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.
For a teaching position, the institution's level decides whether the profession applies at all
Hypothetical example: a Central York instructor at a community college is offered a teaching post across the border, and a friend who teaches in a high school assumes the same route is open to her. It is not. The listed teaching profession covers college, seminary and university level only, so the deciding document is not the applicant's degree but the letter identifying the institution and the level at which the teaching will be done. Hypothetical example: a university chemistry lecturer is asked to teach a mixed schedule that includes adult upgrading classes housed at a secondary school. Before accepting, the lecturer needs the employer to identify the academic level and course allocation in writing. That decision determines which records belong in the file and whether the position can be described consistently.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm the level before anything else
- Match the credential to the listing and to the institution
- Give the appointment a period and keep the file complete
A permanent resident card can hide the fact that somebody is already a citizen
Hypothetical example: a Central York agricultural technician was born in the United Kingdom to a Canadian-citizen mother, came to Canada as a small child, carries a British passport and a Canadian permanent resident card, and has always assumed he is a permanent resident. He may in fact have been a Canadian citizen since birth. That distinction decides which U.S. routes are available to him at all, and it is settled by an application rather than by a family assumption. Hypothetical example: a machinist born abroad learns that his Canadian parent obtained citizenship shortly before his birth, but the family has never requested a certificate for him. He must decide whether to seek proof before accepting a U.S. offer or pursue a route available to his current nationality. That is a record-based decision, not a question answered by his permanent resident card.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Citizenship by descent is a status, not a document
- The answer decides which routes exist
- Apply early, because proof takes time
Money in the business bank account has not been invested yet
Hypothetical example: a Central York seed and crop-input retailer funds a U.S. agricultural supply outlet by transferring a large sum into the new company's bank account and arranging a line of credit for the rest. Nothing has been committed. Capital counts when it is irrevocably committed and subject to loss if the business fails, and money sitting in an account the investor controls can be withdrawn tomorrow, which is precisely why it does not qualify. Hypothetical example: a small-batch spice blender has paid for packaging samples but has not signed a production lease or ordered the commercial grinder. The owner must decide whether to accept a contingent purchase arrangement or spend more before applying. The answer depends on whether the commitments expose the capital to loss and create a real operating business, not on the total balance held in a bank account.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Irrevocable means you cannot take it back
- An undrawn facility is not capital at all
- Show the money leaving, item by item
For a first U.S. office, the business plan is the document that decides the case
Hypothetical example: a Central York engineering-drafting and building-information-modelling practice is opening a first U.S. office and transferring its studio director to run it. Eligibility also requires a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship, one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the prior three years, and an active foreign business; the U.S. operation must be able to commence business and support a primarily managerial or executive role. A new-office petition is approved for one year, sufficient premises must be secured, and L-1A status is capped at seven years. The business plan is therefore not merely a supporting document: it is central evidence for the first filing and the later extension. Hypothetical example: a commercial acoustic-panel maker secures a U.S. warehouse but postpones hiring until revenue arrives. The company must decide whether the manager can still be shown to lead an organization within the first year or whether the launch needs more capital and staffing before filing. The business plan is the document that makes that choice visible.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Write the plan for the reviewer, not for a bank
- Secure the premises before filing, and evidence them
- Keep the year's evidence as it happens
A new company cannot transfer anyone yet, and that alone decides the route
Hypothetical example: two Central York partners incorporated an agri-technology company eight months ago and already have U.S. customers asking for a local presence. They are comparing a company transfer with a treaty investment as though both were available to them. Only one is. A transfer requires one continuous year of qualifying employment with the foreign entity, and that year does not yet exist, so the choice is being made by the calendar rather than by preference. Hypothetical example: a facade-cleaning equipment manufacturer has Canadian payroll records for its operations lead but the lead personally owns no shares in the planned U.S. venture. The company must decide whether a transfer can be documented now or whether an investment route would require a different qualifying investor. Preference cannot fill a missing ownership, employment, or treaty condition.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- The qualifying year is a hard prerequisite
- Treaty investment asks nothing about elapsed time
- Choose the near-term route, then keep the other one open
When both adults could qualify, decide which of them is the applicant
Hypothetical example: in a Central York household the wife has a professional offer and the husband's employer has a U.S. affiliate that might transfer him next year. They assume she should apply because her offer is the one in hand. That may be right, but it should be a decision rather than a default, because whichever adult becomes the principal determines whether the other one may work at all. Hypothetical example: a marine surveyor receives an offer while the spouse runs a Canadian hair-design studio and their older child hopes to begin paid work after secondary school. The family must decide whether the immediate professional offer or a later company-transfer opportunity better serves the whole household. That decision is made by the work rights and dates attached to each person's status, not by the principal's salary alone.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Being a dependant closes the work door on some routes and not others
- Test each adult against their own rule before comparing
- Write the household down before choosing
Pledged assets are not available capital, whichever route you are considering
Hypothetical example: a Central York dairy family holds most of its wealth in land and production quota, both pledged to a lender against operating and equipment loans. They are comparing immigrant investment with the official gift process on the basis of the balance sheet. The balance sheet is not the right document. What matters is what can be released, when, with the lender's consent, and at what cost to the farm that continues operating. Hypothetical example: the owners of an independent printing company can sell a building now or collect a larger amount over several years under a buyer's note. They must decide whether usable capital is sufficient for an at-risk investment, an official gift payment, or neither this year. The decision requires a lender and tax analysis alongside the immigration conditions, not a comparison of paper net worth.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Find out what the lender will actually release
- Immigrant investment asks where the money came from and where it went
- The gift process still needs the money in hand