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Certified Translation for a TN Visa
TN status lets citizens of Mexico and Canada work in the United States for a US employer in one of the professions listed in the USMCA. A Mexican citizen applies for a TN visa at a US consulate; a Canadian citizen needs no visa and applies at a port of entry or through USCIS. The case rests on the professional's credentials, such as the degree, the license and, for some professions, years of experience. For a petition on Form I-129, USCIS requires a certified English translation of a Mexican degree (título) or professional license (cédula profesional), or of a diploma in French; for the consulate and the border, the published rules do not say, and a certified translation lets the officer read the credential.
Consulate or border
Mexicans: a TN visa at a US consulate. Canadians: no visa, at a port of entry or through USCIS.
A listed profession
The job must be one of the USMCA professions, with the degree or license the list asks for.
A few documents
Degree, transcript, professional license, experience letters: usually a handful of pages.
At a glance
| TN | |
|---|---|
| Who applies | Mexican citizens: the professional, for a TN visa at a US consulate. Canadian citizens: the professional, at a port of entry or a pre-clearance station, or the US employer, on Form I-129 with USCIS. |
| Who decides | The consular officer (Mexicans), the Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry (Canadians), or USCIS (a petition on Form I-129). |
| What has to be shown | Mexican or Canadian citizenship; a job with a US employer in one of the professions listed in the regulation (USMCA Appendix 2 to Annex 16-A), at a professional level, described in a letter from the employer; and the credentials the list requires for that profession, such as a degree or a license. Where the list asks for a specific degree, education and experience cannot replace it, and a degree from outside Canada, Mexico and the United States must come with an evaluation (8 CFR 214.6, 9 FAM 402.17). |
| Usually in another language | For Mexicans: the degree (título), the professional license (cédula profesional), the transcript (certificado de estudios) and letters from previous employers. For Canadians from Quebec: the diploma, the transcript and employment letters in French. |
| Translation rule | At USCIS, every document in another language needs a complete English translation, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate it (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)). For the consulate and the port of entry, neither the regulation nor the State Department's TN guidance says whether documents in Spanish or French must be translated. |
| Page count | Small: a few pages for the degree and the license, one or two for each experience letter. |
Documents that usually need translating
Which documents to present is your decision, or your attorney's; we translate what is chosen, completely, with every stamp and seal. For TN, the documents in Spanish or French are usually these:
- The degree: the degree (título) or diploma and the transcript.
- The license: the professional license (cédula profesional) or the license the profession requires. For Mexicans, the cédula profesional or the título counts as the degree; a certificate of completed studies without the degree (carta de pasante) does not.
- The experience: letters from previous employers with the dates, the position and the duties, for professions on the list that accept or require experience.
- For the family (TD): marriage and birth certificates.
The US employer's letter describing the job, its duration and the professional's qualifications is written in English.
Who reads the translations
A Mexican professional takes the documents to the visa interview at a US consulate; a Canadian takes them to the Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry. When the employer files Form I-129 instead, USCIS reads them, and the rule for every translation is 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
How many pages to expect
Each sheet of the original counts as one page, whatever its word count. A título or a cédula is usually one or two pages, a transcript a few more, and an experience letter one or two. A TN file is usually a handful of documents.
Most orders are delivered within a few hours, and one to three pages within 24 hours at most; expedited delivery takes about half the time.
Official sources
Every requirement on this page was checked against these sources on November 5, 2026.
- 8 CFR 214.6, Canadian and Mexican citizens seeking temporary entry (ecfr.gov)
- TN USMCA professionals (uscis.gov)
- 9 FAM 402.17, USMCA professionals (fam.state.gov)
- Visas for Canadian and Mexican USMCA professional workers (travel.state.gov)
- Traveling to the US on a TN or L-1 visa from Canada (cbp.gov)
- 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), translations (ecfr.gov)
Frequently asked questions
Is the cédula profesional the same as the título?
No. The título is the degree the university awards; the cédula is the professional license issued in Mexico. Each one presented in Spanish needs its own translation.
Do Canadians need anything translated?
Documents in English need nothing. A diploma, transcript or letter in French needs a certified English translation if the employer files Form I-129 with USCIS. For the port of entry, no published rule says; a certified translation lets the officer read it.
Do the translations need to be notarized?
Not for USCIS: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for the translator's certification, not a notary. If another office asks for notarization, it is $34.90 per order.
Have the documents in front of you?
Upload them and see the page count, the price and the delivery time before you pay. For a file of hundreds of pages, ask for a project quote.