NAFTA Immigration Provisions Retained in Renegotiated Trade Agreement

The United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement on September 30, 2018 as part the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new agreement – the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – retains key immigration benefits of NAFTA, including provisions allowing for the temporary entry without quotas of Business Visitors, Traders and Investors, Intracompany Transferees, and Professionals. With respect to Professional workers, USMCA retains all of the occupations previously designated as eligible for the NAFTA “TN” visa though the new agreement does not add any additional occupations.

From an immigration perspective, the USMCA represents a repackaging of NAFTA. Congress is expected to approve the USMCA after the mid-term elections in November 2018.

Gibney will monitor implementation of the new agreement and provide ongoing guidance with respect to any procedural changes related to the admission of business persons under the USMCA.