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 remote-work offer needs a clear description of where the work occurs
The word remote does not identify a country or an immigration arrangement. Before assembling TN evidence, have the employer describe where the applicant would physically perform the work, for whom and under what agreed assignment. A payroll address does not answer all three questions. The first review should produce a location-and-duty timeline, the employer letter that supports it, and a list of entries requiring authorization. Hypothetical example: a cryogenic-pipeline drafter is asked to revise plans from Canada and later inspect drawings during scheduled visits in the United States. The decision is whether the same prearranged professional role covers the stated U.S. activity, not whether the word remote appears in the offer.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Turn the location label into an actual schedule
- Keep the professional evidence tied to those duties
- Identify the changes that need a fresh question
Mexican citizenship and Canadian permanent residence require two separate descriptions
A Mexican citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident may meet the TN citizenship condition through Mexican citizenship. That does not make the Canadian-citizen procedure applicable. Identify both the citizenship and the process before treating a Canadian residence card as the decisive travel document. A first review should pair the current passport with the Canadian permanent-resident document and identify the consular procedure that follows from citizenship. Hypothetical example: a botanical-illustration conservator holds a Mexican passport, a Canadian permanent-resident card, and an offer from a museum supplier in the United States. The decision is which document establishes nationality for the TN route and which document only establishes Canadian residence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Document citizenship without changing its label
- Check the route and its procedure together
- Keep consular planning separate from permission to work
Holding land for future appreciation is different from operating an enterprise
Purchasing land does not by itself establish an E-2 operating business. Identify the enterprise the applicant intends to develop and direct, the activities actually undertaken and the commitments supporting them. A future resale expectation is different from evidence of a real operating non-marginal enterprise. A first review should separate a land asset from the operating enterprise, list each committed payment, and identify the record that proves control of the business. Hypothetical example: an investor funds an industrial-linen sterilization business but holds back the equipment deposit until a visa decision. The decision is whether the actual commitments, rather than the projected property value, show capital at risk in a real non-marginal enterprise.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the business beyond the property title
- Distinguish an asset from an operating plan
- Identify the decisions that remain conditional
A missing corporate archive needs reconstruction, not a newly invented history
An expansion may uncover missing records of earlier ownership or employment. Identify the specific fact each missing document was meant to establish and retrieve reliable records from available sources. A newly drafted corporate summary can explain the reconstruction, but cannot silently replace the underlying history. The first review should make a document-by-document proof chart: one column for the relationship between the entities, one for the foreign employment year, and one for the new office. Hypothetical example: a smart-meter refurbishment company can document current payroll but has only a registry extract for an older share transfer. The decision is whether the available chain proves the required historical fact or whether a genuine archival record must be requested before filing.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Make the gaps specific
- Connect evidence to the L-1 requirements
- Do not let reconstruction replace the new-office plan
Unvested shares do not describe the control held today
A promised future equity position can differ from the ownership and decision rights currently held. Before comparing L-1 with E-2, read the vesting schedule, voting provisions and conditions together. Do not present an expected future percentage as a present fact. A first review should produce a current ownership table, the documents that set voting and management rights, and a separate source-and-commitment record for any investment. Hypothetical example: a violin-bow restoration studio offers a senior restorer future shares but gives another owner present authority over U.S. operations. The decision is whether the current organization can support an L-1 relationship, an E-2 control showing, neither, or a later filing after the rights actually change.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the share grant from the current rights
- Ask different control questions for the two routes
- Review the expected change before relying on it
A reduction in the principal’s assignment deserves a household status review
An assignment may continue under a reduced schedule while the family assumes the original plan still controls. Record the actual change in employment and have its immigration consequences assessed. Do not infer a universal minimum-hours rule or automatic dependent-status loss from a payroll change alone. A first review should place the amended employment terms beside each person's I-94 and identify which activity each family member plans to undertake. Hypothetical example: a flood-control modeler moves to a reduced assignment while a spouse has accepted work and a teenager plans a paid summer job. The decision is not whether the household budget remains workable; it is whether each planned activity remains authorized under the status actually held.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Gather the changed terms before drawing conclusions
- Review each person’s basis and permitted activities
- Prepare choices without assuming the outcome
A closed bank account does not remove the need to explain an earlier transfer
An applicant may know where investment funds came from but no longer have online access to the account that received them. Identify the period and transaction that need proof, then ask the institution what archived records are available. A current balance cannot explain every earlier step on its own. A first review should create a transfer-by-transfer ledger, identify the missing record's custodian, and separate the EB-5 evidence question from any Gold Card payment question. Hypothetical example: a geothermal-drilling-tool exporter sold a business years ago, and the proceeds passed through a now-closed account before a proposed EB-5 subscription. The decision is whether archival banking records can complete the lawful path or whether the person should assess another route without assuming that financial documentation becomes irrelevant.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Request the missing period precisely
- Explain the evidence gap with the records that remain
- Compare the other route without assuming the gap disappears