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.
A land surveyor's TN file is decided by three documents that must agree with each other
The employer's letter, the degree or licence, and the proof of Canadian citizenship each carry a separate requirement, and an inconsistency between them is the most common reason a TN request stalls. A land surveyor from Oromocto should check that the letter describes surveying work, that the credential matches the profession's rule, and that the passport is current, before choosing between a port-of-entry request and an employer petition. Hypothetical example: a metallurgical engineer has a strong degree but an offer letter that says only "technical support." The practical decision is to delay the request long enough to replace that phrase with a truthful duty description, or to proceed and accept an avoidable mismatch. The employer letter settles the proposed professional work; the diploma, transcript, and licence records settle the credential route; the passport settles citizenship. Create a one-page document map before travel so every requirement points to a named exhibit.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- The letter must describe surveying, and say it is temporary
- Match the credential to the rule for this profession
- Citizenship, translations and the procedure
A permanent resident married to a citizen still needs a route of their own
Canadian permanent residence and Canadian citizenship are different facts with different consequences. A permanent resident cannot use TN, which depends on Canadian or Mexican citizenship, and may need a visa stamp where a citizen does not. Being married to a Canadian citizen changes nothing about the permanent resident's own eligibility; each spouse's status, citizenship and intended activity is assessed separately, and the household plan should be built on both results. Hypothetical example: a horticultural propagator has Canadian permanent residence, while her spouse is a Canadian citizen with a U.S. offer. Their decision is not whether the household is Canadian in everyday terms; it is which person holds citizenship that a particular category requires and what dependent status permits. Use passports, citizenship certificates, and PR records as separate exhibits. A PR card settles residence status, not nationality, so it cannot be used as a substitute for a passport in a citizenship-based classification.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the actual status of each spouse
- Work out the permanent resident's own possibilities
- Keep Canadian status alive while abroad
Buying a self-storage facility and starting a mobile welding service are measured by different substantiality maths
E-2 has no minimum dollar figure. The investment is measured against the cost of the particular enterprise, so a large purchase of an existing facility and a small start-up service business each have their own comparison. An Oromocto investor choosing between them should build the cost schedule for each business first and only then ask whether the committed funds are substantial and whether the business would be more than marginal. Hypothetical example: a buyer of an heirloom-seed company leaves most purchase funds in a personal savings account while calling the entire balance an E-2 investment. The decision is whether to commit funds under terms that expose them to commercial loss, or wait until the transaction is ready. Bank balances prove capacity, not commitment. Pair each wire with a signed contract, invoice, escrow term, or operating expense so the record shows what the money bought and why it is at risk.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Two businesses, two cost bases
- Commitment, risk and the enterprise being real
- Marginality is the harder test for the one-person business
A first U.S. sales office for a fabrication shop must exist before its manager can be transferred
A new-office L-1 petition is approved for one year and depends on evidence that premises have been secured, that the U.S. entity has a qualifying relationship with the Canadian company, and that the business will be able to support a managerial or executive role within the year. An Oromocto fabrication shop opening its first U.S. sales office should assemble the lease, the corporate records and a staffing plan before anyone books a moving truck. Hypothetical example: an industrial-kiln manufacturer wants to send a sales leader to a new U.S. entity before signing for premises. The decision is whether the entity can show a real operating foundation within the first year, not whether incorporation papers exist. A signed lease, realistic budget, staffing plan, ownership proof, and defined executive or managerial duties make the plan testable. The transferee also needs the required qualifying foreign employment record; the new office does not waive that history.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Secure the premises and form the entity first
- Show the capacity to support the role within a year
- Prepare the extension file from day one
A founder who owns all of a drone-inspection company must check which route her ownership fits
Sole ownership points strongly toward E-2, because the investor must develop and direct the enterprise, but L-1 is not excluded if the Canadian company will genuinely continue operating and the founder has worked in it for a qualifying year. The decision turns on whether the U.S. entity will be a related company with its own operations or the investment vehicle for the founder's own money, and on what the founder wants after five or seven years. Hypothetical example: an underwater-acoustics equipment maker owns a Canadian company and is considering either a transfer to a related U.S. company or a personal investment in a U.S. venture. The decision turns on the facts that will remain true after entry: qualifying corporate relationship and foreign employment for L-1, versus treaty nationality, personal control, committed capital, and a non-marginal enterprise for E-2. Draw both structures on paper before forming entities, because ownership that suits one route may not prove the other.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Map what the founder owns and where she has worked
- Apply the E-2 tests to the same facts
- Choose on the ending, not the beginning
A blended family has to check each relationship, not only each passport
Whether a child can accompany a parent depends on the child's age, marital status and the legal relationship to the principal applicant. A stepchild relationship counts for U.S. immigration purposes only if the marriage creating it took place before the child turned 18. An Oromocto blended family should record marriage dates, birth dates and custody arrangements before assuming everyone can travel together. Hypothetical example: a digital-forensics analyst has a U.S. opportunity, a spouse with Canadian PR only, and a nineteen-year-old stepdaughter. The decision cannot be made from one family label. Check the principal's classification, the spouse's nationality and planned activity, the child's legal relationship, age, marital status, and each passport. Civil records settle family relationships; admission records settle current status; neither document gives a dependent permission that the category withholds.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish who is related to the principal, and since when
- Apply the age and activity rules to each person
- Fix the timeline around the dates that cannot move
Farmland-sale proceeds can fund an EB-5 investment or a Gold Card gift, but the money does different things
EB-5 places capital at risk in a job-creating enterprise and returns it only if the enterprise succeeds; the Gold Card, under the official framework, is a gift to the U.S. government plus a nonrefundable processing fee, with no enterprise and no return. An Oromocto family with farmland proceeds should decide whether they want a business outcome or a residence outcome funded by a gift, and verify the Gold Card's current terms before either choice. Hypothetical example: a manufactured-stone distributor has proceeds from an antique-clock collection and must choose between putting capital into a job-creating enterprise or making the Gold Card payment. The decision is about the legal character of the money after it moves. EB-5 capital is exposed to business risk and must support the required employment result; the Gold Card payment is made by the applicant to the U.S. government and is not a conventional visa or a commercial investment. Start with dated official materials and a complete lawful-source trail for either option.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Trace the proceeds before choosing a route
- Compare what each route demands and returns
- Decide on the family's goal and re-verify before paying