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FRENCH RIVER · PLANNING GUIDE

Attribute a shared design portfolio before using it in a TN file

USAvisa field guide · 2 minute readReviewed 7 September 2026

Read the general professional work overview

THE SHORT ANSWER

A French River industrial designer can make a team portfolio useful by explaining personal responsibilities, the work of other contributors and the connection to the actual U.S. offer. The aim is an accurate professional account rather than claiming the whole project.

01

Choose examples that show the applicant’s decisions

For each selected product, describe the design problem, the applicant’s contribution and the deliverable produced. Identify engineering, production or other work performed by colleagues. Avoid using a team award or a project photograph as if it established who did every task. Keep the employer’s actual proposed duties beside these examples, including material tasks outside design.

02

Read the qualification route independently of the portfolio

Industrial Designer permits a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, or a qualifying postsecondary diploma or certificate with three years of experience. The diploma requires at least two years at an accredited Canadian or U.S. postsecondary institution; the certificate has specific Mexican program and issuer conditions. Verify the genuine credential rather than treating any design course as sufficient. Degrees from institutions outside Canada, Mexico and the United States require reliable evaluation. Citizenship must be Canadian or Mexican; a strong body of work does not replace that condition.

03

Confirm the arrangement that will use the skills

The offer should establish prearranged qualifying professional activity and temporary entry, with the actual remuneration, period and recipient of services. A U.S. recipient solely owned or controlled by the applicant creates prohibited TN self-employment; naming a project supervisor does not fix it. Foreign business ownership alone is not automatically disqualifying. Use the completed facts for the applicable visa or admission process, without treating a portfolio review as work permission.

SOURCE NOTES

Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.

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