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.
Keep the US offer separate from your current employer’s exit agreement
A Riverview applicant changing employers needs records that explain two different events: the end of one employment relationship and the proposed professional work in the United States. The first does not establish eligibility for the second.
Document the listed USMCA profession, actual duties and its particular qualification requirement. TN principals must be Canadian or Mexican citizens. Do not use the fact that the applicant resigned as a substitute for any eligibility evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Prove the professional opportunity
- Keep the terms consistent
- Coordinate the actual process
Do not build a resignation plan around citizenship you do not yet hold
A Riverview resident considering a US offer should use current citizenship facts when evaluating TN. Canadian permanent residence and a pending citizenship process are different from Canadian citizenship already established.
TN principal eligibility requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship. Canadian residence, employment and education cannot collectively substitute for that requirement. Record any future citizenship milestone as uncertain until established.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the applicable nationality
- Review other options without automatic substitution
- Coordinate decisions using the current facts
Distinguish present ownership from an option to buy more
For a Riverview investor, a future purchase right can matter commercially without establishing current E-2 ownership or control. Read the option together with the enterprise’s effective voting and shareholder arrangements.
Identify the shares currently held, the option holder, conditions and any exercise event. Do not combine future percentages with today’s cap table. At least 50% relevant treaty-country national ownership and the applicant’s development and direction need support under the actual arrangement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Prepare the current and proposed ownership record
- Account for money committed
- Keep the enterprise requirements independent
Explain the first year when the manager’s team is still being built
A new US office plan should show who will perform operational work and how the transferee’s role will qualify. A Riverview company should distinguish genuine planned hires from workers already supporting the business.
For L-1A, the role must be primarily managerial or executive. Explain actual authority and duties. Supervising nonprofessional workers does not make a first-line supervisor managerial merely by title, and employee degrees alone do not prove the professional nature of their positions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe positions rather than impressive titles
- Support the applicable new-office classification
- Establish the transfer and continuing business
Compare a managerial transfer with a future ownership opportunity
Suppose a Riverview applicant can transfer within an employer group or purchase an interest in another US business through an option. The opportunity to become an owner later should not be confused with a qualifying corporate transfer today.
Establish the qualifying group relationship and foreign employment period, then the managerial/executive or specialized-knowledge role. A personal option to purchase a separate company does not itself establish the employer relationship required for a transfer.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Follow the company relationship for L-1
- Follow the actual rights for E-2
- Compare the commitments on their effective dates
Keep household notices tied to the person they identify
A Riverview household may receive instructions, decisions and deadlines on different dates. Organizing them person by person helps prevent one relative’s progress being mistaken for permission held by everyone.
Preserve the applicant name, requested action and due date on each notice. Do not assume that asking a question extends a deadline or that a fee receipt is an approval. Record relationships and child-age questions for individual review, including applicable CSPA analysis.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate records and deadlines
- Check each proposed activity
- Coordinate immigrant travel correctly
Compare family contributions with family applicants
Relatives may fund an EB-5 investment without being eligible derivatives, while Gold Card adds published charges for each eligible included family member. A Riverview applicant should maintain separate lists of financial contributors and people seeking immigration benefits.
For EB-5, document each donor’s lawful source, actual gift terms and the transfer path. General capital thresholds are US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure projects, with statutory adjustment beginning January 1, 2027. At least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor and management or policy-formulation participation remain necessary. Confirm the applicable capital amount using the petition filing date.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Trace the investor’s capital
- Price eligible applicants under Gold Card
- Distinguish financial help from residence