Hiring for 2026? Why Your TN 'Engineer' or 'Technician' Job Might Be Denied

For decades, the TN visa (or "TN status" for Canadians) has been the go-to secret weapon for U.S. companies.

Under the USMCA (formerly NAFTA), you could hire a qualified professional from Canada or Mexico quickly, often in a single day at the border, bypassing the expensive, complex, and luck-based H-1B lottery. It was the fast-pass for talent.

That fast-pass is getting a lot narrower.

This summer (June 2025), USCIS published a new, detailed policy memo that clarifies—and significantly tightens—its interpretation of several key TN categories.³ They are cracking down on what they see as 20 years of "creative" or "overly broad" uses of these job titles.

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The message from the government is clear: The old, vague support letters that used to work are now grounds for a denial.

If you plan to hire engineers, IT professionals, or technicians for your 2026 team, you must understand these new rules. If you don't, your top Canadian candidate could be driving home from the border, denied, and your company will be left scrambling.

My job is to explain what changed and what you need to do to protect your hires.

The "Engineer" Trap: A Computer Science Degree is No Longer Enough

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This is the biggest and most painful change for the tech industry.

The Old Way: For 20 years, companies have hired Canadian software developers, network managers, and IT specialists with "Computer Science" degrees under the "Engineer" TN category. They gave them the job title "Software Engineer," and it almost always worked.

The New Rule: USCIS has now explicitly stated this is wrong. The new policy memo makes it clear:

1. Engineering is Engineering: The "Engineer" category is for traditional, licensed engineering fields (e.g., Civil, Mechanical, Electrical). The job duties must involve the application of engineering principles.
2. Computer Science is NOT Engineering: The memo clearly states that a degree in "Computer Science" or "Information Systems" is not, by itself, considered an "Engineering" degree.
3. Duties Must Match: You can't just call a job "Software Engineer" and have it qualify. The actual duties must be engineering. Writing code for a business app, managing a company's network, or database administration is not considered engineering by USCIS.

The Bottom Line for 2026:

If your candidate has a "Computer Science" degree and the job is a standard IT or software development role, the "Engineer" category is now a major gamble.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer can (and will) look at the new memo, look at your support letter, and deny the applicant. They will tell them the job is a "Computer Systems Analyst" (a different TN category with its own tricky requirements) or that the company should have filed an H-1B for them.

The "Scientific Technician/Technologist" (ScT) Trap: Not a Stand-Alone Role

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This category was another popular, flexible "catch-all" for many hands-on technical jobs, from lab techs to medical assistants. The new rules have shut this down.

The Old Way: If a job was "technical" and "in a lab," many employers would try to fit it into the ScT category.

The New Rule: USCIS has clarified the ScT role with two massive restrictions.

1. No Direct Patient Care. Period.

This is a bright red line. The new policy explicitly forbids any job duties that involve direct patient care.

• What's Out: This kills the use of the ScT for roles like Surgical Technologist, Medical Technologist (who interact with patients), dental hygienist, or any other allied health role.
• What Might Be In: A pure, back-room medical research tech who only analyzes samples and never sees a patient might still qualify, but it's much harder.

2. The "In Support Of" Requirement

This is the part most employers misunderstand. The ScT is not an independent role. The new memo states the ScT's work must be "in direct support of" a supervising professional.

This means:

• Your ScT applicant must be managed by a fully-credentialed professional (e.g., a Biologist, a Chemist, an Engineer).
• The ScT's job is to assist that professional, such as by setting up experiments, running tests, or gathering data.
• The work cannot be self-directed. The supervising professional must be the one setting the goals, guiding the work, and interpreting the final results.

The Bottom Line for 2026:

You can't hire a "Lab Manager" who works independently and call them an ScT. You can't hire a "Surgical Tech" and call them an ScT. The job must be a lower-level assistant role, directly tied to a specific, named scientist or engineer on your staff.

Your 3-Step Action Plan for 2026 TN Hiring

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A denial at the border is a disaster for your company and your candidate. You can prevent it by preparing for this new, stricter environment now.

Step 1: Audit Your TN Job Descriptions

Pull every TN job description you plan to use in 2026. Forget the title and read the duties.

• For "Engineers": Are the duties truly engineering? Does the job require an "Engineering" degree, or is that just what you call your IT team? Be honest.
• For "ScTs": Do the duties involve any patient care? Who does this person report to? Is their job to support a lead scientist, or are they working on their own?

Step 2: Fix Your Job Titles and Categories

Based on your audit, you may need to make changes.

• If your "Software Engineer" job is really an IT systems role, you must use the "Computer Systems Analyst" (CSA) category. This requires its own separate analysis (e.g., does the applicant have a 4-year degree OR a 2-year post-secondary diploma plus 3 years of experience?).
• If your "Lab Tech" is truly supporting a lead biologist, you must re-title the job to "Scientific Technologist in support of Biology" and make that relationship clear.
• If the job simply doesn't fit any category, it is not a TN-eligible job. You must plan for an H-1B, O-1, or other visa type.

Step 3: Write an "Armor-Plated" Support Letter

The one-page TN support letter is dead. Your 2026 support letters must be detailed, proactive, and address these new rules head-on.

• For an Engineer: The letter must detail the engineering duties and explicitly show how the applicant's "Bachelor of Engineering" degree is a direct requirement for those duties.
• For an ScT: The letter must name the supervising professional(s), state their credentials (e.g., "Dr. Jane Doe, PhD in Chemistry"), and describe how the ScT's work directly supports that professional's projects.
• For a CSA: The letter must detail the systems analysis duties and confirm the applicant has the required education/experience mix for that specific category.

Do not make the CBP officer guess. Give them a letter that is so clear and so compliant with the new memo that a "yes" is the only logical answer.

A Note From Our Agency

The TN visa is no longer "easy." It's just "easier than the H-1B"—and only if you know what you're doing. A poorly-written support letter is now an invitation for a denial.

Our team has analyzed this new policy memo from top to bottom. We specialize in auditing job descriptions and drafting the "armor-plated" support letters that address these new USCIS concerns before your candidate gets to the border.

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‍Contact Us Today for a free 15-minute consultation to review your 2026 professional hiring plan and ensure your TN applications are built for this new, stricter reality.