Obtaining TN status while inside the USA

I had TN status twice after both my degrees (Associate in SW and Bachelor in SW). At the time I just mailed away and it came to my door. I had to send photos etc.

However, now my husband is going to the USA to school (with me and our two kids). I plan to work while we are there on-campus as to obtain in-state tuition (much cheaper). there are several postings in the childcare area that require ECE degree or higher, so SW would qualify.

Am I able to obtain TN while I am living in the USA with my husband as a student? Do I have to fly home and back just to get the stupid stamp? There are port of entries everywhere, why can't I just dip into Canada, and back again to get it?

Any advise welcome!

If you are in US (on F2 status, since your spouse will be in F1), you can file an I-129 by mail ($300), but this will currently take several months unless you file for premium processing (+$1250), so it would be simpler, faster to just fly or "dip up" and get it at border/airport. It can be done in one day.

But, while the employer may state they want to restrict candidates to those with ECE degrees (on-campus HRs often make excessive degree pre-requisites), that does not mean that the job you are looking at qualifies for TN. Childcare is not a TN profession, Social worker is. Your employer will need to very carefully describe what you will actually be doing, and then you will have to show that your SW degree is related to this work.

Note what the border officer will be looking for in the job description:

http://www.usborderlaw.ca/tn_visa/social_worker_tn.html