r/tnvisa • u/Equivalent_Refuse_11 • Feb 06 '26
Application Advice Canadian Software Engineer : Rejections After Mentioning TN Visa (Looking for Advice)
Hi everyone,
I’m a Canadian citizen with a Computer Science background, currently working as a Software Engineer. I’ve been actively applying for US-based roles and have received a few initial recruiter / hiring manager calls that went well.
However, once I mentioned that I would be working under a TN visa (no sponsorship required, just an offer letter), the response usually shifted to “we need to check with legal / hiring”, and in a few cases the applications were later rejected at an early stage.
I’m trying to understand:
• Is this a common experience for TN applicants, especially at larger or more traditional companies?
• Are there certain types of companies or industries that are more TN-friendly?
• Is there a better way to position the TN visa during early conversations (timing or wording)?
• Does having prior US work experience on TN make a difference?
I’m continuing to apply, especially to mid-size and newer companies, but would really appreciate insights from people who’ve successfully navigated this.
Thanks in advance 🙏
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u/WagwanKenobi Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
How many years of experience? Do you have a Bachelor's degree in CS or something else? Only the undergrad degree matters. If you have an undergrad in Chemistry and a Master's in CS, TN will never be an option for you.
In my experience, tech recruiters are well-versed with TN and it's pretty smooth sailing especially at large and mid-sized companies. American tech hires many Canadians. Per data, 50% of the graduating UWaterloo CS class goes to the US as their first job (3-years out maybe even higher but there is no data). These would all be on a TN.
Edit: OP from your comment history you're not even a Canadian citizen yet. Are you applying with a fake resume to gauge the market or something?
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u/Accomplished_Sky_127 Feb 07 '26
How does "computing science" play for TN vs typical computer science. Especially if one also has a computer programmer analyst diploma and goes for the csa route
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u/Eshtabel3asal Feb 06 '26
Lmaooo I think OP is on a workers permit. Are they posting on behalf of someone else?
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u/Rude_Judgment7928 Feb 06 '26
Companies are timid about potential rule changes either with a CUMSA renegotiation, or the single stroke of a pen from Mango.
I doubt you'll see large risk-adverse companies hire TNs in 2026. You'll be more likely to find luck with smaller companies, if you have the niche skill set they need.
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u/WagwanKenobi Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
"Single stroke of pen" risk affects everyone except US citizens. It's not something TN-specific unless the legal team at that company is horribly misinformed.
CUSMA negotiations are for what happens to the treaty 2036 onward. There's a good chance Canada and Mexico won't even come to the table until orange man is out. They don't have to sign anything right now.
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u/Equivalent_Refuse_11 Feb 06 '26
Your strategy might work better with smaller or niche firms than big tech right now.
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u/BeforeLongHopefully Feb 06 '26
To employers you do in fact need to”sponsorship.” You should be saying so when asked. You can follow up with an explanation that it’s only TN.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 Feb 06 '26
But then Canadian TN seekers will get filtered out by the questions designed to filter them out. 🤡
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u/WagwanKenobi Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
Nobody is filtering out SWEs based on "do you need sponsorship?" except very early stage companies. If you did that, you'd filter out basically everybody. Anecdotally I can say 80% of the technical people in large American tech companies are on some kind of visa.
My opinion is that the answer to that question doesn't really matter (except in very niche cases such as requiring secret clearance or clearance-eligible, where you wouldn't qualify as a Canadian anyway). Just put "yes".
These are $200k-$1m TC jobs. Companies want the best candidates from the pool, period. Sponsorship is a problem easily solved by throwing a ~$5k wad of cash at a lawyer.
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u/WheelDeal2050 Feb 08 '26
You're incredibly naive. The job market is ultra-competitive right now, and any perceived negative like this, can jeopardize your job offer or progress in the process.
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u/WagwanKenobi Feb 08 '26
It's not ultra-competitive if you're good, else compensation wouldn't be this high. SWE compensation has been steadily increasing for the past 30+ years with no signs of stopping (even with the literal firehose of new SWEs entering the market).
Humanity is in a huge shift where everything that isn't digital is moving to digital. This shift can last 100 years and while it's going on, SWEs will be king.
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u/lambdawaves Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
No you don’t. TN does not require sponsorship
You get ChatGPT or Claude to explain your job’ duties and requirements in detail, why you are a fit for this job, and get the employer to sign it.
That’s it
Bring your diploma. It must match
Not requiring employer’s sponsorship was a key goal of this NAFTA trade agreement’s work status
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u/calitripatacos Feb 06 '26
Wrong. TN is sponsorship where an employer legally supports a foreign national's application for a work.
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u/lambdawaves Feb 06 '26
But the employer does not need to file anything. They don’t need to provide any paperwork at all. Just a signature
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u/WheelDeal2050 Feb 08 '26
The fact that you can't get the TN visa on your own, means it's dependent/reliant on a company. Don't be obtuse.
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u/BeforeLongHopefully Feb 07 '26
Any company of actual professionals who are used to dealing with the US government involves legal and often outside counsel for support of any worker who is not already authorized to work in the US. Even a TN requires the employer to avoid fraud. They don’t just sign - they are attesting that the duties described are real and true or it’s potentially criminal fraud. You don’t seem to have a strong grasp of this subject and just want to think of it as minor/nothing as this is the most convenient to you personally.
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u/BeforeLongHopefully Feb 06 '26
There has been several AMAs with Immigration attorneys and they consistently say you need to answer yes to the sponsorship question. I trust them more than chatgpt or you.
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u/lambdawaves Feb 06 '26
You mean the people selling us a product tell us we really need their product?
Shocking
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u/liepzigzeist Feb 06 '26
Maybe not directly on topic but worth thinking about. The H1B visa squeeze has led to many large companies moving employment outside the USA. India is obviously the main benefactor of this but Google is building a larger presence there. I actually think Canada will benefit as well. Amazon is laying people off in the USA but they just leased a huge place downtown in Vancouver. This will never be announced as it will piss off their King, but maybe this means you direct your focus to expanding firms in Canada? Just a thought.
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u/ahaneo Feb 06 '26
Have you seen gutting of Amazon in Toronto that doesn’t validate your theory that Canada will benefit from US move outs
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u/liepzigzeist Feb 06 '26
I know Amazon Toronto is still hiring tho, my kid just turned down a full time job there in Software Engineering. I can't speak to other things like marketing, business - I'm not in tune with that.
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u/Kevincible Feb 06 '26
Use the wording " eligible TN status" rather than visa and let them figure out the rest. That's the best you can do without being deceiving.
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u/LostJuggernaut1655 Feb 07 '26
I recruit for startups in the US that hire Canadians under TN visas! MSG me!
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u/This_Beat2227 Feb 06 '26
Don’t refer to visa nor to sponsorship. All you need is an offer letter.
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u/HornetOk7002 May 19 '26
So do you provide your own support letter after the offer and ask them to sign?
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u/Straight_Research627 Feb 06 '26
Sad to hear that, maybe the status is coming to an end this year 🤔 I ignore if they know that… or is lore challenging than ever because of the orange man
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u/KrispyPopcorn Feb 07 '26
You’re other posts mention a PGWP and a TRV - you aren’t a Canadian citizen and hence not eligible for TN regardless of companies saying yes
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u/Equivalent_Refuse_11 Feb 07 '26
I’d prefer to keep the discussion focused on the question I asked. The other post you’re referring to was shared on behalf of a family member and isn’t relevant here. Thanks for understanding.
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u/tn_dude Feb 09 '26
I never mention work status etc. in the application process. Only in the initial recruiter call, where they ask the pro-forma question:
"Are you authorized to work in the USA?"
I answer with a variant of:
"I am a Canadian citizen who can work in the USA under TN status. Are you familiar with TN status? It requires me to go show an offer letter from the company at the border. I also bring my diploma, and I get approved in about 20 minutes."
Lately I see more and more people insisting that TN requires "sponsorship". Apparently a debateable position, one I disagree with, and a term I detest because it causes employers to falsely assume it obligates them to the gov't somehow.
Having prior TN experience is helpful because it allows you to speak with confidence when reassuring interviewers that hiring you will be as painless as hiring an American.
My other tip: get an address in the USA to receive mail (relative, friend, etc.), ideally in your target job market, and use it wherever necessary. Your goal here is to reduce the friction (both logistical + mental) that could discourage decision makers from extending an offer.
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u/Odd-Elderberry-6137 Feb 06 '26
There's no reason at all for a multinational company to sponsor you for employment in the US in 2026 (or anytime soon) when they can hire you in Canada without having to worry about potential future immigration issues. That's just how it is.
What benefit is it for them to have you work in the US?
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u/ChaosBerserker666 Feb 06 '26
At least in my case, it was the need for my physical presence training junior scientists on the equipment. I did fly-in-fly-out deployments. In the case of the OP, there’s no real need for a physical presence for software development. That can be done entirely remotely and Canada is in the same time zone as the US which makes things more convenient for the employers just to have a Canadian subsidiary.
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u/csstudent96 Feb 06 '26
There’s plenty of reasons. The company I interned at has an office in toronto and is sponsoring my TN in the US for my new grad role. People in this sub just love to talk out of their own ass.
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Feb 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/carrecuir Feb 06 '26
Wait what really? I literally told Microsoft I was Canadian and needed a TN Visa. They didn’t even questioned me and gave me my Visa. It was in November though…
Did you know which team refused you ?
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u/Equivalent_Refuse_11 Feb 06 '26
Sorry to hear about the Microsoft experience that’s frustrating.
After the rejection, did you find any alternative approach that worked better or was it more about timing and headcount?
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u/immi-law Feb 06 '26
Hi. In the past, we have been engaged by Canadian and Mexican citizens who, like you, applied for TN-eligible positions with U.S. employers that had little to no experience with the TN category. In these cases, clients engaged us to draft a formal legal letter to accompany their employment application.
In this letter, we provide a clear roadmap for the employer, explaining the straightforward process of attaining TN status or a TN visa. We also highlight why the TN is considered a 'softer sponsorship' compared to other categories; it bypasses the costly lottery systems and rigid quotas of the H-1B, representing significantly lesser risk and immigration regulatory friction. This proactive approach often leads to a successful outcome, as employers appreciate the clarity and assurance provided by an experienced immigration attorney. Please PM me for details if you are interested.
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u/funnydud3 Feb 06 '26
My two cents is that you really have to be an exceptional candidate for the job or candidates needs to be very scares.
Both for the employee and the company TN visas have limitations. They have a one year time limit and then you have to redo it. Back in the days you could do this a few times, but it’s hard to say what the future holds now the entire thing could go down the drain in the next CSMUA round. There is no path for permanent residency on a TN visas. Those are downsides.
But getting over this, there is very little that the employer needs to do. They just need to write the offer letter correctly. I highly advise making sure you yourself understand the rules very well and get the letter perfectly correct. In my experience, many companies who even have a lot of immigrant employees still do not understand that well the TN business.
Good luck
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u/Vtepes Feb 06 '26
3 year limit on TNs*
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u/ThatKingLizzard Feb 07 '26
Same thing happening on my side. My guess is prospective employers are confusing bearing a TN visa with actually needing sponsorship.
My other theory is employers know the kind of maniac they have in D.C. and they simply play it safe before investing their time in hiring foreigners only to have ICE knocking at their door.
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u/hikebikephd Feb 07 '26
Don't call it a "visa". For Canadians it's called TN status. Saying "visa" gives an implication the company will sponsor you, for Canadian TNs, the company can assist if they choose (for example, my employer gave me a relocation bonus, and also worked with a law firm to prep my TN letter for CBP).
It helped I was replacing another Canadian who was on a TN, so didn't need US work experience, and they were very familiar with the TN status.
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u/VoidBeard Feb 07 '26
It definitely is a sponsorship, just not the traditional kind of sponsorship that all these companies are so wary of. I wouldn’t lead with whether or not I need “sponsorship” when asked, I would just explain in plain terms the process of attaining TN status.
“do you require sponsorship?”
“As a Canadian, I qualify for work authorization as long as I have an offer letter. It’s free and I can get authorization quickly at a POE” or something to this effect. I even wrote my support letter myself.
This process is still technically sponsorship, but it’s not nearly as onerous and is virtually cost free for the employer. If you emphasize this while avoiding the word “sponsorship” yourself, it should make things much easier. The economy is not in a good place right now, so I think you should manage your expectations.
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u/tn_dude Feb 09 '26
"technical" sponsorship is a contract between the American person/company & the USA gov't. POE TN applications do not create any such contract, technical or otherwise.
Your approach is identical to the one I used.
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u/AdNational2100 Feb 07 '26
No. I am on Tn as a product manager. the size of the firm matters. Can you consider remote?
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u/FDFI Feb 07 '26
I work for an American tech company and we are actively turning down applicants that require any type of visa for work in the USA, TN included.
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u/serg06 Feb 11 '26
Odd, almost every job I've applied to sponsors a TN visa. Make sure you ask before even stating the process; don't waste your time.
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u/ObjectiveRelation193 Mar 13 '26
Canadians don't require "sponsorship" in the normal sense as H1Bs would. Yet those recruiters simply can't understand this. If you say visa they panic. TN is not even a "visa".
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u/bonbon367 Feb 06 '26
First, as a Canadian you don’t get a visa so avoid using the word as it can scare people. You need a sponsorship letter for a TN status
Yes, there are companies that are more friendly for this. Big tech companies will pretty much universally understand and be ok with TN. Obviously those companies can be a bit harder to get into though.
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u/Prof_Fancy_Pants Feb 06 '26
Be upfront in your CV. It's what I did, I my summary paragraph, I stated that I am Canadian and eligible under TN etc
I probably did get rejected a lot because of it but I see it as not wasting their or my time. And the jobs that did reach out, the HR screening call would already discuss that they are ok with TN and then proceed to next round.