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.
Explaining an institution’s changed name in a TN credential file
Hypothetical example: for a Granby engineer, the name printed on a degree may differ from the institution’s current name. Explain the connection using reliable records while preserving the original document and the actual qualification. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. A TN request is limited to citizens of Canada or Mexico and also needs listed professional activity, the required qualifications, and a permissible employment arrangement. Hypothetical example: a prosthetist comparing a degree, a provincial registration, and a clinical-coordinator offer must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify what changed and what did not
- Keep the qualification analysis separate
- Translate faithfully and complete the TN checks
When a permanent-resident card and a citizenship document answer different identity questions
Hypothetical example: A Granby resident assembling a U.S. professional file should identify the citizenship document needed for the route, not simply submit the most recent Canadian identity card. Permanent residence and citizenship serve different purposes in the TN assessment. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. A Canadian permanent resident is not a Canadian citizen for a route limited to citizens. Hypothetical example: a speech-language pathologist who is a Canadian permanent resident but not a citizen must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify citizenship actually held
- Explain document expiry accurately
- Keep the professional offer on its own evidence
Reading seller financing without confusing debt and control
Hypothetical example: a Granby buyer should explain both the seller’s unpaid balance and any rights retained during repayment. Neither the debt label nor a headline ownership percentage supplies the full E-2 answer. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. E-2 requires treaty nationality, qualifying enterprise nationality, a substantial commitment at risk, development and direction, and a nonmarginal enterprise. Hypothetical example: a watch-repair entrepreneur committing funds to a workshop lease and inventory must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the parties and obligations
- Apply the treaty and investment requirements explicitly
- Show the business under its actual financing burden
Planning a new office around the effective date of a corporate restructuring
Hypothetical example: a Granby company may secure premises before a transaction creates the planned organization structure. Explain when the qualifying relationship exists and when the operation is ready; one event does not prove the other. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. A new-office L petition requires qualifying organizations, the relevant foreign employment, secured premises, and evidence that the new operation can support the claimed role. Hypothetical example: a theatre-lighting controls manufacturer with a sublease but no operating proof must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the current qualifying organizations
- Support the office and the proposed role
- Keep delays in the right calendar
Comparing a corporate restructuring with a personally financed acquisition
Hypothetical example: A Granby applicant may be offered a management transfer while also negotiating a personal stake in the U.S. enterprise. Treat those proposals as separate factual arrangements until the actual transaction and employment terms show how they fit together. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. L-1 and E-2 have different governing conditions; neither should be selected merely because a business exists. Hypothetical example: a custom orthotics company owner deciding between transfer and personal investment must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assess the transfer from its own history
- Assess the investment from the completed and conditional rights
- Choose the account that matches the intended conduct
Keeping family authorization records separate from an employer’s revised paperwork
Hypothetical example: A Granby household preparing for a corporate change should identify which records merely update an employer’s name and which immigration records govern each person’s stay and activities. Do not treat the commercial paperwork as an automatic family authorization. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. Dependent eligibility, relationship evidence, age, intended activity, and the principal’s process stage must be assessed separately. Hypothetical example: a violin-restoration specialist relocating with a spouse and a twenty-year-old child must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify present permissions for each person
- Review immigration changes on their actual facts
- Use the correct sequence if the family pursues residence
Checking the recipient and purpose before choosing an investor payment
Hypothetical example: A Granby applicant should be able to identify which payment goes into a qualifying investment and which goes to the government under Gold Card. An international transfer’s size or a private intermediary’s invoice does not establish its legal purpose. Use this guide to decide which fact must be proved before money is spent or travel is arranged. EB-5 uses capital at risk and job creation with conditional residence, while Gold Card is a gift payment by the applicant and not a conventional visa. Hypothetical example: a marine-survey entrepreneur with proceeds from a business sale must separate an appealing plan from the record that actually establishes eligibility. The practical decision is whether the necessary evidence exists now, needs to be obtained, or points to a different route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify EB-5 capital and the later residence steps
- Identify the current Gold Card official charges
- Reconcile the payment without promising the outcome