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.
How to request replacement academic records for TN review
When academic records are missing, first establish what was actually awarded and which institution holds the evidence. Replacing proof of a completed credential is different from overcoming a missing qualification. Years of experience do not automatically solve either question for a profession that requires particular educational evidence.
Write down the institution, programme, attendance period, award and any former institution name. Contact the official records office rather than relying only on an old instructor or a third-party website. Ask which records can be issued and whether an institutional merger has changed who maintains the archive.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the issuing record keeper
- Track requests and limitations
- Review eligibility before ordering extra work
- Ask what the custodian can actually issue
- Keep a log that would satisfy someone else
- Check the log against the file before concluding
Does a visitor visa let a Canadian PR begin U.S. work?
A document used for visiting does not establish permission to begin the proposed employment. Canadian permanent residence and prior successful visits are separate from a U.S. work assessment. Describe what you would actually do during the trip before assuming that an existing travel document covers the new activity.
Write down the purpose of the trip, the tasks expected and the organizations involved. Distinguish exploratory conversations from the actual role you hope to take. The assessment should address the substance of those activities, not simply the label business trip or the fact that the visit is expected to be brief.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the planned activity
- Review the existing document correctly
- Coordinate the employer’s expectations
- Write down the activity in operational terms
- Correct the employer's assumption before it becomes a plan
Can I count personal property used partly by the E-2 business?
A vehicle, computer or other asset used partly for personal purposes needs careful treatment. Establish ownership, business use, value and actual contribution before counting it. The decision is not whether the item is useful to the founder, but what supported capital has genuinely been committed to the investment enterprise.
Identify the item, owner, acquisition cost and proposed business function. Separate personal use from the enterprise’s actual needs. Keep purchase records and documents showing how the asset becomes available to the business. Counsel should assess the countable contribution rather than assume that every possession brought to the United States becomes investment capital at its original retail price.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the asset and its use
- Support the amount without duplication
- Keep household spending outside the business narrative
- Describe the asset and quantify the business use
- Avoid counting the same value twice
Can the transferee prove the required year of work abroad?
For an L-1A new office, the qualifying year abroad must have been in a managerial or executive capacity. Build the employment and location chronology before relying on a senior title. Missing records, U.S. travel and changes in role should be resolved with counsel before the petition timetable is set.
Record when the person worked for each qualifying entity, where the work occurred and what role was performed. Payroll supports employment but may not establish physical location or qualifying duties. Match it with appropriate travel and role records, identifying uncertain periods instead of treating the entire employment relationship as qualifying time.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate dates, location and capacity
- Check the role during the claimed period
- Set the filing plan after review
- Test the period against dates that can be documented
- Check the capacity, not only the employment
Can a founder without treaty nationality still consider L-1?
L-1 does not use E-2’s treaty-nationality requirement. A founder who cannot establish E-2 treaty eligibility may still warrant an L-1 assessment if the corporate, employment and role requirements are met. Canadian permanent residence alone does not supply E-2 nationality or establish the separate facts needed for a qualifying intracompany transfer.
Collect the founder’s citizenship information and enterprise ownership records before ruling E-2 in or out. Dual nationality or layered ownership can require specific analysis. Do not assume that all Canadian permanent residents have the same nationality or that Canadian business registration supplies a treaty connection. Counsel should examine the actual people and rights behind the enterprise.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm nationality rather than residence
- Test the transfer on its own merits
- Keep procedure separate from eligibility
- Establish the nationality position for every owner
- Assess the transfer route on the facts it needs
Can a dependent child study and also take a part-time job?
Permission to study does not automatically include permission to work. TD children and L-2 dependent children may study but may not accept employment through those classifications. Review a child’s actual status and proposed activity before assuming that school enrolment, age or a small number of working hours creates authorization.
Describe the school plans and any proposed paid work as distinct questions. A school’s admission decision does not determine immigration employment permission. Record who offered the work, what duties are involved and when it would begin so that the actual proposal can be assessed rather than dismissed as merely a minor after-school activity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the two activities
- Check the child’s category
- Review transitions before relying on them
- Establish the child's own status before anything else
- Plan for the transitions before they arrive
Can one funding history support both route assessments?
The same financial history may inform both consultations, but the legal evidence requirements are not interchangeable. EB-5 expressly requires lawful-source evidence, while Gold Card’s actual instructions and vetting requests must be checked. Build a reliable chronology first, then have counsel identify what each proposed filing requires.
Record how the proposed funds arose, who owned them and the transfers leading to the current account. Link major events to original records and mark gaps. This common working file should describe the facts accurately without assuming that a particular asset, loan or transfer is acceptable under both programmes.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Create a neutral financial chronology
- Apply the route-specific requirements
- Avoid paying twice for irrelevant work
- Build the chronology once, without a route in mind
- Apply each route's requirements to the same record