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 client reference should confirm facts the writer actually knows
An experience-based TN qualification needs evidence of real periods and relevant work. A client can describe an engagement without necessarily knowing the applicant’s entire employment history. Match each statement to the writer’s knowledge instead of asking every reference to repeat a five-year total. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. TN still requires the relevant nationality, listed temporary professional activity, appropriate qualifications, and a temporary purpose. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Define the period the client can confirm
- Connect the chronology to the listed alternative
- Keep original records and explanations distinct
A permanent-resident card and a foreign passport answer different questions
Canadian residence and nationality should be documented separately. A person can hold Canadian permanent residence while remaining a citizen of another country. The U.S. category should be assessed from that actual citizenship and the relevant work or investment facts, not from the address on an application. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. Canadian permanent residence and citizenship are separate facts; the chosen U.S. category tests its own nationality, employment, or investment requirements. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Record the documents and what they establish
- Identify the applicable U.S. nationality question
- Resolve procedural evidence before setting travel
A consent checklist should describe the rights needed to operate
A business acquisition may depend on approvals from customers, landlords, lenders or suppliers. Identify which rights actually transfer and which remain conditional. The investment account should describe the U.S. enterprise the applicant would operate under those terms, not the seller’s business with every relationship assumed to continue. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. E-2 requires treaty-nationality facts, qualifying ownership, capital committed at commercial risk, and the investor’s ability to develop and direct the enterprise. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- List each consent and its consequence
- Explain the operating plan under confirmed facts
- Connect changes to the payment evidence
- Check nationality and the funding chain
The foreign business needs an operating plan after its key employee leaves
A transfer can affect the organization left behind as well as the new U.S. operation. Show who will continue the foreign business and how the qualifying organizational relationship is maintained. Registration or a bank account alone is not evidence that an organization is doing business. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. L-1 requires a qualifying organizational relationship and qualifying foreign employment; a new-office initial approval is limited to one year. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify responsibilities that need continuity
- Document the qualifying entities and employment
- Link the U.S. plan to the first-year requirements
A family ownership change can affect two category analyses differently
A gift or sale of company shares should be reflected in the actual ownership and control records. It may affect the corporate relationship relevant to L-1 and the enterprise nationality or direction relevant to E-2. The same document can matter to both without satisfying either category by itself. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. L-1 relies on the organizations, foreign employment, and U.S. role; E-2 relies on treaty nationality, ownership, committed at-risk capital, and a non-marginal enterprise. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Record when the ownership change becomes effective
- Assess the transfer and investment requirements separately
- Plan for a transaction that may not close as expected
A separation changes the facts that a household plan was built on
When relationships or living arrangements change, update the immigration record rather than continuing to use the original family summary. The effect depends on the category and actual legal relationship. A private agreement about housing or support does not itself establish dependent eligibility or work permission. A practical first review should result in a dated evidence plan, a list of unsettled facts, and a decision about what must be resolved before money, travel, or work is committed. Family members need individual analysis of relationship, age, marital status, travel, study, and work; a principal route does not automatically authorize every proposed activity. The reader should separate facts already proved from assumptions that need a contract, official record, or individual advice.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the present relationship accurately
- Review each person’s status and activities
- Coordinate practical decisions without presuming the result
A payment instruction must match the applicant’s authority and the intended program
Before directing funds, identify the legal basis for using them and the official or contractual recipient. EB-5 capital and a Gold Card government gift are different commitments. A payment request should not be accepted merely because it uses the name of an immigration program.
Hypothetical example: settlement proceeds are held pending instructions from several parties, and an applicant receives a request to send them immediately to an intermediary. Review the settlement authority, restrictions and recipient instructions. Keep the source and transfer records. Do not assume account access or a persuasive payment message establishes legal entitlement or a verified destination.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm who can direct the funds
- Use the EB-5 transaction documents for an investment
- Use official instructions for Gold Card payments
- Compare the current investment and gift requirements
- Keep the procedural obligations distinct