Read it.
Use it.
Focused guides for the questions that need more than a quick answer. Each includes a worksheet to prepare your next conversation.
Guides for your next decision.
Build a TN employer evidence brief before drafting the letter
Read & prepare Applicant planningKeep an L-1A new-office record from approval to extension
Read & prepare Applicant planningCompare the E-2 evidence for a startup and a business purchase
Read & prepare U.S. destination planningCanadian RN planning for New York State
Read & prepare U.S. destination planningCanadian RN planning for California
Read & prepareSeven decisions, answered before you prepare.
Describe the current professional offer without promising future renewals
A project-based TN file should explain the employer’s present offer and the proposed period accurately. Possible contract renewals should remain identified as possibilities. The applicant must establish the listed profession, qualifications and eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship rather than rely on commercial demand alone. Hypothetical example: a Cape Breton Regional Municipality geologist receives a support letter that describes both geological analysis and equipment sales. The immediate decision is whether the executed scope supports the listed profession and its credential rule; the file should reconcile duties, employer control, and the Canadian inspection or I-129 route before travel.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Reconcile the project and employment dates
- Complete the profession evidence
- Track immigration permission separately
Use actual citizenship when reviewing a temporary US opportunity
A resident of Cape Breton Regional Municipality may hold Canadian permanent residence while being a citizen of another country. A short or renewable US project does not change TN nationality requirements. Separate the applicant’s citizenship, Canadian status and proposed employment before comparing routes. Hypothetical example: a South African citizen with Canadian permanent residence receives a U.S. offer marked ‘TN eligible.’ The first decision is to correct the citizenship assumption: a PR card does not supply Canadian citizenship. The employer should compare only routes whose own nationality, employment, ownership, and qualification rules the applicant can actually document.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the nationality-dependent requirements
- Review other routes independently
- Keep household records current
Identify which seller claims need supporting records
An E-2 acquisition should be assessed using the business that the buyer will actually own and operate. Missing financial records can affect both due diligence and the immigration plan. A seller’s confidence or asking price does not establish nonmarginality, qualifying commitment or approval. Hypothetical example: a treaty-national buyer proposes to acquire a boat-upholstery shop using a refundable deposit and equipment financed against the enterprise. The decision is whether qualifying funds are irrevocably committed and at risk, substantial relative to this business, and paired with real operations, treaty ownership, nonmarginality, and the investor’s direction of the enterprise.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Request records tied to the question
- Complete the investment and ownership evidence
- Assess the plan before consequential commitments
Request corporate records for the facts the new-office case must establish
A company launching a US operation may need information held by former advisers or providers. Begin with the qualifying relationship, business activity, foreign employment and proposed role. A focused request can distinguish essential evidence from an unnecessary archive search. Hypothetical example: a foreign marine-safety equipment company secures a small U.S. workshop for a proposed operations manager. The decision is whether the qualifying relationship, continuous foreign year, premises, funding, staffing plan, and first-year role are documented; projections must show capacity to support the claimed role before the one-year new-office approval expires.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate historical and current evidence
- Establish the US operation accurately
- Explain support for the proposed role
Compare the evidence gaps in a transfer and an acquisition
An applicant may be choosing between a related-company transfer and buying a US business. Both options can involve missing records, but the records serve different requirements. Identify which facts support each route before deciding that one is easier because its document list looks shorter. Hypothetical example: a seafood cold-chain manager can either transfer to a related U.S. company or buy a separate warehouse business. The decision requires two evidence maps: L-1 relationship, active entities, foreign employment, and role; versus E-2 treaty nationality, ownership, irrevocably committed at-risk capital, real operations, nonmarginality, and investor control.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- For L-1, establish the organization and employment
- For E-2, establish the transaction and enterprise
- Compare the intended activity and household plan
Organize family evidence by person and procedure
A household may share a move while its members have different names, citizenships, document languages and status periods. Prepare a separate record for each person and follow the applicable process. The principal’s complete file does not automatically complete the family’s case. Hypothetical example: a TN principal plans to travel with a spouse who will keep paid online bookkeeping clients and a teenager who will study. The family must separate each activity: TD dependants may study but may not work. An E or L spouse’s different employment rule cannot be borrowed for a TD household.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Apply the relevant document requirements
- Review activities and eligibility
- Track individual milestones
Identify which financial and personal records the actual route requires
An available account balance is not a complete EB-5 or Gold Card file. EB-5 needs lawful source and path together with the qualifying investment and jobs. Gold Card uses a gift framework within applicable immigrant requirements. Evidence preparation should be directed to those distinct questions. Hypothetical example: a modular-housing owner compares EB-5 capital in a job-creating enterprise with an individual Gold Card gift. The decision is whether to accept commercial investment risk and conditional residence obligations or follow the current government-gift framework with separate EB-1 or EB-2 eligibility, vetting, admissibility, visa availability, and processing fees.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- For EB-5, trace the generating events
- For Gold Card, follow the responsible process
- Keep outcomes and deadlines distinct