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.
When a TN offer letter describes a contractor rather than an employee
Hypothetical example: a physiotherapist in Inverness County receives a United States offer that describes the position as a consultant paid by invoice against a fee schedule. TN requires prearranged professional employment for a United States employer, and self-employment in the United States is not permitted. Before the credential question is even reached, the structure of the engagement has to be examined, because a contractor arrangement may not support the classification at all. Hypothetical example: A university librarian receives an offer to manage research services for an American college, but the letter calls the role an information strategist. The decision is whether the actual duties and qualification fit a listed TN profession before collecting every possible record. The first review should produce a duty comparison, an evidence list, and a named employer. A Canadian citizen can request classification on arrival for inspection, while an employer may use the USCIS Form I-129 process. Neither route permits independently operating an American business under TN.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Ask who the employer actually is
- Distinguish an agency from the place of work
- Then return to the credential
A permanent resident is not a citizen for TN purposes
Hypothetical example: a diesel mechanic in Inverness County holds Irish citizenship and Canadian permanent residence after eleven years in the province. TN is available to Canadian and Mexican citizens only, and a permanent resident card does not satisfy that requirement no matter how long the holder has lived here. The practical work is to establish what nationality each household member actually holds and which routes that opens. Hypothetical example: An architect with Canadian permanent residence and Brazilian citizenship receives a short American project offer while her Canadian-citizen spouse may join later. The decision is not whether she has lived in Canada long enough; it is which person's nationality supports which route. The first review should create a person-by-person nationality table using passports, citizenship certificates, and immigration records. Canadian permanent residence does not create TN nationality, and a dependent's eligibility must be assessed independently.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Write down the actual nationality of each person
- See which routes nationality does not restrict
- Track the naturalisation timeline separately
Marginality when the business mainly serves one industry
Hypothetical example: an investor from Inverness County looks at a United States commercial laundry whose revenue comes almost entirely from hotel contracts. E-2 requires a real and operating enterprise that is not marginal, meaning one that does more than provide a minimal living for the investor and family. Customer concentration does not by itself make a business marginal, but it does make the evidence about earnings and capacity more important. Hypothetical example: A fish-feed producer considers acquiring an American distribution business whose largest customer is due to renew in six months. The decision is whether the enterprise evidence can show a real nonmarginal operation, not merely whether the seller's recent revenue is attractive. The first review should reconcile customer contracts, expenses, staffing, and the total acquisition cost. E-2 funds must be committed in a way that exposes them to commercial loss, and the investor must direct and develop the enterprise.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Test earning capacity, not just current profit
- Examine what concentration does to the evidence
- Reconcile the seller's numbers before they matter
Premises evidence for a first United States location
Hypothetical example: a boat-building firm in Inverness County plans a service yard in the United States to refit hulls it has already delivered. A new-office L-1 petition is approved for one year and requires evidence of secured physical premises and of the entity's capacity to support the proposed role within that year. For a yard needing water access, a travel lift and a lease, the premises evidence is the piece that most often is not ready. Hypothetical example: A solar-pump manufacturer intends to open an American service operation and transfer its operations executive before it has signed a lease. The decision is whether the proposed premises, staffing, and business plan can support a managerial or executive role within the first year. A new-office L-1 petition needs a qualifying corporate relationship, suitable physical premises, and a credible plan for the new operation. The transferee also needs the required continuous foreign employment during the relevant prior period.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Secure premises that fit the described operation
- Show the capacity to support the role in one year
- Fix the qualifying relationship and the year abroad
Two shareholders, one decision: branch or acquisition
Hypothetical example: an engineering consultancy in Inverness County owned equally by two shareholders can either open a United States branch and transfer one of them, or buy an established firm there. The routes turn on different facts. The transfer needs a qualifying corporate relationship and a year of qualifying employment; the acquisition needs treaty nationality, committed capital at risk, and control of the enterprise. Equal ownership complicates the second more than the first. Hypothetical example: A camera-rental company with two equal owners is choosing between opening an American affiliate and buying a local competitor. The decision is whether the facts support a corporate transfer or a treaty-nationality investment, not which label sounds faster. L-1 requires the qualifying organizational connection and qualifying foreign employment; E-2 requires treaty nationality, a real enterprise, capital committed to commercial risk, and investor direction. Neither category supplies an automatic permanent-residence outcome.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- What the branch route requires from these owners
- What equal ownership does to the E-2 route
- Compare what each route leaves unresolved
A TD spouse cannot work, and the household budget needs to know
Hypothetical example: a nurse from Inverness County takes a United States position and her spouse, a millwright, assumes he will find work after arrival. TD status permits study but does not authorise employment, and no length of stay changes that. A child turning twenty-one during the assignment leaves dependent status entirely. Both facts belong in the household's financial planning before anyone resigns a job. Hypothetical example: A metallurgical technologist accepts an American assignment while a spouse plans to continue a remote design practice and a child will turn twenty-one during the second year. The decision is whether the household can lawfully and financially follow the principal's category, not whether the family can simply travel together. The first review should create a status chart with each person's passport, civil record, work or study plan, and age milestone. Dependant work permission differs by category and should never be assumed from the principal's employment authorization.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Price the household on one income
- Know which categories allow a dependent spouse to work
- Put every dependant's twenty-first birthday on the calendar
Capital you might get back against money you will not
Hypothetical example: an aquaculture operator in Inverness County selling the business at retirement compares EB-5 with the Gold Card. The economics differ at the root. EB-5 requires capital placed at risk in a commercial enterprise, which by definition may be lost and may be returned. The Gold Card framework describes a gift to the U.S. government plus a non-refundable fee, which is not an investment and should never be modelled as one. Hypothetical example: An orchard owner is selling a processing business and comparing an EB-5 project with the Gold Card programme. The decision is whether the household accepts commercial investment risk tied to job creation or a personal gift payment under current programme conditions. EB-5 uses lawfully sourced capital placed at risk in a commercial enterprise and requires qualifying job creation; it later involves conditional residence and condition removal. Gold Card is not a conventional visa category, and its payment is made by the applicant to the U.S. government rather than into an investment.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- EB-5 puts capital at risk and attaches conditions
- The Gold Card framework is a gift, not a stake
- Ask which risk the household can actually carry