USCIS Issues Policy Memo Limiting Use of TN Economist Classification

This week the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced the issuance of a new Policy Memorandum titled “TN Nonimmigrant Economists Are Defined by Qualifying Business Activity.” The memorandum is part of USCIS’s effort to align its adjudication practices with the directives of the President's "Buy American, Hire American" Executive Order and seeks to clarify, and limit, eligibility for TN nonimmigrant status under the occupational category for Economists. In particular, the memo states that, for purposes of TN classification, the profession of Economist must not primarily include the activity of other occupations, including, but not limited to, those performed by Financial Analysts, Market Research Analysts, or Marketing Specialists, and notes explicitly that those three specialties do not qualify for TN visa issuance.

Read More