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.
Waterloo TN guide: compare the next-period offer with the current assignment
A continuing project may change the professional’s duties or terms. Review the proposed next period using the actual offer rather than assuming that the existing arrangement answers every question.
Hypothetical example: the employer wants the applicant to stay for another project phase with different responsibilities. Record the actual duties, remuneration and temporary period. A familiar project title does not establish that the professional activity remains identical.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe what will change
- Preserve the exact professional requirements
- Check the real permission and arrangement
Waterloo guide: a new Canadian document does not automatically change the proposed U.S. route
An applicant’s residence, citizenship or travel documents may change while a U.S. proposal is being discussed. Identify the actual event and its evidence rather than assuming every document update has the same effect.
Hypothetical example: a Canadian permanent resident receives a renewed card while an employer considers TN. Renewal is not acquisition of Canadian citizenship. TN requires actual Canadian or Mexican citizenship and the listed professional qualifications.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the change accurately
- Assess the relevant route conditions
- Keep advice tied to current facts
Waterloo E-2 guide: read equal ownership alongside actual decision rights
A shared purchase may allocate shares and authority differently. Explain treaty nationality, ownership and development-and-direction rights without treating one percentage as a complete eligibility answer.
Hypothetical example: two proposed owners hold equal shares and negotiate decision provisions. Read the genuine terms and explain how the principal would develop and direct the enterprise. Do not describe exclusive authority where the agreement provides otherwise. Equal management rights and responsibilities in a two-party venture can support development and direction; exclusive authority is not a universal requirement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the actual authority arrangement
- Separate nationality from direction
- Preserve the complete investment case
Waterloo L-1 guide: explain distributed support for the proposed U.S. role
A launch plan can rely on personnel in more than one place. Identify the real support and responsibilities without assuming a list of remote colleagues establishes a qualifying managerial or specialized-knowledge assignment.
For each remote colleague or supervisor named in a launch chart, describe available support, reporting authority and operational responsibilities. Separate a committed resource from a proposed hire. Collaboration across locations is not by itself proof that the transferee will manage a qualifying function or perform specialized-knowledge work.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify what the distributed team can actually deliver
- Use the role-specific test to evaluate that support
- Reconcile employment, travel and operating histories
Waterloo guide: compare reporting authority with ownership-based direction
A company assignment and a shared investment may both offer influence over a business. Explain the actual source of that authority and the other conditions for each route.
Hypothetical example: a manager directs a distributed team while considering a shared acquisition. L-1 requires qualifying organizations, relevant foreign employment and an eligible managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge assignment. Collaboration with many people is not itself managerial authority.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the transfer role in its organization
- Describe the investment and actual control
- Keep the alternatives internally accurate
Waterloo family guide: plan the next phase from each person’s actual status
A principal’s assignment may continue while relatives have different status dates or intended activities. Review those individual facts rather than treating a business continuation as a household extension.
When an assignment is extended, collect the principal’s new business letter alongside each relative’s actual admission classification and authorized end date. List upcoming birthdays separately. TD, E and L generally accommodate spouses and unmarried children under 21; a continuing project does not preserve eligibility beyond the applicable family conditions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Create a dated record for each household member
- Check whether the next activity is permitted now
- Prepare the age analysis before assuming a residence solution
- Reconcile the extension calendar with immigrant travel
Waterloo guide: project phases and corporate maintenance follow different rules
An investor may compare a staged commercial project with a corporate-sponsored gift route. Identify what each later obligation actually means instead of assuming every payment or project milestone moves the immigration case forward automatically.
Hypothetical example: a project reports spending and anticipated staff for a new phase. Apply the actual qualifying-job framework, generally ten qualifying jobs per investor, with relevant direct or regional-center evidence. Lawful capital at risk, source and path and management or policy participation remain necessary.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the EB-5 evidence behind the phase
- Identify the continuing corporate terms
- Use actual individual process events
- Separate project instalments from immigration milestones