This letter is submitted in support of the application of Ms. MJ for NAFTA Professional Employment Authorization in the category of Technical Publications Writer, a position currently on Schedule 2 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
US EMPLOYER – OT
OT is an enterprise established in Pennsylvania. A 14-year veteran in the financial industry, its Founder and President has led hundreds of employees and ran multiple training programs during the course of his career. He cumulated most of his extensive experience in Strategic Equity Management – how to pay one’s mortgage down quicker, how to optimize one’s use of home equity, educating first-time home buyers, etc. Having seen thousands of loans refinanced due to divorce and accrued credit card debt, R decided to diversify his operations and opened a company whose mission is to teach performance, fulfillment and balance – or the art of well-being, a much needed initiative given today’s average lifestyle. A financial plan without a life plan is unsatisfying; a life plan without a financial plan is unrealistic. Having both is not only more fulfilling, but it’s also a great way for a financial enterprise to differentiate its offer in a highly competitive market.
The goal of OT is to create an interactive webpage – a much upgraded version of My Space – where one’s assets, liabilities and net worth would be calculated live on a day-to-day basis. Along with financial tools, clients will be able to save their family pictures, strengths profiles, journal entries, long-term goals, achievements and legacy statements. Clients who have successfully followed any given curriculum with OT will also be awarded an electronic batch and have the option to enter designated chat rooms to stay connected with others who have received the same teachings and want to live by similar lessons.
At the current stage of its development, OT needs to build well-being curricula and start testing them with companies and with the public. The next phase of our development includes finding investors and sponsors to help us build the interactive webpage. We will build membership from there and start making the world a better place.
BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICANT
Ms. MJ is a Canadian citizen who possesses the precise combination of skills and expertise that OT requires at this stage of its development. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a double Concentration in Organizational Behavior and Marketing from McGill University and a Master’s of Applied Positive Psychology from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. These combined diplomas insure that she has the knowledge relevant to our industry. Moreover, her academic rigor, showed by the remarkable results she achieved in both degrees, confirm that she is detail-oriented and that she has the ability to produce the type of documents that any educated investor would be motivated by.
Her Master’s degree capstone project was to produce teaching materials for fundamentals in positive psychology. The end result was respected and admired by her professors, to the point that she was invited to present it at the International Positive Psychology Conference held by Gallup in Washington last October. It is no surprise that University of Pennsylvania further hired her to review their Masters’ level student’s essays – a job at which she excelled given her dedication to precision and clarity. She is also an author for the Positive Psychology News Daily, a web-based publication that attracts over 10,000 readers everyday. Being privileged with meeting most influential researchers of her field during the course of her studies, she wisely maintained warm relationships with many of them. We eagerly anticipate that her associations will attract favorable light on OT’s activities.
Ms. MJ not only has previous experience in curriculum development, but also in teaching. She has taught in academic, corporate and fitness settings, so her ability to make materials relevant and appealing to a wide variety of audiences is remarkable. She further acquired management experience in the diversified financial sector, making her an expert on insuring that her curricula will be pertinent and applicable for OT’s clients.
Beyond and above her skills and expertise, Ms. MJ is a passionate individual who is eager to make scientific concepts accessible to everyone so they can use it for their own purposes. She is a shooting star in her field and we are convinced the materials she will produce for OT will be the foundation of our success.
U.S. POSITION: TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS WRITER
OT has a pressing need for a Technical Publications Writer to assist us in laying solid foundations for the above-described projects. We are confident her involvement is critical to the success of our company. Her primary responsibilities would include the following:
– Stay up-to-date on the American Psychological Association guidelines and insure all published materials rigorously follow their standards;
– Review and research scientific literature to evaluate new data’s importance relative to already established concepts by participating in conferences, colloquiums and workshops as well as by reading scientific journal articles, books and other credible sources of information;
– Translate technical information and organize materials into easily understandable and applicable language;
– Build effective well-being syllabi and curricula, instructor’s manuals and instructions, Power Point presentations and participants’ workbooks, including the proper selection of illustrations, photographs, charts and diagrams for widely-ranging audiences, including but not limited to management teams, fitness centers, executive retreats and individuals;
– Revise, observe, test materials and/or interview participants and disseminator(s) to recommend strategies for improvement in terms of design, format, content and/or methods and achieve more effective participant engagement and/or material retention;
– Insure all created materials are consistent in terms of language used, ideas brought forward and visual appearance in order to build a strong corporate signature style;
– Edit materials currently in use to insure they follow the same standards;
– Create and validate materials for an audio-book;
– Contribute to Optimal Living’s marketing efforts, including but not limited to the production of sales promotion materials, texts for our website, blog, brochures, posters, adds and reports;
– Maintain involvement with the Positive Psychology News Daily; write clear, concise and vivid articles that will be easily remembered;
– Maintain relationships with renowned researchers in the field;
– Develop new writing engagements with other publications to increase Optimal Living’s visibility.
Ms. MJ’ Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology and other extensive qualifications, her experience and human skills provide her with the requisite sophistication to perform all of the above tasks. She is a remarkable scientific communicator, writer and editor.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
Upon reception of her Employment Authorization, OT, LLC will employ Ms. MJ at the rate of $28.00 per hour, 30 hours a week for a total income of $840.00 per week. The intended period of her employment will be no longer than one year. Ms. MJ employment is temporary in nature as we expect she will have had sufficient time to fully develop all intended curricula, manuals and promotional brochures within the next twelve months. Accordingly, OT, LLC respectfully requests that Ms. MJ be granted a TN1 Visa for a temporary period of one year.
REQUEST
In light of the above situation, I request that you kindly issue MJ an Employment Authorization valid for one year effective July 28th, 2008 to July 27th, 2009.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours very truly,
PRESIDENT