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.
Building the TN document file for an engineering role
For the engineer category, the file must show either a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree in engineering or a state or provincial engineering license, matched to duties that are genuinely engineering work rather than a related but distinct occupation. A Canadian P.Eng. license is a recognized alternative to a degree, but the applicant's actual duties, not the job title, determine whether the category fits.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Confirm which qualifying path applies
- Work through a duties-mismatch example
- Assemble supporting evidence and confirm citizenship proof
- Match the file to where the request will be made
Why a signed offer doesn't establish TN eligibility for a Canadian permanent resident
A signed offer describes a job, not a person's immigration status. TN classification is limited to citizens of Canada or Mexico; Canadian permanent residence, however long-standing, does not satisfy that requirement. Before treating any offer term as workable, confirm which document in the file actually proves citizenship rather than residence.
An offer can specify duties, salary, and start date with total accuracy and still sit on top of an unresolved eligibility problem. Read the offer for what it commits the employer to, then set that aside and ask a separate question: does the person named in the offer hold the citizenship the intended category requires? These are independent facts, and a well-drafted offer cannot answer the second one.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the offer terms from the status question
- Identify what document actually proves citizenship
- Route unresolved conditions to the right reviewer
- Check for a second citizenship before closing the file
How to compare a signed offer against unresolved conditions
A signed offer is not the same as a complete evidence record. Before treating it as final, identify which terms are still open — start date, duties, reporting structure, or credential confirmation — and resolve those in writing. A signature does not settle a term that both sides still describe differently.
Read the offer line by line and mark which terms are fixed and which are described as pending, subject to change, or to be confirmed later. A start date listed as tentative is not a fixed date even though the offer itself is signed. Treat every pending item as unresolved until a written update replaces the placeholder language.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate signed from settled
- Match duties to the underlying category rules
- Confirm who finalizes the record
- Separate the investor's case from an employee's case
- Decide what a written confirmation must actually say
How to handle an L1 offer letter with unresolved conditions
A qualifying relationship and a qualifying role must both be documented before an offer letter can support a new-office L1 filing. Unresolved conditions in the offer are a signal to slow down, not a detail to smooth over. Treat the gaps as a checklist for the petitioner and foreign entity to close before submission.
An offer letter describes a job. It does not, by itself, establish that the U.S. entity and the foreign employer share the ownership and control that L1 classification requires. Before relying on the offer, confirm that the petitioner has organized proof of the qualifying relationship: incorporation records, stock ledgers or equivalent, and organizational charts showing both entities. If the offer names a start date but the corporate documentation is incomplete, the date is not yet reliable.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the corporate proof from the personal offer
- Pin down the proposed role in operational terms
- Confirm foreign employment history matches the file
- Treat the first year as an evidence period
Comparing a signed offer against L1 and E2 conditions
A signed offer is a starting record, not proof that either category applies. L1 eligibility turns on a qualifying corporate relationship and a genuine managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role held abroad; E2 eligibility turns on treaty nationality, a committed at-risk investment and real control of the enterprise. Unresolved conditions in the offer should be checked against whichever framework actually fits before any relocation step is taken.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify which framework the offer implies
- List the conditions the offer leaves open
- Decide what has to happen before relying on the offer
- Compare where each framework leaves you in year five
How to handle a signed offer before the visa terms are confirmed
A signed offer settles the business relationship, not the immigration category. Before treating it as ready for a TN or L1 filing, check that the duties, employer relationship and credentials described actually satisfy the category's requirements, and flag any condition in the offer that still needs employer sign-off.
Read the offer against what the intended category actually requires. For a TN filing, the listed profession and duties have to match a recognized category, and the position cannot be structured as self-employment. For an L1 filing, the offer has to reflect a qualifying corporate relationship and a genuinely managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role, not just a job title. Where the offer is silent on these points, that silence is a gap to close, not evidence the requirement is met.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare the offer to the category's evidence needs
- Assign an owner for each open item
- Separate the business decision from the immigration decision
- Give every family member their own authorization line
Comparing an EB-5 offering document against a Gold Card commitment before signing
A subscription agreement from a regional center project and a Gold Card commitment letter are structured very differently, so treat unresolved terms in either one as a reason to pause, not a detail to fill in later. Read what each document actually obligates the signer to before any funds move. A polished document does not establish that the underlying investment or contribution meets program requirements.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify what each document actually commits you to
- Separate financial terms from immigration terms
- Resolve open items before committing funds
- Compare what each route asks of you after the money moves