Embodiments herein describe pruning a neighbor list sent to a client device using a predefined assignment corresponding to an AP or the client device which can reduce the time required for the client device to roam between APs in a WLAN deployment. The pruned neighbor list serves as a Wi-Fi client steering mechanism to affect which AP the client device chooses when roaming. In one embodiment, a controller uses information regarding fabric nodes in the backend infrastructure to prune the neighbor list to include only the APs that are assigned to the same fabric node as the current AP. In another embodiment, the controller considers a service provider corresponding to the client device when pruning the neighbor lists. The list may include only the neighboring APs assigned to provide Wi-Fi access for the same service provider.