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MARKSTAY-WARREN · TN FIELD GUIDE

Should a changed start date be treated as permission to begin remotely from the United States?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. An employer’s new start date does not itself authorize work performed in the United States. Assess the actual location, activity and applicable status before beginning.

Link the start to a confirmed immigration step

Identify whether the applicant is waiting for a visa, admission or another required decision. Have material amendments reviewed before relying on the earlier file. A request to start quickly does not transform professional work into a visitor activity or establish TN status. Coordinate a realistic employer plan while keeping government processing and the employer’s preferred date as separate facts.

Sequence preparation from the employer's genuine start need backward: confirm citizenship, classify the occupation, test its minimum credential, obtain the letter or contract, and only then choose travel or Form I-129. Obtain the final employer letter only after the role, supervisor, pay, location, and expected duration are settled; then check whether the degree, licence, and citizenship documents still match that version. Where the employer needs cover in the interim, that is a staffing question to be solved separately rather than a reason to compress the immigration one, and saying so early usually produces a better conversation than discovering it after a second attempt.