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.
A translated main page may leave important attachments untranslated
A document packet can include conditions or explanations on later pages. Before submitting a translation, check that it covers the complete foreign-language record being filed, including relevant attachments. A polished translation of the first page does not necessarily represent the whole document. First decide which record proves each part of the claim: citizenship, profession, qualification, employment offer and temporary purpose. Build a submission index that ties each English translation to its original and identifies missing pages before a reviewer finds them. Hypothetical example: a conservation scientist has a degree certificate, a separate transcript and a task letter from a U.S. museum-laboratory employer. The decision is whether the packet shows the claimed profession and qualification together, rather than whether each document looks impressive in isolation.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare the translation with the full issued record
- Check certification and credential analysis separately
- Tie the complete evidence to the TN profession
A Canadian permanent resident card is not a U.S. green card
An employer’s question about permanent residence may refer to the United States, while the applicant answers about Canada. Specify the country before completing work-authorization forms or planning a U.S. role. Similar status terminology does not make the documents interchangeable. The first review should produce a country-specific status list, with the document, holder, expiration and permission attached to each entry. That list lets the applicant correct a form without replacing one inaccurate shorthand with another. Hypothetical example: a ceramic-glaze technician holds Canadian permanent residence and a visitor record for a recent U.S. trip, while an employer asks whether work may begin next month. The decision is which U.S. work authorization, if any, must exist on that date; neither Canadian document answers it.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Clarify what the employer is asking
- Identify the actual U.S. route
- Resolve the record before dates are agreed
A property business needs an account of services and operations, not only rent projections
A proposed property venture should explain what the enterprise actually does and what the investor directs. A schedule of expected rental income does not by itself establish a real operating non-marginal E-2 enterprise. Review the actual business model rather than assuming that all property holdings are treated alike. A first review should answer whether the proposal is an operating business, not merely an asset purchase. It should identify the services offered, customers, operating contracts, investor decisions, capital already committed and the records that demonstrate each point. The funds must be committed beyond a revocable plan, placed at commercial risk, and the enterprise cannot be marginal. Hypothetical example: an urban-beekeeping supply company would sell equipment, provide hive-maintenance subscriptions and employ a field coordinator. The applicant must decide whether those activities are real and documented, or only additions drafted to support an immigration filing.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the operating activity separately from ownership
- Connect the investment to the enterprise described
- Review commercial permissions and responsibilities
Equipment awaiting delivery should not appear as installed capacity
A new-office plan may depend on machinery that has been ordered but has not reached the U.S. site. Record the actual delivery stage and its effect on operations. A purchase invoice proves a different fact from installed equipment that the business can use. The first review should create a first-year operating timeline that separates completed facts from dependencies. Identify the premises, equipment, staffing, customers, budget, foreign-company support and the transferee’s planned duties at each stage. Hypothetical example: a precision-lens calibration company has signed a lease and hired a site coordinator, but its testing bench will arrive two months later. The decision is whether the remaining plan still supports the proposed managerial or executive role within the first year, not whether the purchase order sounds credible.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Document what has happened to the order
- Explain the consequences for the first-year plan
- Keep equipment evidence within the full L-1 showing
A prior refusal deserves a factual review before choosing another category
A refusal in an earlier category is part of the applicant’s history, not a reason to assume every other route succeeds or fails. Retrieve the actual decision and the facts submitted before comparing L-1 with E-2. Changing the category label does not correct an inaccurate account of the business or the person. The first review should produce two separate evidence lists, not a blended application theory. For the transfer route, identify the corporate relationship, qualifying foreign employment, proposed role and remaining time. For the investor route, identify nationality, ownership, funds placed at risk, operating plan and control. Hypothetical example: a tidal-energy maintenance supervisor considers leaving an affiliated foreign company to buy an independent U.S. service business. The practical decision is whether the real facts support a transfer before departure or an investor plan after acquisition; calling the same arrangement both does not settle either test.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Start with the decision actually received
- Compare the current facts with each route
- Ask about the refusal’s actual consequences
A child under twenty-one may still fail the unmarried-child condition
Age is not the only fact in the dependent-child definition. A married child should not be placed in the same dependent plan solely because they are under twenty-one or financially supported by a parent. Identify the relationship and marital-status facts before preparing the household’s documents. The first review should create a separate row for each proposed traveler: relationship, age, marital status, citizenship, current status, intended study or work and the document that establishes each fact. Hypothetical example: a nineteen-year-old apprentice harp-restorer plans to marry before joining a parent’s assignment and expects to keep studying after arrival. The decision is whether the changed marital status leaves any dependent classification available, rather than whether the family can continue to describe the person as a child.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Record marital status as well as age
- Assess an independent basis where needed
- Review consequences before commitments accumulate
An employer’s Corporate Gold Card proposal is different from your own EB-5 investment
An employer may offer to sponsor a Corporate Gold Card process for an employee. Identify who is proposing to pay, which official process is intended and what the employee’s own application requires. Do not describe an employer’s proposed gift as if it were automatically the employee’s personal EB-5 capital. The first review should separate the payor, recipient, legal purpose, risk and evidence for every proposed transfer. EB-5 requires the applicant’s qualifying capital to be at risk and the plan to address required job creation and conditional residence. Gold Card is not a conventional visa; it requires the applicant’s payment to the U.S. government through the applicable official process. Hypothetical example: an industrial-robotics safety auditor receives an employer offer for one process while considering a personal investment in a separate packaging company. The decision is which route the actual funds and business facts support, not which label offers the fastest-sounding outcome.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the sponsor and the proposal
- Compare the two financial bases
- Read the continuing obligations before agreeing