TN Visa Scrutiny Rising Under Trump 2.0

Jasmine Mooney, a 35-year-old Canadian business consultant, recently spent 11 days under detention by U.S. immigration officials after attempting to enter the country through Mexico with a TN visa application.

Three months prior, Mooney’s work visa was revoked while attempting to travel to Los Angeles over what she claimed was a paperwork issue that Vancouver airport customs officers would not elaborate on. Her attempt at reentering the country with a new TN application at the Mexican border ended with her being sent to three different detention facilities in a process she later described as “a deeply disturbing psychological experiment.”

According to immigration attorneys nationwide, Mooney’s experience is becoming increasingly common. It is another example of the increasing scrutiny of current TN visa holders and applicants under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Sudden difficulties with the TN visa are in stark contrast with the relatively smooth and easy pathway reported on many times in previous coverage in Nearshore Americas over the years.

One of the ‘Easiest’ Ways to Come to America

The TN visa was formed in 1994 under the North American Free Trade Agreement as a way for Mexican and Canadian citizens to fast-track entry into the United States for in-demand jobs that mostly require bachelor’s degrees, such as pharmacists, dentists, school teachers, engineers, and computer systems analysts.

Mexican citizens have long enjoyed the benefits of the TN Visa program, which sets the Latin American country apart from its southern neighbors who are not included in the initiative. During Trump’s first term, immigration negotiations with Canada and Mexico took a backseat to more business-minded ventures.

Considered a nonimmigrant visa, the TN program was responsible for bringing more than 33,000 employees to the country in 2022.

In 2020, the program continued under NAFTA’s successor, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which made no changes to the requirements of the TN process, likely due to its effectiveness in bringing educated workers to the country and having very few documented instances of abuse or fraud.

But that isn’t stopping immigration officials from cracking down on the application process after Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”

“We’re seeing a trend where it is becoming harder for some Mexican nationals under some job descriptions — engineers, animal breeders and consultants — are having a harder time getting their applications approved,” said Ingrid Perez, an employment-based immigration attorney who founded IBP Immigration Law in Orlando, Florida. “There are reports recently that in Mexico TN adjudications aren’t very consistent, and a lot of times that has to do with the people adjudicating the visas and the guidance they received.”

A Year Away From Review

In early 2026, the U.S. Trade Representative is expected to produce a report to Congress on the workings of the USMCA as part of a mandated joint review between the North American countries. That review will begin on July 1, 2026.

“We’re not really sure what could happen with TN visas next year,” Perez said. “The America First Trade Policy is centered around protecting U.S. workers and U.S. jobs — and that revision they’re going to be doing next year is an opportunity for the Trump administration to perhaps have a really great impact on TN visas.”

Perez said many immigration attorneys expect the increased scrutiny to continue through 2026. Some anticipate greater compliance requirements, stricter documentation requirements, and a renewed focus on job verification. She said the new administration may also use the highly successful TN program as a bargaining chip to force concessions from Canada or Mexico.

“It’s kind of hard to know, exactly,” she said.

Sophie Alcorn, founder of Palo Alto, California-based Alcorn Immigration Law, said changes could happen with the TN visa program and others like it before the review concludes in 2026.

“In other immigration categories, we are seeing policy changes that affect the adjudication standards even though the law remains unchanged, so it is theoretically possible that TN enforcement or interpretation could change in 2025 before any potential actual changes to the treaty could happen,” she said.

Processing Times Remain in Check

While denials may be rising, processing times have remained relatively unchanged for TN visa applicants aside from a change in law interpretation by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding its premium processing service, which costs $2,805.

“Instead of calendar days, now it’s business days,” Alcorn explained. “So instead of 15 calendar days to get a response, now it’s about three weeks to get a response.”

Alcorn said she has heard anecdotal reports of premium processing snags with TN visas, and she personally has experienced the issue with extraordinary ability Green Card cases that were slated for processing by early January but are just now receiving responses.

“In those situations, our clients are getting refunds of their premium processing filing fees,” she said.

Perez said if the processing struggles spill over from premium into regular processing, it could bring significant issues to the immigration system and disproportionately hurt small businesses.

“If it’s a large employer hiring a large number of people, they might not feel the pains of increased processing times as much, but these employers who maybe rely on one TN professional, they’ll hurt,” she said. “It’s going to be important for businesses to have a backup plan and understanding that perhaps immigration doesn’t work with our timeline; we have to work with theirs.”

Attorneys are also speculating whether the large-scale government layoffs occurring under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could add fuel to the processing-time fire in the future. Alcorn said the immigration system, with its self-funded structure through applicants paying most of the costs, may be insulated from those potential effects.

“The other question I have is: Will the administration make any subsequent announcements on immigration policies to support companies that are bringing manufacturing to the United States in response to tariffs? Will there be any streamlined immigration support for those countries to be able to do business here?” Alcorn inquired.

Alcorn said questions such as those arose after the notable fracture in immigration philosophy following Musk’s promotion of HB-1 visas amid Trump’s push for an America-first business model.

“There are things signaling that this government is proactively trying to recruit really smart people into the country for entrepreneurship and manufacturing.”