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.
TN documents for a college or university teaching position
The college teacher category, which also covers seminary and university teachers, requires a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree and covers post-secondary teaching only; it is not a route for K-12 teaching positions. Part-time teaching appointments, common in post-secondary hiring, are allowed under this category as well as full-time ones. Three conditions apply alongside the credential and the level of instruction. The employment must be prearranged with the institution rather than arranged by the applicant for their own account, since self-employment is not permitted; the applicant must be a citizen of Canada or Mexico; and the qualification relied on must be the one the entry specifies. A Canadian citizen may request admission at a port of entry or preclearance without a visa, or the employer may file Form I-129; a Mexican citizen ordinarily applies for a TN visa before travelling.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm the position is post-secondary
- Address a part-time or per-course teaching arrangement clearly
- Gather the degree and, where relevant, field-match documentation
How Canadian permanent residence differs from citizenship for a first US visa consultation
Permanent residence and citizenship are not interchangeable when selecting a US visa route, and an early consultation should confirm which one the applicant actually holds before any category is chosen. Some routes are tied specifically to citizenship, others to a qualifying employment relationship, and others to neither. Sorting this out first prevents time spent preparing evidence for a category the applicant cannot use. The distinction is worth stating in the terms the categories themselves use. TN requires citizenship of Canada or Mexico and E-2 requires nationality of a treaty country, so permanent residence satisfies neither. The L categories depend on the employment relationship and the corporate structure rather than on nationality, which is why the same household can find that its members have genuinely different options.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm the actual status document
- Match the status to route requirements
- Sequence the rest of the consultation
How to compare visa routes before committing to one
A first conversation about a U.S. work or investment visa should start from the person's citizenship, work history and available capital, not from a category name someone mentioned. TN, E2, L1, EB-5 and the Gold Card program answer different questions and share almost no eligibility tests. Comparing them side by side before drafting anything prevents months of work built on the wrong foundation. It is worth naming the conditions each route actually imposes, since the comparison is only as good as the tests it applies. TN requires a listed profession, the matching qualification and prearranged employment; the L categories require a qualifying corporate relationship and one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the preceding three years; E-2 requires treaty nationality and capital irrevocably committed and at risk in an enterprise the investor develops and directs.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Start with the person and the work, not the visa name
- Separate category eligibility from long-term goals
- Build a short list before drafting anything
Comparing visa routes before committing to an L1 new-office filing
Start by mapping which route the underlying facts actually support before assembling any evidence file. An L1 new-office petition depends on a real qualifying relationship between a foreign entity and a new or existing US operation, plus a genuine managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge role. Treat the initial consultation as a fact-gathering exercise, not a filing decision. The two other conditions deserve equal weight from the outset. The transferee must have completed one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad with a related entity within the three years preceding the transfer, and the maximum period of stay is seven years for L-1A and five for L-1B. A petition for a newly established United States office is approved for one year initially.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm the corporate relationship exists on paper
- Test the role against L1 categories honestly
- Decide what a new office needs before it exists
Comparing L1 and E2 before choosing a route
L1 and E2 solve different problems, so the comparison starts with the underlying business fact pattern rather than a preference for one category. L1 depends on an existing qualifying relationship between a foreign employer and a U.S. entity plus a qualifying overseas role. E2 depends on treaty nationality and a real, committed, at-risk investment the applicant will control and direct. Neither substitutes for the other, and a plan built around the wrong one wastes preparation time. The two also differ in what has to keep being true after approval, which belongs in the comparison rather than in a footnote. An L-1A stay may run to seven years in total and an L-1B to five, and each depends on the qualifying relationship still existing throughout. E-2 sets no such ceiling, but treaty ownership, capital that stays at risk and the investor's continuing control all have to hold. Neither confers permanent residence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify which facts already exist
- Weigh the control and scale questions each category asks
- Separate exploratory questions from filing decisions
How to compare TN, L1, E2 and immigrant routes before picking one
Before committing to a category, map each family member's status separately against what the route actually requires. A route that works for one spouse's profession or investment plan may not extend to a partner or child the way people assume. Comparing routes side by side, before signing anything, surfaces which category is even available and what still needs verification. Ages belong in that mapping alongside status and profession. Dependent classifications generally extend to a spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one, so a child's birthday is a fixed boundary no preparation moves, and it is frequently the earliest hard date in the whole household plan.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Build one profile per person, not one per household
- Separate dependent status from the principal's category
- Sequence the decision instead of forcing an early choice
How to compare EB-5 investment and Gold Card contribution before choosing a route
EB-5 and the Gold Card sit on different logic: one buys into a qualifying commercial enterprise and ties the outcome to ten full-time jobs, the other is a fixed government contribution tied to EB-1/EB-2 category availability and admissibility. Neither guarantees a green card on a schedule. A broad first pass should separate the money question from the eligibility question before either route is chosen. It is worth stating what each payment is, since the two are frequently described in the same language. EB-5 capital is placed at risk in an enterprise and must remain so, with no promise of repayment at a fixed date. The Gold Card amounts are paid by the applicant to the United States government, return nothing, and create no ownership and no entitlement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare what the money actually buys
- Compare the underlying eligibility category
- Compare dependents and evidence burden