Confirm the actual engagement and reimbursement terms. Contract negotiation, immigration advice and government charges are distinct items even when the same agreement is relevant. Do not assume the client’s lawyer represents the applicant or covers the immigration procedure.
Clarify the scope before incurring costs
Identify who reviews the work arrangement and qualifications, what documents are included and who pays. Obtain current fees for the actual procedure. Paying for a contract review does not establish TN eligibility or guarantee a start date.
Ask for written scopes from every professional involved and place four columns in the budget: contract negotiation, immigration analysis, evidence production, and government or travel charges. Identify who represents the applicant, which revisions are included, whether credential evaluation or translation is extra, and whether the US client will reimburse anything. Check the current official fee source for the chosen procedure; Canadian TN applicants generally use port-of-entry admission or a US petitioner’s Form I-129, which create different expense items. None of those payments establishes Canadian or Mexican citizenship, a listed USMCA profession, its required qualification, prearranged work, or compliance with the ban on US self-employment. The recurring error is accepting a single “legal” allowance without confirming its owner, purpose, exclusions, or refund terms.
Hypothetical example: A Sherbrooke civil engineer receives a capped legal allowance from a US bridge-inspection contractor. Before authorizing work, he should learn whether the contractor’s counsel only negotiated the services agreement or will also assess his engineering duties and degree for TN. His personal budget can then reserve separately for any translation, professional advice, current government charge, and travel, without assuming the client’s ceiling guarantees either coverage or admission.