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.
Build the TN file around the profession and the employing arrangement
A useful TN file connects citizenship, the listed profession, the applicant’s qualifications and the proposed employment. Begin with those connections, then identify the applicable Canadian or Mexican procedure. A thick collection of unrelated certificates cannot cure a mismatch between the offered duties and the profession claimed.
For a Moncton applicant offered a US position, obtain the duties, duration, remuneration and employing entity. Include relevant customer-site or intermediary arrangements. If the offer uses a broad title, request concrete deliverables rather than asking for a more immigration-friendly title.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Make the employer explain the actual work
- Select the credential evidence deliberately
- Check that the versions agree
A Canadian PR card is not proof of TN citizenship
Canadian permanent residence and citizenship are different legal facts. A Moncton resident should use their actual citizenship when assessing TN or E-2 nationality requirements. An expected naturalization date does not establish citizenship already held, and a route unavailable on one basis does not automatically make another category suitable.
List passports, Canadian status and any pending citizenship application separately. TN is for eligible Canadian or Mexican citizens. The spouse’s and children’s citizenships can also affect visa procedures, even where they seek dependent classification.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Record each person’s current position
- Review routes by their own requirements
- Keep Canadian obligations in the plan
Read the purchase price as several obligations
An E-2 acquisition can contain cash, financing, contingent payments and operating resources. Separate them before describing the investment as substantial. The analysis needs the actual business cost, genuine commitment, risk and direction of the enterprise; E-2 has no universal minimum amount that makes every purchase qualify.
A signed price cap and a cleared payment are different facts. Trace each contribution and explain the actual financing or escrow terms. Do not assume a seller’s earn-out maximum is capital already invested, or that all working capital is excluded from consideration.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the contribution the evidence supports
- Assess operations and marginality
- Coordinate commercial and immigration review
An incorporated US company is not necessarily an established office
The new-office question depends on the US operation’s actual business activity, not just its incorporation date or lease. For a Moncton company planning a first US operation, the L-1 case needs qualifying foreign employment and corporate ties along with the evidence specific to the office and proposed role.
Collect dated evidence of regular business activity, premises and operating arrangements. An address, bank account or incorporation alone does not establish all requirements. Determine whether the new-office framework applies before choosing the petition evidence and initial approval period, which is limited to one year for a new office. For a new-office L-1A petition, the required foreign year must have been in a managerial or executive capacity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Distinguish setup from doing business
- Explain how the role will be supported
- Prepare the extension evidence from the start
Compare a company transfer with an owner-led acquisition
L-1 and E-2 can involve a US business but test different facts. One focuses on a qualifying transfer within related organizations; the other on treaty nationality, investment and developing and directing the enterprise. A Moncton applicant should compare complete factual routes, rather than borrowing favourable elements from each.
For L-1, identify the foreign employment, corporate link and qualifying US role. For E-2, identify treaty nationality, ownership or control, lawful committed capital and the operating enterprise. If a required fact is missing, do not assume a strong fact from the other category compensates for it.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Write two separate eligibility records
- Test the intended work
- Compare family and transaction consequences
Plan each family member’s activity before setting a shared move date
A household may share a destination while its members have different citizenships, immigration procedures and work permissions. List what each adult and child intends to do in the United States. A principal’s pending file does not authorize the whole family to move, work or study on identical terms.
TD dependents do not receive employment authorization through TD status. Qualifying E and L spouses may be employment-authorized incident to status with the required evidence; children do not gain that permission through those dependent categories. Independent authorizations should be checked on their own terms.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Match work to the actual status
- Treat ages and relationships as evidence
- Coordinate arrivals and financial commitments
Compare an at-risk investment with a government gift
EB-5 and Gold Card should not be presented as two prices for the same product. EB-5 concerns qualifying capital and job creation; Gold Card uses the described gift framework within applicable immigrant classifications. Both require careful eligibility and financial review, and neither payment guarantees approval, timing or citizenship.
EB-5 capital is invested at risk in a qualifying enterprise; commercial recovery depends on the arrangement and performance as well as applicable immigration requirements. A Gold Card gift does not purchase project equity or a promised return. Read the actual obligations rather than treating both payments as refundable deposits.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare what happens to the money
- Calculate the household correctly
- Review the evidence and waiting rules