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DIEPPE · TN FIELD GUIDE

Does a variable schedule mean the employer can omit the intended work terms?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. The case should explain the real arrangement sufficiently to assess the proposed professional activity and employment.

Describe the uncertainty accurately

Identify which hours are guaranteed, estimated or assignment-dependent. Do not invent a fixed schedule for the support letter when the binding agreement provides something different.

The principal’s own eligibility rests on citizenship of Canada or Mexico, a position matching a listed professional occupation in the USMCA appendix and that profession’s credential, with the work done for a US employer rather than a business the applicant controls. An adjudicator compares described activity with the listed profession, not with an internal title, and a position that fills four days a week with fleet and personnel work will not become professional because a fifth day includes fieldwork. Canadian or Mexican citizenship, qualifying prearranged professional activity and temporary entry remain necessary; a useful business forecast does not by itself establish every condition. Where the answer stays unclear, look at what the employer has already sold: a client statement of work or project appointment naming the role responsible for the deliverables tells you more about the position's substance than the adjectives in an offer letter. The credential alternatives include a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, or documented equivalent professional experience: five years as a management consultant or in a specialty related to the consulting agreement.