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.
Connecting older credentials to a current TN application
When the name on a diploma differs from the passport or the institution has changed its name, preserve the original credential and explain the connection. The file must establish the qualification actually relied on for the proposed TN profession; a renamed or translated document should not silently change what was awarded. A first review can create a four-column check: profession, duties, credential and identity link. It also identifies the procedural choice. A Canadian professional can request TN classification from CBP when seeking admission, while an employer can pursue an I-129 petition with USCIS. TN work cannot be structured as self-employment; ownership or control in the receiving enterprise needs individual analysis. Hypothetical example: a forest-products economist has a diploma in a birth surname and will join an unrelated paper mill. The decision is whether a registrar letter and name-change record establish the link before the employer finalizes its support letter.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the person and the credential
- Check the profession before ordering an evaluation
- Make the translation traceable
Planning when a household holds different citizenships
Assess citizenship person by person. A Canadian citizen and a Canadian permanent resident may live at the same address yet face different principal-route eligibility and procedural questions. Use each person’s actual passport and status today rather than extending one household member’s citizenship to everyone. The first review produces a table listing each adult’s citizenship, Canadian immigration status, passport validity, proposed role and intended U.S. activity. That table determines which options deserve detailed work now and which depend on a later event. Hypothetical example: a prosthetist who holds Canadian permanent residence receives a U.S. offer, while the Canadian-citizen spouse has no offer. The couple must decide whether to plan an independent route for the prosthetist, wait for citizenship, or treat the spouse’s route only as an accompanying option.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the proposed principal applicants
- Do not confuse a future event with a current fact
- Compare independent and accompanying plans
Documenting a family gift used for an E-2 business
A gift can be part of an investment funding history, but the file still needs to explain its lawful origin, transfer and use. Keep the donor’s contribution separate from ownership rights and from any expectation of repayment. Those facts should be established before describing the money as the applicant’s committed investment. A first review produces a ledger that matches donor funds, gift terms, transfers, purchase payments and the applicant’s ownership. The decision is whether the transaction has left money irrevocably committed and at risk, rather than merely reserved or reversible. It also tests whether the intended enterprise can be more than marginal. Hypothetical example: a maker of modular hydroponic systems receives a parent’s transfer before signing a U.S. equipment contract. The applicant must choose whether to retain a cancellation right or commit the funds on terms that create actual risk.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Clarify whether the transfer is a gift or a loan
- Follow the funds beyond the first deposit
- Assess the investment and enterprise separately
Revisiting an L-1A office plan when the first hire is delayed
A delayed hire should be explained through its effect on the proposed role and operations. Keep the submitted plan intact and document who actually performs the work. New-office extension preparation needs evidence of the developed operation, not only a revised forecast that removes the delay. First build a calendar of positions, qualifying entities and actual duties. The beneficiary generally needs one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad in the three years before the petition or admission. Total L-1 stay is limited to seven years for a manager or executive and five for specialized-knowledge employment. Hypothetical example: a commercial-dishwasher service company delays its first field supervisor, leaving the proposed manager to answer repair calls. The decision is whether the current record still supports primarily managerial or executive work, not whether the original title remains on the chart.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Account for the responsibilities left open
- Assess the role using the changed operation
- Connect the staffing explanation to extension evidence
Comparing a company transfer with buying an unrelated business
Treat the expansion and acquisition as two factual proposals. A qualifying relationship with one U.S. entity does not establish a relationship with an unrelated business being purchased. Compare the applicant’s employment history, proposed work, nationality and investment evidence without mixing facts from the two options. Start with two eligibility files, not a list of shared preferences. The transfer file needs proof of a full uninterrupted year of qualifying work abroad during the three years just before the requested L-1 event; the maximum stay is seven years in L-1A and five in L-1B. The investment file needs capital already committed so it is at risk, treaty nationality, and an enterprise that will not be marginal. Hypothetical example: a buyer is considering a marine-upholstery workshop while their employer offers a transfer to its U.S. affiliate. The decision is whether the verified employer record or the purchase documents can support the earlier move, not which option sounds more permanent.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Draw two ownership pictures
- Describe a working day under each option
- Identify the commitments that differ
When both partners want to keep working
List each partner’s intended work, where it would be performed and the proposed status supporting it. Do not assume that an accompanying spouse can continue every existing job unchanged. The employer’s country alone does not answer the U.S. work-authorization question. A first review creates a person-by-person activity sheet: employer or client, location, status, start date and evidence. The decision is whether the second partner waits, uses an independent category, or changes the remote-work arrangement. Hypothetical example: a lift-maintenance installer expects to transfer under L-1 while the spouse plans to continue online payroll consulting from a U.S. home. They must obtain advice on the spouse’s own authorization before moving the work, rather than relying on the Canadian client’s location.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the remote-work plan explicitly
- Check the status and its evidence
- Discuss the consequence of a later start
Comparing family commitments in EB-5 and Gold Card planning
Begin with the people to be included, their ages and the funds the household could commit. EB-5 investment capital and the Gold Card gift process are different arrangements. Compare family treatment and legal conditions using current official instructions rather than assuming one headline figure covers the whole household. A first review produces two separate commitment schedules, one for each adult and dependent. The decision is whether the household can support EB-5 capital that remains at risk and the job-creation record, or the applicable Gold Card payment obligations, without treating one as interchangeable. An EB-5 approval leads first to conditional residence and later removal of conditions needs statutory evidence. Gold Card planning concerns payment by an applicant to the U.S. government and is not a conventional visa. Hypothetical example: a commercial-beekeeping business owner is considering both plans with adult children near age 21. The family must decide who applies and which people are included before allocating funds.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify each person in the proposal
- Separate the financial schedules
- Keep eligibility separate from willingness to pay