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.
Separate the engineering qualification used for TN from authority to practise in the destination state
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire engineer may hold a degree and a Canadian professional licence. Identify which evidence supports the TN qualification and which separate requirements govern the actual work in the U.S. destination. A first review should produce a two-column list: the listed TN qualification and the separate record governing the proposed work. That distinction tells the reader whether to obtain academic records, a credential evaluation, a licence record, or a clearer employer explanation before choosing an application route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Use the profession’s prescribed alternatives accurately
- Keep the professional-work requirements separate
- Prepare the real employer arrangement
Do not confuse permission to visit with qualification for the intended U.S. work
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire permanent resident may have travelled to the United States before receiving a job or business proposal. Identify the new activity and its category instead of treating past travel documents as evidence of work eligibility. The first review should identify the passport nationality, the physical location of the work, the U.S. recipient of the services, and the intended duration. Those facts prevent Canadian residence, visitor history, and a job offer from being merged into a status conclusion they cannot support.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Start with actual citizenship and the proposed activity
- Assess a company or investor route on its own facts
- Describe the contemplated trip accurately
Explain a family loan through its real source, security and repayment terms
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire investor may receive financing from a relative for a U.S. enterprise. Document the actual transaction without treating the family relationship as proof that the funds qualify or fail. The first review should produce a money trail and a risk trail. It identifies where the lender obtained the funds, what the borrower must repay, what collateral exists, and which expenditure puts the investor's capital in real commercial jeopardy. That work prevents a familiar relationship from being used as a substitute for documentation.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Trace the money and the actual obligation
- Check what secures the debt and what is committed
- Retain the full investor and enterprise criteria
Explain the organizational knowledge beyond a software certificate
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire company may propose an employee who holds a widely available technology certificate to help launch U.S. operations. Assess the knowledge actually used inside the organization rather than treating the certificate as a complete L-1B case. The first review should separate a generally available credential from the company-specific knowledge the U.S. position will use. It should also identify the date U.S. doing business began, the premises, the capital available to launch operations, the corporate relationship, and the exact foreign employment period.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Connect the evidence to the specialized-knowledge standard
- Document the new operation and category-specific resources
- Keep the actual assignment within the applicable limits
Distinguish purchasing a company from qualifying to work in it
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire buyer may acquire a U.S. business and assume the purchase creates both an investment route and a company transfer. Separate the transaction from the employment and control evidence that each category needs. The first review should place two separate questions beside the transaction: whether an employee has the required qualifying history within a related international organization, and whether an investor has treaty nationality, control, and risk-exposed capital in the business. The same acquisition documents may be relevant to both, but they prove neither conclusion alone.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Test the transfer through the actual organization and employee
- Test the investor through the actual rights and capital
- Date the existing operation before applying launch rules
Identify the immigration evidence separately from a family’s professional qualifications
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire spouse may already hold the education needed for a U.S. occupation. That qualification and permission to work are separate questions when the family considers dependent status. The first review should make one line for each family member: relationship evidence, age, planned activity, passport nationality, expected status, and expiry date. This reveals when a household plan depends on an assumption about work permission, school attendance, or a child's continued eligibility.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the actual dependent eligibility
- Apply the status-based work distinction
- Track school, age and authorized stay independently
Compare an existing business’s payroll with the evidence an investor route actually requires
A Mont-Saint-Hilaire buyer may see a business with employees and assume the headcount settles an EB-5 case. Compare the applicable job evidence with Gold Card’s separate official gift route, without treating existing payroll as automatically new job creation. The first review should produce two separate evidence lists: one for an EB-5 investment and its job framework, and one for the official Gold Card payment and eligibility process. Keeping those lists apart prevents a business purchase, payroll count, or contribution receipt from being used to prove a requirement from the other route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assess the EB-5 job framework and existing-business facts
- Preserve the remaining EB-5 conditions and milestones
- Keep the official Gold Card household and company terms separate
- Ask what each employment number actually measures