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.
Which identity records matter before planning a TN file?
Before assembling employer evidence, distinguish the documents proving citizenship from those showing Canadian residence. A Canadian permanent resident may hold citizenship that leads to a different analysis. The objective is to establish the person’s present position accurately, without treating anticipated citizenship as an already completed step.
Create an inventory of current passports, citizenship evidence and Canadian status documents. Record expiration dates and differences in names for discussion. These documents have different functions; a permanent resident card should not be labelled citizenship proof. Keep sensitive identity material out of the initial public enquiry form.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate identity from immigration residence
- Resolve names through genuine records
- Describe future milestones conditionally
- Check each document for what it cannot establish
- Fix the name discrepancies before anyone else finds them
- Record where each original is held
Can a Mexican citizen with Canadian PR explore TN?
Yes, Mexican citizenship can meet TN’s nationality requirement even when the person lives in Canada as a permanent resident. The profession, role and qualifications still need review. Mexican and Canadian citizens do not follow identical TN visa procedures, so Canadian residence should not determine the preparation instructions.
Describe the applicant as a Mexican citizen residing in Canada, with Canadian permanent residence as a separate fact. That avoids both incorrect conclusions: that every Canadian PR is excluded from TN, or that residence permits use of the Canadian-citizen procedure. The relevant nationality must be established with appropriate evidence during detailed preparation.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- State the correct basis
- Review the professional proposal
- Use the appropriate procedure
- Expect a different procedure, not a different standard
- Explain the residence, and then set it aside
Which franchise payments belong in an E-2 capital calculation?
A franchise quote can combine an initial licence fee, equipment, deposits, training and future royalties. Break those items apart before presenting an investment total. The franchise brand’s recommended budget is useful commercial information, but it does not establish that every payment counts or that the investor meets E-2 requirements.
Identify fees paid to acquire rights or open the location, then distinguish royalties and marketing charges expected from future revenue. Keep payment dates and refund provisions with each item. A forecast of several years of franchise charges should not be added to money already committed as though all amounts were current invested capital. Review the actual treatment with counsel.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate initial and recurring charges
- Reconcile the franchisor’s range
- Connect expenditure to opening readiness
- Trace each payment to a document and a recipient
- Identify what remains payable and when
How will the foreign business operate after the transfer?
The U.S. expansion should not leave only a dormant company abroad. A qualifying organisation must continue doing business outside the United States during the L-1 stay. Document how customers, staff and delivery responsibilities will be handled after the proposed manager leaves for the new office.
List ongoing products or services, customers, staff and operational obligations. Identify who will supervise and perform the work after the transfer. The evidence should show a continuing business, not just an address and bank account maintained to support an immigration application after the commercial activity has effectively moved.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Map the work that remains abroad
- Test the succession description
- Maintain two evidence streams
- Name the person who will run the foreign business
- Keep the two entities' records genuinely separate
Does the same ownership chart prove both L-1 and E-2 eligibility?
The same chart can answer different legal questions. L-1 examines a qualifying relationship between organizations; E-2 examines treaty nationality and the investor’s ability to develop and direct the enterprise. Common owners or Canadian incorporation do not automatically resolve both tests, so annotate the chart with the evidence each route actually requires.
Identify parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate links and support ownership and control with governing records. Similar branding or shared directors may not establish the necessary relationship. Counsel should review the actual percentages, voting arrangements and entities involved. The chart also needs to connect the proposed transferee to the qualifying foreign employer and ongoing international business activity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Mark the L-1 relationships
- Trace E-2 nationality and direction
- Resolve conflicting assumptions before restructuring
- Read the chart twice, asking a different question each time
- Do not restructure before the assessment is finished
What if an L-2 spouse’s I-94 does not clearly show spouse status?
Qualifying L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to valid status, but the evidence needs to be understood correctly. An unexpired L-2S I-94 is List C employment-authorization evidence. If the record is unclear or unexpected, seek appropriate review rather than assume the principal’s approval or the visa label resolves it.
Check the spouse’s own I-94, including the name, classification and admitted-until information. Compare it with the circumstances of admission and relevant supporting documents privately. Do not substitute the principal’s record or rely only on a visa sticker, because the question concerns the spouse’s actual status and evidence available for employment verification.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Read the actual admission record
- Identify the precise documentation issue
- Coordinate with employment verification
- Establish what the record says before deciding it is wrong
- Separate the correction from the employment decision
How does the household change the EB-5 versus Gold Card budget?
Compare both routes using the same household, with names, relationships and dates of birth. Gold Card’s published family terms include separate processing charges and gifts, while EB-5 family processing follows its own framework. A single-applicant headline comparison can therefore conceal a material difference in the actual family commitment.
Give counsel the principal, spouse and unmarried children, including age-sensitive circumstances. USCIS describes spouses and unmarried children under 21 in the EB-5 process; Gold Card also identifies those family categories and initial inclusion. Do not infer that every financially dependent relative qualifies, or that age questions are resolved by this brief description.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm who is included in each analysis
- Build a person-by-person table
- Discuss timing and later changes
- Fix the household before either column is filled in
- Ask what each route does about later changes