Beginning October 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) is expanding its online presence review to include TN and TD visa applicants. As part of the new screening process, DOS has instructed TN and TD visa applicants to change the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public” or “open.”
For Canadians applying for TN status, the practical consequences could extend well beyond what someone has posted on Facebook, Instagram, or X. One of the most important places officers may look is also one of the most professionally revealing: LinkedIn. And that creates a potentially significant issue for TN professionals whose actual employment history, job titles, responsibilities, or professional identity do not line up neatly with the USMCA profession under which they are seeking TN classification.
TN Status Is Based on Specific USMCA Professions
TN status is different from many other employment-based classifications. It is available only for professions specifically identified under the USMCA. The Foreign Affairs Manual instructs officers not only to determine whether the applicant possesses the required education or credentials, but also to confirm that the applicant will actually perform the duties associated with the listed USMCA profession rather than those of a similar but distinct occupation.
This distinction matters. A Canadian professional may have a legitimate U.S. job offer requiring substantial education and experience and still not qualify for TN status if the position does not properly fit one of the designated USMCA professions. For years, this has created a temptation, in some cases, to fit a position into the closest available TN category because TN status can be substantially more accessible for Canadian citizens than some alternative U.S. work-authorized classifications. Expanded online vetting may make those questionable fits much easier to identify.
Your LinkedIn Profile May Tell a Different Story Than Your TN Application
Consider a Canadian seeking TN status as a Computer Systems Analyst. The employer’s TN support letter describes duties involving systems analysis, evaluating information systems, and recommending technology solutions.
But the applicant’s LinkedIn profile says: Senior Software Developer
- The applicant’s employment history describes years of software development.
- Recent LinkedIn posts discuss writing code and launching software products.
- The applicant’s professional certifications and endorsements are predominantly related to software development.
That could create questions. The Foreign Affairs Manual specifically provides an example involving a purported Computer Systems Analyst. It instructs officers that even where an employment letter calls the position a “computer system analyst,” the totality of the information may establish that the actual duties are closer to data entry or computer programming, occupations that are not independently listed as USMCA professions.
In other words: The title written in the TN support letter does not control. The actual job does. Expanded online screening potentially gives the government another source of information against which the TN application can be compared.
This Issue Goes Beyond Computer Systems Analysts
The same problem can arise across numerous TN categories.
Imagine someone applying as a Management Consultant whose LinkedIn profile describes the person as a permanent operational manager responsible for employees, budgets, and day-to-day company operations. Or someone applying under an Engineer category whose online professional history consistently describes work that appears to fall within a different occupation. Or an applicant seeking TN status as a Scientific Technician/Technologist whose public employment history describes responsibilities materially different from those presented in the TN application.
The concern is not simply whether someone’s LinkedIn title perfectly matches the wording used in a TN letter. Job titles vary enormously between companies. The more important question is whether the applicant’s actual professional activities are consistent with the USMCA profession being claimed.
The Government Can Compare Multiple Sources of Information
DOS has stated that it uses available sources of information during visa screening and that applicants must credibly establish both their eligibility for the requested visa and their intention to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission.
For TN applicants, this means the government may potentially have several different descriptions of the same person’s professional life:
- The TN employer support letter;
- Statements made during the visa interview;
- Previous visa applications;
- Prior immigration filings;
- Employment history;
- Company websites;
- Professional biographies; and
- Public social media profiles, including LinkedIn.
Significant inconsistencies between those sources can create questions that might not otherwise have arisen.
What About Canadians Who Apply for TN Status at the Border?
This distinction matters especially for Canadians. Canadian citizens generally do not need to obtain a TN visa from a U.S. consulate before seeking TN admission. Qualified Canadians can generally apply for TN classification directly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection when seeking admission to the United States. DOS’s September 2026 announcement specifically concerns visa applicants and DOS’s online-presence review.
Accordingly, Canadians should not assume that the announcement means every TN application made to CBP at a land border or airport will automatically undergo the identical DOS social-media procedure. But Canadians also should not assume that their online professional history is irrelevant. Online information can create immigration issues when it conflicts with representations made to the U.S. government. And a Canadian who later needs to apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate may face a more formal review of that online presence.
Existing TN Holders Should Pay Attention Too
The concern isn’t limited to first-time applicants. Suppose someone obtained TN classification several years ago under a particular USMCA profession. The individual now applies for a new visa, renewal, or other immigration benefit.
During that process, the government reviews the applicant’s public professional history. The applicant’s LinkedIn profile shows that throughout the period of TN employment, the individual publicly described a job that appears materially different from the USMCA profession upon which the TN classification was based.
That could raise a much more serious question: Was the person actually performing qualifying TN professional activities while in the United States?
The answer will depend on the facts. A different corporate job title alone does not establish a violation. But material inconsistencies concerning the person’s actual duties could lead to additional questioning, requests for evidence, refusal of a new application, or scrutiny of prior immigration history. DOS rules also permit visa revocation where an actual finding establishes that an individual is no longer eligible for the visa classification; the Foreign Affairs Manual cautions that mere suspicion or insufficient derogatory information is not enough for a consular revocation.
Trying to “Fix” LinkedIn Before Applying Can Create Its Own Problems
The solution is not to rewrite your LinkedIn profile just to match a TN application. If the underlying job does not qualify for TN classification, changing the description online does not make the position qualify.
More importantly, applicants should never provide false or misleading information to immigration authorities. DOS specifically warns that attempting to obtain a visa through willful misrepresentation of a material fact or fraud can result in serious immigration consequences, including permanent visa ineligibility in applicable cases. The better approach is to determine whether the TN classification accurately reflects the applicant’s real job.
Before Your Next TN Application, Conduct a Consistency Review
Canadian TN professionals should consider reviewing their immigration and professional history before their next application. Compare your TN support letter with your actual day-to-day responsibilities. Then compare those duties with your LinkedIn profile, company biography, résumé, previous employment history, and other publicly available professional information.
Ask a simple question: If a U.S. immigration officer reviewed all of these materials together, would they describe essentially the same professional?
Minor differences in terminology are normal. A company may call someone a “Solutions Architect” internally while the person’s actual duties qualify under a recognized USMCA profession. The TN analysis has never depended solely upon an employer’s internal job title. Material differences are another matter. If the TN letter describes one occupation while LinkedIn, the company website, the applicant’s résumé, and the person’s actual daily responsibilities collectively describe another, the case deserves careful review before another immigration application is filed.
The Bigger Lesson for Canadian TN Professionals
DOS’s expanded social-media vetting does not change the fundamental TN eligibility requirements. What it may change is the government’s ability to compare the application against the applicant’s broader professional footprint.
For Canadian professionals, that makes it increasingly important that a TN application be based on what the person actually does, rather than an attempt to characterize a position as the nearest available USMCA occupation simply because TN status is easier or faster to obtain than another immigration classification. The TN category remains an extremely valuable option for Canadian professionals working in the United States. But the profession selected on the application, the duties described in the employer’s letter, the applicant’s actual work, and the professional history visible to the government should tell a consistent story. With expanded online vetting, inconsistencies that once might have gone unnoticed may become much easier to identify.
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Sources
- https://travel.state.gov/
content/travel/en/News/visas- news/announcement-of-expanded- screening-and-vetting-for- visa-applicants.html - https://fam.state.gov/fam/
09FAM/09FAM040217.html
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If you have questions regarding the TN visa process, contact Richards and Jurusik for detailed guidance and assistance. Our immigration lawyers have decades of experience helping people work and live in the United States. Read some of our hundreds of five-star client reviews, or contact us today to discuss your legal situation.
JEREMY L. RICHARDS is the founding partner of Richards and Jurusik and has dedicated his career to U.S. immigration law, with a specialized focus on assisting Canadian and Mexican citizens under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to work and live in the United States. (Full Bio)
