Help! Denied TN Visa

Hi,
I have a job offer to work corp-to-corp for a company in the US.
I am incorporated in Canada and do software consulting and custom work.
Unfortunately, the INS didn't seem to understand the correlation between Management Consulting and the work I have been asked to do. The guy I spoke to seemed to think that because the work history I provided didn't use the specific phrase 'management consulting', I couldn't possibly be a management consultant. And since I work with software, I am clearly a systems analyst trying to dodge the rules. *sigh* Very frustrating.

So here is my question.
Essentially the work I was going to perform in the US amounts to requirements gathering and meeting with the primaries to understand their needs - kind of presales. The 'meat' of the work would be done remotely from Canada.
Do I need a visa or can this be considered unpaid work / meetings? I would just bill for the 'work package' or final product as opposed to billing hourly.
Obviously the work would be done on their servers though I would physically be in Canada.
Are there limitations to the amount of / hours spent in this situation?
I don't want to dodge the system, but I want to understand how to make this happen and not be breaking the law.

One other thing...
I am being 'hired' by one company, but doing the management consulting for another (one of their clients). Is this an issue??

Thank you!!!

-- Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:45 am --

One more piece of information...

I wasn't officially 'denied'. I was told to come back with more information.
Problem is that getting the first letters from my previous employers was like pulling teeth (and they focussed too heavily on the technical aspects of my jobs). And although I could have them groom my offer letter, it wouldn't 'match' my experience letter.

If I don't pursue the TN further and instead apply to travel on a B1, am I going to have issues at the border?

You could go down on B1, even under the arrangement you have. The problem is that not all types of work are allowed on B1. You'd need to ask this at the border or from an immig lawyer.

In any event, these would not be "unpaid" meetings, so don't use that term. There are certain things allowed as a business visitor, all of which you should be paid for. the mattr of payment has little to do with legal or illegal work. The activity is the key.

The work would be mainly meetings and basic 'fact-finding' to determine the client needs.

My understanding was that my company couldn't bill the client directly for this time. Am I wrong?
I don't think that there will be issues with the type of work. Anything not allowable I would simply do when I am back in Canada.

Thank you for your reply!

My understanding was that my company couldn't bill the client directly for this time. Am I wrong?

Of course they would bill the client directly for this work.

The issue is not whether work can be done on B1: it certainly can. The question is what kind of work is allowable. again, it is not whether the work is billed or not, it whether the task itself is allowed.

There are specific criteria for work allowed on B1 -- there is wide leeway for someone who is employed by a foreign firm. The work must meet that criteria.(we have many Cdn suppliers who come down on B1 to our offices, in furtherance of an existing engineering project which the Cdn company bills us for directly: this type of work is specifically allowed under B1) Your firm should be able to ascertain this from a lawyer.

Aaaaah!
Gotcha!

Based on what I have read on the government sites about the work specifics, I should be good to go.

Thank you *so* much.