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.
Degree or designation: the two TN routes for an accountant and which one your papers prove
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade CPA who has kept the books for farms and agri-food businesses is offered the controller position at a U.S. agricultural cooperative. Accountant is a listed TN profession with two alternative credentials: a baccalaureate degree, or a C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A. or C.M.A. designation. She has both, so the question is not eligibility but which document to lead with, and whether the offer letter describes accountancy rather than bookkeeping. This guide orders the file so the officer sees the answer on the first page.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Pick the credential you can prove most cleanly
- Make the offer letter describe accounting work
- Order the packet for a five-minute reading
One household, two statuses: when the citizen qualifies for TN and the permanent-resident spouse does not
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade physiotherapist who is a Canadian citizen accepts a position at a U.S. rehabilitation clinic. Her husband, a citizen of the United Kingdom with Canadian permanent residence, runs a small bookkeeping practice from home. TN is available to her on her own facts; it is closed to him because permanent residence is not citizenship, and bookkeeper is not a listed profession in any case. This guide sequences the household so that her move does not depend on a status he cannot obtain, and identifies which of his own routes are real.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assess the citizen on her own facts
- Bring the spouse as a dependant, and be clear what that permits
- Test his own routes rather than waiting on hers
Building an E-2 business from zero: what counts as committed when there is no seller
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade cabinetmaker plans to open a custom kitchen and closet shop in a growing U.S. suburb rather than buy an existing one. He will lease an industrial bay, buy a CNC router, edgebander and dust collection, and hire two installers. Because nothing exists yet, the usual E-2 evidence of a purchase agreement is absent, and the officer must be shown that funds are irrevocably committed, that the enterprise is real, and that it will not be marginal. This guide explains how a start-up proves each element and in what order to spend.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Spend in the order that creates evidence
- Write the plan the officer will test against the numbers
- Time the consulate so the shop is ready but not idle
Opening a first U.S. branch with an installation supervisor: the new-office rules for a specialized-knowledge transfer
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade company that installs livestock-barn ventilation and automated feeding systems wins its first contracts with U.S. hog and dairy operations and decides to open a branch there. It wants to send its senior installation supervisor, who has configured the company's own control systems for eight years, under L-1B. New-office petitions are approved for one year and require proof of premises and of the ability to pay; for a specialized-knowledge employee the test differs slightly from a manager's. This guide walks the first twelve months in order.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Secure premises and prove the ability to pay before filing
- Establish the supervisor's specialized knowledge on the company's own systems
- Plan the extension from day one
Who signs the purchase decides the route: a family farm-supply business and its next-generation manager
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade farm-supply retailer selling feed, fencing and crop inputs is run day-to-day by the founder's daughter, who has managed it for four years. A comparable store in a U.S. farm county is for sale. If the Canadian company buys it, she can be transferred as its manager under L-1A. If she buys it personally, she can apply for E-2 as the investor. The target is the same; the buyer changes everything about ownership, capital, duration and what she must prove. This guide compares the two on the facts that actually differ.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- If the company buys: L-1A through the qualifying relationship
- If she buys: E-2 through her own investment
- The mixed case and the long-term question
Who counts as family: a TN instructor, a de facto partner and the partner's child
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade college instructor accepts a two-year TN post at a U.S. community college. She lives with her partner of nine years, a licensed practical nurse, and his twelve-year-old daughter from an earlier relationship. They have never married, which is decisive for U.S. immigration. TD status is for a spouse and unmarried children under 21 of the TN principal; a de facto partner is not a spouse, and the partner's child is not her stepchild. This guide sets out the household's real options before anyone resigns from a job.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- The TD definition is marriage, not cohabitation
- The unmarried partner's honest alternatives
- What each person may do on arrival
Risk or gift: a fishing-tourism couple compares EB-5 capital with a government gift
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade couple in their mid-fifties own a seasonal fishing-tourism operation and a row of rental cabins, and are thinking of selling both to move to the United States near their adult children. They could place US$800,000 in a regional-center EB-5 project, or pay the Gold Card processing fee and, after vetting, make a US$1 million gift each to the U.S. government. The money is similar in size and opposite in nature: one is at risk and may return, the other is final. This guide compares what each requires of them and what each gives back.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- EB-5: at-risk capital, jobs and a conditional period
- Gold Card: a fee, vetting and a gift that does not return
- Decide on what they want, then on the money