IN THIS GUIDE · A forester whose U.S. offer may describe crew supervision rather than professional forestry
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Ask which branch of the profession's own rule you are being hired against
The Forester entry is satisfied by a baccalaureate degree or by a state or provincial licence, and those are genuinely alternative routes rather than a combined requirement. Marc-Olivier should ask the employer which one it intends to rely on, because that decides what he assembles. If the answer is the degree, the parchment and a transcript showing forestry as the field of study carry the file. If the answer is licensure, the current registration certificate and its status become the operative document. An employer that has never sponsored a TN professional will often not have thought about this at all, and a vague reply is itself useful information about how the support letter will be written.
Ask for the duties written as an ordinary working week
TN requires prearranged professional employment in the listed profession, so an officer will read the described duties against what a forester does. Marc-Olivier should ask for a breakdown of expected time by activity across a normal week and across a season. If most of it is inventory design, growth and yield analysis, prescription writing, harvest planning and regeneration assessment, the position reads as professional forestry. If most of it is dispatching contract crews, checking loads, chasing schedules and handling equipment problems, it reads as operational supervision, which is not a listed profession no matter how well qualified the applicant is.
Ask who employs him and whether he will hold any stake
Self-employment in the United States is not permitted under TN. Marc-Olivier should ask whether he will be an employee of the U.S. entity, or engaged under contract to it, and who directs his work day to day. An arrangement in which he invoices the timberland manager through a Canadian consulting company he owns would be a serious problem, however ordinary that structure looks in forestry contracting. Any ownership interest in the U.S. entity must be disclosed and would be examined for whether the relationship is truly employment. He should also ask what the letter will say about duration, since admission is granted for a period not exceeding three years and is renewable rather than automatic.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.