Tagged: tn management consultant

TN’s Management Consultant Profession

The Management Consultant is one of the most scrutinized professions in the TN roster for several reasons. Why? Because it is a category that is probably the highest used category by applicants across all industries. And why is that?  Here are 3 reasons:

1. Does not require a post-secondary degree or professional designation. In lieu it requires at least of industry professional experience. This opens it up for many candidates who may not have the formal education credentials.

2. It does not specify the industry so it covers pretty much all industries – geology, technology, finance, you name it! Another words, if your category does not fit into any of the other ones, guess which one is the default option?

3. Most professionals today provide some sort of consulting service whether it is internal or external or both. No matter how you look at it or think about it, you can pretty much argue that any professional is a “consultant”. The vagueness of the term “consulting” in this category opens it up for interpretation. Combine this with the non-specific industry factor (see above #2), you get the ultimate “catch all” category.

So what is the takeaway? If you are applying under this category, make sure you have your paperwork and story together.  Good luck.

TN Visa Rejected – Apply Under A New Category?

Tom Grayson’s TN application was just rejected because he did not meet the requirements defined under the Management Consultant profession that he applied for. Tom has over 8 years of consulting experience and a Bachelor in Computer Science.  Moreover, this was not Tom’s first TN visa application and had applied successfully under Management Consultant and Computer Systems Analyst category.

Tom’s current job can easily fall under the Computer Systems Analyst category so he contemplates on changing his application and return the next day hoping to get a different customs officer.

When he called his attorney friend about his plan, her advice to him was this.

1. It’s perfectly fine to have applied and worked under different professional categories in the past. The classification should match both the description of the job and the candidates’ qualifications.

2. To switch the category after a failed attempt, however, may raise a red flag with the officer in the second attempt.  There may be a strong case to switch the category but it should be carefully thought through.

3. Management Consultant happens to be one of the highly scrutinized categories due to the number of applicants who use this as a last resort if they do not qualify under other professions.

More on profession categories: http://canada.usembassy.gov/mobile/visas/doing-business-in-america/professions-covered-by-nafta.html