We built the case on the strength of the degree first. The beneficiary's bachelor's in software engineering comes from a program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, the same accreditation that forms the academic path to licensure as a Professional Engineer in Canada. That made it an engineering degree in the formal sense, not a computing degree with an engineering label. And because it was earned in Canada, no separate credentials evaluation was needed.

We then documented the position as engineering work. Rather than a list of coding tasks, the duties were set out as applying engineering principles, computer science, and mathematical analysis to research, design, develop, and test the company's systems: architecting the platform, writing technical specifications and performance requirements, engineering the runtime at the operating system and virtual machine layer, and directing testing and validation. We tied the role to its recognized occupational classification as well, so the engineering nature of the job was supported by an outside reference and not just the employer's word.

Finally, we lined up his professional history, full time systems level engineering work and time already spent on the employer's platform, so his experience reinforced the same picture.

We also covered the TN's other requirements: that the role is a genuine employment relationship rather than self employment, and that the stay is temporary, with a defined end date and no intent to settle permanently.