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.
Connect historical credentials to the applicant applying today
A Prince George applicant may hold authentic academic records under an earlier personal or institutional name. TN preparation should explain those links while establishing the listed profession, qualifications and employment. Making documents look uniform is less useful than making their genuine history understandable.
Compare the listed profession’s prescribed qualifications with the actual awarded credential and genuine duties. TN is for qualifying temporary professional work by Canadian or Mexican citizens. Experience substitutes for a degree only where the profession permits. A degree’s authenticity does not establish that it qualifies the applicant for every professional role.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify what the qualification must establish
- Preserve names and dates accurately
- Complete the procedure and employment evidence
Use current citizenship evidence rather than an expected naturalization date
A Canadian permanent resident planning a US opportunity should distinguish citizenship already held from citizenship hoped for later. A Prince George address or PR card does not establish TN nationality. The correct starting point is the person’s actual documents and the proposed activity.
TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship. E-2 involves relevant treaty nationality and ownership of the enterprise. If naturalization is pending, record its status honestly rather than presenting a predicted completion as an existing qualification.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the nationality-dependent routes
- Review other requirements independently
- Keep family and Canadian obligations visible
Document a family contribution according to its real terms
A family-funded E-2 business needs a credible record of the money as well as a qualifying enterprise. The applicant should distinguish a gift from a loan or other contribution and trace lawful source and path. Personal trust between relatives does not replace the evidence required for the immigration case.
Identify who supplies the funds and the genuine gift, loan or other terms. Personal unsecured borrowing or debt secured solely by non-enterprise personal assets may count; enterprise-secured debt is excluded even with personal collateral. Do not call a repayable advance a gift to simplify the history. Preserve the real obligations that affect the investment assessment.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify ownership and obligations
- Connect the contribution to the business
- Assess the business rather than a minimum figure
Build the new-office record without backdating a management role
A company opening a US operation may want to transfer an employee who has recently taken on management responsibilities. The L-1 case needs an accurate foreign employment history and a supported US role. A startup plan cannot repair the record by treating a current title as though it always applied.
Date the actual roles and travel. Generally L requires a continuous full-time foreign year in the relevant preceding three years, with managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity permitted under the ordinary rule. New-office L-1A specifically requires that foreign year in managerial or executive work. U.S. days do not count although brief trips need not break continuity. A recent title cannot be backdated to create duties that did not occur.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the qualifying foreign period
- Test the proposed US operation
- Explain how the managerial role will develop
L-1 or E-2: how each route reacts when the business changes
The comparison is usually made at the outset, when both routes look open. The more useful test is what each does when something moves — a reorganisation, a sale, a partner leaving, a downturn. Transfer status is tethered to a corporate relationship and to one employer. Treaty-investor status is tethered to an enterprise and to the applicant’s control of it. The two therefore break in different places.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- A transfer depends on a relationship you may not control
- A treaty investment depends on an enterprise you do control
- Planning the exit before you need it
Keep each family member’s identity and timing record accurate
Historical names, different citizenships and children approaching age thresholds can affect the documents a household needs. Prepare individual records instead of assuming the principal’s file answers every question. A shared move remains a collection of distinct eligibility and procedural decisions.
Connect names and relationships with reliable records and required translations. Do not edit older documents merely to match a new passport. The evidence should establish the actual person and relationship under the relevant rules.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Explain legitimate document differences
- Review age and work questions separately
- Use actual immigration milestones
Compare the evidence that remains after the money is available
Financial readiness is only part of an EB-5 or Gold Card plan. An EB-5 project may still need current job evidence after a delay, while a Gold Card applicant may need an eligibility and identity review across several countries. Neither case is complete simply because funds can be transferred.
September 2026 EB-5 capital amounts are US$1,050,000 or a qualifying US$800,000 targeted employment area or infrastructure case, with statutory adjustments beginning January 1, 2027 under filing-date rules. Lawful capital must be committed at risk, with ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs per investor under the applicable method and management or policy participation. Contractual repayment rights and guaranteed returns are excluded. The enterprise-only discretionary buyback exception requires petition withdrawal on exercise unless applicable sustainment and other requirements are fulfilled. A delayed project needs current evidence rather than an assumed refund.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- For EB-5, review current project facts
- For Gold Card, separate identity from visa availability
- Compare payment and outcome honestly