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.
Reconciling Canadian and U.S. employment records for a TN offer
An affiliate move can produce several documents with overlapping descriptions of the job. Reconcile them around the actual proposed U.S. employment arrangement. A corporate connection can explain the background, but it should not replace evidence of the qualifying TN profession, credentials and prearranged work. First decide which record controls the U.S. employment when group documents differ. A Canadian can request TN classification from CBP when seeking admission, or an employer can use I-129; either route needs qualifying professional work and cannot cover independently operated U.S. work. Make a document matrix before choosing the procedure. Put the proposed employer, professional category, duties, credentials, supervision, worksite, and start date beside the record that establishes each fact. That matrix exposes whether a direct admission request is realistic or whether the employer should pursue the petition process before travel. TN is not appropriate when the arrangement is really the professional operating an enterprise they own or control; that situation needs a different assessment.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify which entity makes each statement
- Compare the old and proposed responsibilities
- Resolve conflicting documents at the source
What should I tell an employer that assumes Canadian PR means TN eligibility?
Correct the assumption early: Canadian permanent residence is not Canadian citizenship for TN. TN’s nationality requirement can be met by qualifying Canadian or Mexican citizens, with other requirements still to assess. Give the employer accurate current facts before it designs an immigration plan around your Canadian location. Decide whether to pause a TN plan and assess a route that fits the person’s nationality and role. A PR card shows Canadian immigration status, not citizenship; provide passport evidence and the real job facts before the employer chooses a next step.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Use an accurate introduction
- Keep the opportunity alive factually
- Agree the next responsible review
How much seasonal working capital belongs in the E-2 plan?
A seasonal business needs a credible cash plan for quiet months, but projected future spending is not automatically qualifying invested capital. Distinguish funds actually committed from reserves and forecasts. Use the operating cycle to explain the budget instead of choosing an arbitrary amount intended only to make the application look stronger. Choose whether the next dollar is committed, held as a reserve, or excluded until the transaction is clear. E-2 examines capital irrevocably placed at commercial risk in a real non-marginal enterprise, with the investor directing it; a target budget does not prove those facts.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Map one operating cycle
- Identify how the gap is funded
- Test non-marginality beyond peak months
Do the revenue forecast and operating plan tell the same story?
A first-year forecast should explain how the proposed office will operate, not merely display ambitious revenue. Compare sales assumptions, delivery capacity and staffing with the role claimed for the transferee. Counsel needs a coherent plan, while the business remains responsible for the commercial judgement behind its projections. Decide whether the forecast leaves the transferee primarily managing or directing rather than delivering every service. The case also needs the qualifying relationship and the required foreign-employment year; account for the seven-year L-1A limit in longer planning.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Make assumptions inspectable
- Check the delivery capacity
- Retain a version history
Should a technical founder compare L-1B with E-2 rather than assume L-1A?
A technical founder may have a specialized-knowledge transfer question even if the proposed role is not managerial. L-1B and E-2 examine different facts: qualifying organizational knowledge and transfer history versus treaty investment and direction. Identify the actual work before deciding that every founder case should be presented as L-1A. Put transfer and investment facts in separate columns before choosing. A transfer needs an eligible organization, a full overseas year in the preceding three years, and a suitable L assignment. E-2 requires treaty nationality, a real non-marginal enterprise, capital placed beyond recovery at commercial risk, and investor control; it is not permanent-residence status.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the knowledge and its use
- Assess control and capital for E-2
- Compare the evidence burden honestly
Which dates matter: the visa, the I-94 or the principal’s approval?
Those documents serve different functions and should not be reduced to one household expiry date. Review each family member’s actual status and admission evidence alongside the visa and principal records. A visa label or principal approval should not substitute for checking the individual document relevant to the question being asked. Decide which individual event must happen first: principal admission, a spouse’s job decision, a child’s school plan, or a separate application. Canadian PR and citizenship are different, and a PR card does not establish TN nationality. Track each person’s activity because dependent status does not give every family member work permission.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Sort records by person and purpose
- Ask which record answers the question
- Resolve discrepancies promptly
Does either route remove the need for an eligibility review?
Neither EB-5 capital nor a Gold Card gift substitutes for assessment of the applicant and the proposed route. Review the person’s immigration history, family circumstances and availability issues before selecting an option by price. Financial readiness and legal suitability should be documented as separate conclusions. Decide whether the immediate task is EB-5 source-and-job analysis or a personal review under Gold Card’s current framework. EB-5 needs at-risk capital, job creation, and later conditional-residence proof. A Gold Card gift goes from the applicant to the Department of Commerce, deposited in a separate Treasury fund, is not a conventional visa, and never substitutes for admissibility.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Prepare one accurate personal history
- Ask what the financial mechanism establishes
- Compare findings rather than sales assurances