For Canadian and Mexican professionals working in the United States under the USMCA, a path to permanent residency exists outside of traditional employer sponsorship.
TN status is tied to a specific employer and occupation listed under the USMCA, requiring renewal or extension to maintain continued authorisation to work.
One available route to permanent residence is the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, which permits eligible professionals to self-petition without employer sponsorship or permanent labor certification.
The EB-2 NIW allows eligible professionals to file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, entirely on their own behalf without a job offer or employer petitioner.
Holding TN status alone does not establish eligibility for an EB-2 NIW, and applicants must first qualify under the underlying EB-2 category as an advanced-degree professional or person of exceptional ability.
Petitioners must also satisfy the three-part test established in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016), which USCIS uses to evaluate national interest waiver claims.
Under that test, USCIS considers whether the proposed endeavour has substantial merit and national importance, whether the petitioner is well-positioned to advance it, and whether waiving the job-offer requirement benefits the United States.
TN holders are evaluated under exactly the same standard as any other EB-2 NIW petitioner, meaning current visa status does not factor into USCIS’s eligibility decision.
Because TN is a temporary, non-immigrant classification, filing an immigrant petition does not automatically end TN status but may become relevant during a later TN visa renewal or request for admission.
After filing Form I-485, the adjustment-of-status application, a person in TN status generally must obtain advance parole before leaving the United States to avoid the application being treated as abandoned.
Advance parole allows the applicant to seek parole upon return without abandoning their adjustment of status application, but it does not guarantee admission to the United States.
According to the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 is current under both the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing charts for applicants chargeable to Mexico and to countries within the All Chargeability Areas column, which includes Canada.
A current category means no cut-off date applies and that an immigrant visa number is immediately available, though it does not determine how long USCIS or the Department of State will take to complete the case.
Premium processing is available for Form I-140 and requires USCIS to take adjudicative action within 45 business days, offering a faster timeline for those who qualify.
Filing Form I-140 does not grant lawful immigration status, employment authorisation, or permission to remain in the United States, and TN holders must continue maintaining valid status throughout the process.