Office of International Services (OIS) Procedures

TN Sponsorship

Human Resources, Office of International Services  |  Approved October 31, 2018

Purpose

Hire or retain faculty and highly specialized scientific staff.

Applicability

University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) departments may hire qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens (not permanent residents) seeking temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level. The TN visa may be used for non-tenure track faculty, scholar fellows, and staff positions requiring at least a bachelor’s degree.

Status may be granted for an initial period of up to three (3) years, and may be extended indefinitely in three-year increments.

Instructions

1. Make sure you or someone in your department has access to Sunapsis, the online system for submitting visa sponsorship requests. Learn how to Become a Sunapsis User.
2. Determine employment status:
   1. For individuals already employed by UMB, proceed to 4.
   2. For individuals not currently employed by UMB, conduct recruitment as required by university policy and issue an offer letter to the prospective employee.
   3. For scholar fellows and faculty, submit paperwork requesting an academic appointment to the appropriate office in your school.
3. Log into Sunapsis and follow the instructions to Add a New Person.
4. Log into Sunapsis and click on the TN Employee Request under Department Services. If you need the Sunapsis/University ID for the employee, contact ois-info@umaryland.edu with the name of the employee.
5. When both required e-forms in the group are submitted, OIS will review the request.
6. If eligible, OIS will provide a sample TN letter to the requesting department for completion.
   1. The department will finalize the letter, print on university letterhead, and receive signatures of the department chair or supervisor of the TN employee.
   2. The original letter should be provided to the TN employee along with the Instructions to TN employees PDF.
   3. Copies of the letter should be retained by the department and OIS.
7. To acquire status:
   1. TN employees outside the U.S. will acquire TN status at the border.
   2. TN employees currently in the U.S., either as TN employees or another non-immigrant status, may acquire/extend TN status by:
      1. Traveling outside the U.S. and seeking readmission at the border, or
      2. TN status may be acquired/extended by filing Form I-129 with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (consult with the Director of OIS regarding this process).
   3. If extension is needed, complete the TN Employee Request in Sunapsis.