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.
Preparing a work-location schedule for a TN evidence file
When one proposed job involves several locations, organize the factual arrangement before asking how it should be handled. A schedule can explain where work occurs, who directs it and what duties are performed. It is not a legal determination that every location or later change is already authorized.
For each planned workplace, describe the activity, expected frequency and responsible employer contact. Separate confirmed arrangements from possibilities. If a customer site is involved, distinguish the customer’s premises from the applicant’s employer. Avoid implying that an address list alone explains the underlying employment relationship.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Map locations to actual duties
- Reconcile travel language across the file
- Create a change-reporting habit
- Draft the schedule last
- Hypothetical example: building a three-site schedule in passes
Do Canadian credentials replace TN citizenship requirements?
A Canadian degree, licence or professional career is different from Canadian citizenship. TN requires a qualifying Canadian or Mexican citizen as well as a suitable profession, role and qualifications. Separate the nationality screen from the credential review so strong professional evidence is assessed against the correct pathway.
List citizenship, Canadian residence status, education and professional registration as separate items. They answer different questions. A qualification earned in Canada may be relevant to professional assessment, but it should not be presented as evidence that the holder is a Canadian citizen or can use a Canadian-citizen U.S. immigration procedure.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Put each fact in its place
- Clarify what the role requires
- Choose the next review question
- Run the nationality screen before commissioning credential work
- Hypothetical example: a strong record and the wrong screen
Should leased equipment be counted at its market value for E-2?
Using equipment and owning it are different investment facts. A lease does not make the asset’s full market value the investor’s capital contribution. Review actual lease payments, any prepayment and the contractual arrangement, then keep the countable amount distinct from the replacement value shown on an equipment list.
For each major item, record whether it is purchased, leased or supplied by another party. Preserve the relevant agreement and payment evidence. A vendor catalogue or insurance schedule may describe replacement cost without proving invested capital. Counsel should review the actual transaction rather than treating every machine available to the business as an asset owned and contributed by the investor.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify ownership before valuation
- Apply the payment distinction
- Explain why the arrangement fits operations
- Decide the classification before the arithmetic
- Hypothetical example: a leased refrigeration line
Which customer records support a new-office plan?
Customer evidence should distinguish current business from intended activity. Signed contracts, preliminary discussions and forecasts show different things. Organise them so the new-office plan explains the expected U.S. work accurately and does not claim that an unconfirmed pipeline already supports the staffing or managerial role being proposed.
Separate completed transactions, binding commitments and exploratory discussions. Note the contracting entity, service location and remaining conditions. A foreign customer contract may help explain the group’s business but should not silently become proof of revenue belonging to the U.S. petitioner before the relevant arrangement has been established.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Classify the commercial records
- Connect orders to operational responsibilities
- Avoid manufacturing a stronger pipeline
- Sort the records before writing the plan
- Hypothetical example: describing a pipeline in stages
Does a founder’s dividend history prove L-1 employment or E-2 funding?
A payment can support ownership income without proving qualifying employment. For L-1, establish the founder’s actual foreign work; for E-2, establish lawful funds and commitment. Keep dividends, salary, reimbursements and shareholder loans distinct rather than using a company-to-founder transfer as interchangeable proof for both routes.
For L-1, combine dates, duties and ordinary work records with appropriate evidence of compensation and the employment relationship. Dividend receipts may show ownership income but do not by themselves describe the work performed. Counsel should assess the founder’s real position and qualifying foreign period. Do not rewrite historical payments as wages when the company records identify them differently.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Build the employment record
- Trace the investment funds
- Reconcile professional explanations
- Ask which route is being tested before labelling the payments
- Hypothetical example: reconstructing a founder record in order
Does an E-2 spouse always need an EAD before working?
Qualifying ordinary E-2 spouses in valid status are employment authorized incident to status; an EAD is not always required. An unexpired E-2S I-94 can provide List C employment-authorization evidence. Identity verification remains separate, and the spouse’s actual records should be reviewed before an employer relies on the documentation.
Identify the spouse’s own admission or status evidence rather than relying only on the investor’s approval or a visa. The ordinary E-2 spouse framework differs from the separate E-2 CNMI investor rules. This guide addresses ordinary treaty-investor families, so a document or fact suggesting a different framework needs individual professional review.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm the spouse’s actual status
- Understand the verification distinction
- Treat the EAD as an evidence option
- Establish status before discussing documents
- Hypothetical example: onboarding in the right order
How should visa availability enter the comparison?
An available application process does not guarantee an immediately available immigrant visa. Ask counsel to assess the relevant category and personal facts for both proposals. Neither a Gold Card gift nor an EB-5 investment should be presented as buying exemption from the immigration availability rules that apply to the case.
Record citizenships, places of birth and family circumstances accurately. Canadian residence alone does not establish the availability analysis. Ask counsel which facts determine the relevant treatment, and retain the supporting records rather than adopting a timeline quoted to another applicant whose classification or personal circumstances may differ.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Provide the facts that matter
- Identify the exact category
- Keep the cost and timing decisions separate
- Put the shared question first
- Hypothetical example: three documents before any comparison