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.
Keep two professionals’ TN qualifications separate even when their offers look alike
Two McMasterville applicants may receive similar U.S. offers from the same employer. Assess the actual profession, duties and credentials of each person rather than using one favorable assessment as evidence for both. The first review should create a separate evidence list for each person and identify the record that resolves every open point: passport for citizenship, the actual award and evaluation for the credential, and an employer document for duties and duration. Each applicant must decide whether the facts support a TN request now or whether a missing record should be obtained before a travel date is set.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Build an individual evidence record
- Check alternatives rather than assuming equivalence
- Document the employer and temporary work accurately
Assign each proposed principal a route based on their own citizenship and evidence
Business partners living in McMasterville may share a Canadian enterprise while holding different citizenships. Identify who would actually apply under each U.S. category before combining their plans into one company narrative. A first review should assign one proposed principal to one route at a time, then list the document that proves nationality, ownership, foreign employment, and the intended U.S. role. The decision is whether the current facts support TN, E-2, or L for that person; Canadian permanent residence cannot be used as a substitute for the citizenship or employment evidence a route actually requires.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Do not use the company’s address as personal nationality
- Test an investor proposal at both person and enterprise levels
- Assess a transfer using the intended employee’s history
Explain how a proposed share transfer changes the investor’s control
A McMasterville investor may negotiate shares instead of buying business assets. Read the ownership and decision rights that would actually result from the transaction; the percentage on an early term sheet may not describe the final arrangement. The first review should produce a closing checklist that distinguishes contemplated shares from rights and funds that will exist after closing. The applicant must decide whether the final documents give qualifying control and whether the money is already bound to a real operating enterprise at risk. An investment cannot remain merely an intention, and the proposed enterprise must be nonmarginal.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare the ownership records before and after closing
- Trace the capital actually committed
- Keep the enterprise’s substance in view
Document who will receive the transferee’s knowledge during a U.S. launch
A McMasterville company may propose an L-1B employee to establish an internal process at a new U.S. operation. Explain the knowledge, its use and the actual work environment rather than relying on the fact that the employee will train others. The first review should result in a dated launch record: qualifying foreign employment, the related organizations, premises, funding, and the work expected in the first year. The transferee generally needs one continuous qualifying year abroad during the preceding three years. Decide whether the plan describes specialized-knowledge work or a managerial or executive role before choosing the supporting evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Explain the knowledge and the employee’s qualifying history
- Apply the new-office requirements to the actual operation
- Identify supervision and the evidence needed later
Separate a capital partner from the employee proposed for transfer
A McMasterville project may combine financing from one partner with operational experience from another. Compare an E-2 investor case and an L transfer using the evidence that belongs to the actual proposed applicant. A first review should produce two separate timelines: one for qualifying employment and related companies, and one for capital, ownership, and operating commitments. The decision is which applicant has a complete route now. L generally requires one continuous qualifying foreign year within the previous three years, while E-2 requires risk-bearing funds already committed to a real nonmarginal enterprise that the investor can direct.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Do not transfer one person’s employment history to another
- Do not turn financing alone into an investor’s authority
- Resolve the remaining category-specific conditions
Decide whether each working adult is a principal or a dependent before combining the household plan
A McMasterville couple may each have a U.S. opportunity. Record whether each person would rely on their own work category or a qualifying dependent category; those routes can have different evidence and work restrictions. A first review should make a person-by-person household table showing the proposed principal or dependent basis, passport and status record, intended work, and authorized end date. The immediate decision is whether an adult needs an independent work-authorizing route or can lawfully use the dependent status actually available; neither a household plan nor a job offer changes that answer by itself.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the actual basis for each person
- Apply the correct work rule to the selected status
- Plan changes without assuming continued permission
Count distinct principal investors before combining the project and family budgets
Two McMasterville business partners considering the same project should distinguish separate principal applications from a principal’s eligible relatives. A shared commercial proposal does not automatically merge their immigration requirements. The first review should create a separate reconciliation sheet for each principal and label every amount as EB-5 capital, a Gold Card government gift, a processing charge, or a private project cost. The decision is whether a person is pursuing an investment route with capital and job requirements or a Gold Card process involving the applicant’s payment to the U.S. government; those are not interchangeable transactions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Allocate the EB-5 evidence to each principal
- Identify the actual Gold Card principals and relatives
- Keep residence and payment outcomes distinct
- Prepare one reconciliation sheet per proposed principal