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.
Document the services behind a TN contract proposal
A Sherbrooke professional should explain the actual parties, work and qualifications before relying on a contract label. An independent-services agreement does not itself settle TN eligibility. The evidence must establish the relevant listed profession, citizenship and permitted arrangement. A first document review should end with a one-page checklist matching citizenship, profession, duties, credentials, employer identity, and procedure. Hypothetical example: a landscape architect is offered a Colorado design role through a staffing company; the reader must decide whether the end-client duties, staffing contract, and qualifying degree describe one coherent professional arrangement before preparing evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Map the commercial relationship
- Connect the profession with the deliverables
- Complete the appropriate step before working
Use citizenship evidence alongside Québec residence
Living in Sherbrooke and holding Canadian permanent residence do not establish Canadian citizenship. Assess the nationality the applicant actually holds and the activity proposed in the United States. A pending naturalization process should remain described as pending. The first decision is factual: identify citizenship shown by a current passport, not residence, tax status, or an expected ceremony date. Hypothetical example: a Canadian permanent resident who works as a diagnostic-imaging technologist is offered U.S. employment while her citizenship application is pending; she must decide using the nationality she holds now, then compare routes whose conditions actually fit.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify nationality-based requirements
- Assess other routes independently
- Keep Canadian obligations in the plan
Separate joint ownership from treaty nationality and control
A couple’s shared business plan needs an E-2 analysis of the actual enterprise and applicants. Marriage does not merge citizenships or determine control. Use the ownership, governing and financial records to establish the qualifying arrangement. A useful E-2 review produces an ownership chart, funds ledger, transaction sequence, operating budget, and explanation of who will direct the enterprise. Hypothetical example: two Canadian siblings plan to buy a Pennsylvania specialty-coffee roastery, but only one will relocate; they must decide whether the ownership and control rights make that person the investor who can develop and direct the business.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Trace the relevant treaty ownership
- Describe the funds without artificial transfers
- Support the operation and financial plan
Show how a new office will support the manager’s function
A new US operation needs more than a proposed senior title. For an L-1A function-manager plan, identify the essential function and the resources performing its underlying work. The company must also establish the qualifying relationship and foreign employment. The first review should produce a corporate chart, foreign-employment timeline, premises record, first-year operating plan, and division of managerial versus operational tasks. Hypothetical example: a Sherbrooke marine-battery equipment manufacturer leases space near Cleveland and wants its Canadian operations lead to open the unit; the decision is whether the plan shows a real office that can support a qualifying role within its first year.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Determine the real office history
- Describe support within the required period
- Retain the actual development record
Compare management authority with investor control
L-1 and E-2 can involve directing a US business but assess different foundations. A function-manager role depends on the actual transfer and duties; an E-2 venture depends on relevant treaty nationality, investment and control. Compare the complete factual arrangements. Start with a comparison table that separates transfer history, treaty nationality, company ownership, source and commitment of funds, U.S. duties, and intended duration. Hypothetical example: a Sherbrooke laboratory-equipment distributor wants its Canadian commercial director to establish a Dallas subsidiary using personal savings; the decision is whether the proven foreign employment and qualifying corporate relationship support L-1, or whether the ownership and investment facts better support E-2.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Test the company-transfer record
- Test the ownership and capital record
- Compare practical obligations
Give each spouse’s work plan its own assessment
A household may own a business together while its members have different citizenships and immigration roles. Identify what each person will actually do in the United States. Ownership, marriage and a pending principal case do not automatically provide work permission. A family review should make a separate status-and-permission chart for every person, including passport nationality, relationship evidence, age, intended activity, and timing. Hypothetical example: an L-1A transferee’s spouse is a jewelry appraiser who expects to take remote valuation assignments after arrival; the family must decide what authorization is available before accepting work, rather than assuming the principal’s status carries it.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Use the specific dependent rules
- Review relationships and ages
- Coordinate documents before travel
Compare qualifying jobs with corporate sponsorship obligations
A direct EB-5 business and corporate Gold Card sponsorship require different evidence and financial commitments. EB-5 concerns qualifying at-risk capital and jobs. Gold Card uses a gift framework within applicable immigrant classifications. Neither a payroll roster nor an employer benefit promise establishes the entire case. The first comparison should separate a capital-and-jobs record from a payment-and-immigrant-classification record. Hypothetical example: a Sherbrooke wastewater-process engineer can fund a Missouri filtration company or accept Gold Card sponsorship from a U.S. engineering employer; the decision is whether to undertake EB-5 business risk and job creation, or meet the separate Gold Card payment and eligibility framework.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Apply the EB-5 job definition
- Price the actual Gold Card arrangement
- Separate payment from the immigration outcome