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 placement agency offer needs an actual professional assignment
An agency can be part of a TN arrangement, but a promise to find work later is not the same as a prearranged professional assignment. Before assembling the application, identify the U.S. entity where the work will occur and the professional activities already agreed. The relationship between agency, client and worker should be understandable without guessing. A first review should produce a placement matrix showing the agency, the end client, the work location, the precise duties, the professional category and the record that confirms each item. TN is available only to Canadian or Mexican citizens with a listed professional category, the stated qualification and a temporary professional arrangement; it does not authorize self-employed work in the U.S. Hypothetical example: a Mexican economist is offered, through an agency, a recycled-glass pricing study for one named client. The concrete decision is whether the signed client scope and agency letter identify the same employer-directed professional assignment before the person seeks admission or an employer uses the USCIS process.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify who is promising what
- Compare the duties with the listed profession
- Flag changes before relying on an old file
When a recruiter treats Canadian residence as citizenship
A recruiter may use Canadian candidate to mean someone living in Canada. Immigration categories can use a narrower test. If you are a permanent resident in Saint-Sulpice, correct that ambiguity early so an offer is not built around a citizenship you do not hold. A first review should state, in separate columns, nationality, Canadian immigration status, passport validity, employer facts and intended U.S. activity. That record shows which category is available before the employer commits to a start date. Hypothetical example: a Brazilian citizen with Canadian permanent residence receives an offer to advise a mercury-vapour lamp restoration studio in the U.S. The concrete decision is whether an actual alternative route exists from the person’s citizenship, employer relationship or investment facts, rather than assuming Canadian residence supplies TN eligibility.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Give an accurate immigration summary
- Explain the limit of the TN option
- Check a different route on its own facts
Read the release conditions before calling an escrow deposit invested
An escrow account can help structure a business purchase, but its name does not tell you whether the E-2 commitment requirement is met. Read what releases the money, who can recover it and which conditions remain open. The assessment concerns the agreement and the actual commitment, not the account label. A first review should trace each dollar from its lawful origin to the purchase agreement, identify every release condition, and state who bears loss if the business does not proceed. The investment must be committed beyond the investor’s free recall, exposed to risk and sufficient for a real enterprise that is not marginal. Hypothetical example: a Canadian investor buys a seed-vault climate-monitoring service and places the price in escrow, but the agreement permits withdrawal if a lender dislikes the business plan. The concrete decision is whether that additional exit right prevents the funds from being treated as committed capital.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Distinguish visa contingency from a freely reversible deposit
- Trace the money before it entered escrow
- Check the rest of the transaction
An office lease should explain how the business will operate
A lease is useful evidence, but a new-office L-1A proposal needs more than an address. Match the premises to the proposed activities and identify the operational responsibilities during the first year. Do not choose space simply because a document can be produced quickly. A first review should connect the premises, launch tasks, staffing plan, foreign operations and proposed role in one dated first-year plan. The transferee needs qualifying continuous foreign employment for one year within the preceding three years, and the new office must be able to support the claimed managerial or executive position within its initial period. Hypothetical example: a company that makes xanthate flotation-cell sensors rents a service unit and proposes to transfer a director before hiring technicians. The concrete decision is whether the budget and recruitment schedule show who will perform the service work while the director manages the operation.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the function of the premises
- Show how the operation supports the proposed role
- Keep the foreign business in the picture
The business owner and the proposed transferee may be different people
A company expansion may involve an owner investing money and an employee moving to manage operations. Compare the role of each person before choosing between L-1 and E-2. The owner’s financial commitment does not automatically qualify the employee, and an employee’s transfer history does not automatically qualify the owner. A first review should assign each fact to a person and a route: entity ownership, foreign employment, proposed duties, treaty nationality, investment source and business plan. L-1 depends on a qualifying organization relationship and the applicant’s own continuous qualifying foreign work; E-2 depends on treaty nationality, an investor who leads the enterprise, committed risk-bearing capital and a nonmarginal operation. Hypothetical example: the founder of an algae-based ink manufacturer funds a U.S. affiliate while a long-serving production manager hopes to relocate. The concrete decision is whether the founder’s investment facts support an E-2 case and whether the manager independently meets the L-1 transfer conditions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the applicant from the company
- Do not treat E-2 employee rules as investor rules
- Prepare separate evidence lists
Do not treat a spouse’s work plans as a minor detail
A second income can change whether a proposed move is workable. Discuss the accompanying spouse’s actual work plans at the first consultation, rather than after choosing the principal’s category. Household budgeting should follow verified permissions, not the assumption that every dependent can work. A first review should make a separate timeline for every family member: proposed travel, principal status, relationship evidence, school dates and any planned work. That reveals whether the household depends on income that the accompanying person may not yet earn. Hypothetical example: the spouse of an employee at a violin-rental business plans to accept paid remote scheduling work immediately after arrival. The concrete decision is whether the spouse will hold a status that authorizes that work when it begins, rather than whether the employer is located outside the U.S.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Name the work the spouse intends to do
- Compare the actual dependent permissions
- Keep longer-term family eligibility under review
Ask what happens after the initial payment
An initial payment is only one event in an immigration process. Compare what must happen afterwards, who must provide evidence and which commitments remain. Neither an EB-5 investment transfer nor a Gold Card processing fee is proof that permanent residence has been granted. A first review should compare the two routes in a commitment table: what is paid or invested, who receives it, what evidence follows, which immigration classification applies, and what later event must occur. EB-5 involves qualifying at-risk capital, job creation and conditional residence; Gold Card involves a required applicant payment to the U.S. government and is not a conventional visa. Hypothetical example: the owner of a handcrafted typewriter-ribbon company can fund either a qualifying project or a Gold Card payment after a business sale. The concrete decision is whether the person accepts the different evidence, risk and follow-on obligations rather than comparing only the initial dollar figure.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Follow the EB-5 evidence through the later stage
- Separate Gold Card vetting from the gift instruction
- Ask who will monitor the remaining obligations