TN Job Offer Letter - Small Company

Ellie22

New Member
Hi all,

I recently got a job offer from a small company in the US. Not too worried about credentials/professional classification/job title. The company was fine with the TN but told me to handle it and draft the job offer letter so here I am...

Things that concern me:
- It's a start-up and barely 1 year in existence.
- Company has fewer than 15 employees.
- The HQ is an "office share" company in the US since there is little need for office infrastructure.
- The company phone number is an 800 number.
- Company has a secondary office in China (might look suspect?).
- Possibly the salary - although it's not out of range for my profession.

Things in my favor:
- Job is actually temporary and 3 years max.
- Job title matches NAFTA designation and I have the credentials.
- Job description fits NAFTA designation
- Company website will be updated with my name, profile, and job title matching the NAFTA designation.

I'm just wondering what I could do about the job offer letter and what information I should include. I'm worried that the items listed under concern may garner more scrutiny from a border agent. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't see a problem, as long as it doesn't apper that you are running this small company.
Size doesn't matter in this case. I trust the website wil not be updated until after you get the TN, otherwise it doesn't matter that your name is on a website or not; that is not a TN requirement.

The TN letter is not the same as a job offer letter. They should write the job offer letter, which never really conforms to the requirements of a TN letter; to make it so perfect as to be a TN letter would raise suspicion in my opinion. You can write the separate TN letter if you wish, and have them sign it. The TN letter is what you need at the border.

And the Job designation and description is not found in NAFTA; only the TN categories are found there. the job descriptions need to match the DOL OOH; the company's internal job titles are meaningless .
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/
 
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I don't see a problem, as long as it doesn't apper that you are running this small company.
Size doesn't matter in this case. I trust the website wil not be updated until after you get the TN, otherwise it doesn't matter that your name is on a website or not; that is not a TN requirement.

The TN letter is not the same as a job offer letter. They should write the job offer letter, which never really conforms to the requirements of a TN letter; to make it so perfect as to be a TN letter would raise suspicion in my opinion. You can write the separate TN letter if you wish, and have them sign it. The TN letter is what you need at the border.

And the Job designation and description is not found in NAFTA; only the TN categories are found there. the job descriptions need to match the DOL OOH; the company's internal job titles are meaningless .

Thanks for your reply and insight, nelsona!

Just a few further issues, if anyone can shed any light on this...

1) Re: Website
My concern was that the agent may check out the company website and that the profile (if listed at the time) may not reflect the proper job title. Do agents actually check out websites? Or call company phone number? On one forum I read that it might be helpful to have someone at the office on notice that a call may be placed by the border agent at the time of application.

2) Re: NAFTA Job Category vs. DOL Designation
I'm a bit confused - what is the difference between the listed job categories on the NAFTA list and the DOL Designation? Is there a nuance I'm missing here? Ex. Job titles like "Accountant" and "Lawyer" are both listed as the same title on the NAFTA list and the DOL OOH.

On the other hand, I can see that the "job description" is very specific in the DOL OOH and I'm sure this can be incorporated into the NAFTA letter so thanks for the heads up there!

3) Re: Size doesn't matter

Then is a declaration of the:

a) company size,
b) incorporation date,
c) number of employees,
d) the fact that it is a start-up

needed in a TN letter?

thanks in advance everyone!
 
1. The website is immaterial. You should not be listed on the website. The letter should have the contact info of the person signing, and they should be available for the CBP. This is a business transaction and should be conducted during business hours.
2. NAFTA doesn't describe the job that meet each category, it merely lists the categories. The CBP relies on the OOH to determine if the job description in your TN letter (again, the job title means nothing) matches up well with the job descriptions in the OOH. Its not the designation, it is the job/task description in OOH that matters. Since you haven't said here what your TN category or your job description are, I have no idea whether the CBP officer will be able to make that correlation without looking at the handbook. But the handbook, not the bare-bones NAFTA categorly list is what they go by.
That said, your job description in the letter should match what YOU will be doing, not merely cut out of the OOH. That would look like they were "tailoring" your description to get you a TN, and not beinfg accuarte.
3. Completely unneccesary. If you were getting H1-B, it may be beneficial, but is completely extraneous in TN world.
 
Is a 1-page TN application letter from my employer enough? I gave her pointers on what to write, however I am not sure if she gave all the details needed. How detailed should the job description be? Does she need to prove in the letter, aside from my degree and experience, why they are hiring me?
 
Your TN letter should not say anything about your degree or experience. it should only describe what THEY control, which is your job description, what TN category, and how much they will pay you and how long they will hire you for.

The fact that they offered you the job is sufficient for CBP. They are not conducting an interview, they are verifying YOUR credentials, and the legitimacy of the job offer.

My TN letter was 7 lines.
 
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