Resolve them before treating TN as the basis for a U.S. start date. A professional-category review can proceed alongside gathering corporate documents, but final eligibility advice must reflect the actual intended ownership and employment arrangement. A planned investment closing or launch date does not accelerate government authorization.
Put governance review on the critical path
Identify missing agreements, pending equity grants, and approvals needed to explain who controls the company and the role. Give the adviser a complete timeline rather than a snapshot that omits changes scheduled immediately after entry. If the arrangement remains uncertain, keep travel and work commitments flexible.
Do not assume that admission followed by a rapid ownership change avoids the issue; have proposed changes reviewed before acting on them. Work backwards from the documents that must exist before advice can be final. Equity grants approved but not executed, agreements still in negotiation and consents not yet obtained each block a definitive answer, so list them at the outset with the person responsible for each and the date it is expected.
That list is the critical path. Professional-category and credential work can proceed alongside it, since it depends on facts already fixed. Set the review of final governance documents as the last gate before any start date is discussed, and compare the executed versions against the drafts on which earlier advice was given, because investor protections added late are exactly the terms that change a control analysis.
A planned closing or launch date does not accelerate government authorization.