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.
Wilmot TN guide: explain a project offer with more than one institution
An employer, university and project host can play different roles in a professional assignment. Explain who actually employs the applicant and what the person will do before relying on institutional support letters.
Hypothetical example: a host invites a professional to use facilities while another organization offers paid work. Keep those roles distinct. A letter granting access does not automatically establish prearranged employment, its period or remuneration.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the purpose of each letter
- Connect the duties to the exact profession
- Explain the complete arrangement
Wilmot guide: residence records and employment records answer different questions
A Canadian permanent resident may have a substantial Canadian career without holding Canadian citizenship. The career can be relevant to some pathways, but residence and employment records must not be used interchangeably.
Hypothetical example: a long-term resident brings tax and employment records as evidence of life in Canada. Those documents do not themselves establish Canadian or Mexican citizenship for TN. Record actual citizenship accurately, including any Mexican citizenship and its applicable process.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify citizenship before the category comparison
- Use employment evidence for its actual purpose
- Keep the investment nationality inquiry separate
Wilmot E-2 guide: reconcile a business with several revenue streams
A business forecast should describe the enterprise actually being purchased or started. Several activities may contribute to the plan, but favorable sales assumptions cannot erase the costs and ownership facts behind them.
Hypothetical example: a buyer expects both equipment sales and maintenance income. Identify which assets, contracts and obligations are actually transferred. Explain proposed additions as proposals rather than existing revenue.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Define the activities included in the transaction
- Follow capital through the real enterprise
- Keep direction and nonmarginality in the account
Wilmot L-1 guide: a customer project is not the whole new office
A company may organize its initial U.S. activity around a customer engagement. The new-office assessment still needs the qualifying organization, the employee’s role and the resources required for the business itself.
Hypothetical example: a customer offers workspace for a project. Explain what premises the company has secured and how they support its actual activity. A customer contract does not itself establish a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship with the foreign organization.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate the customer engagement from the organization
- Apply the role-specific launch conditions
- Use the real employment and business chronology
Wilmot guide: compare an employee assignment with an owner’s operating plan
An employee’s company transfer and an investor’s enterprise may concern similar commercial activity while relying on different people and evidence. Assess the arrangement that actually exists rather than combining both descriptions.
Hypothetical example: a company offers a transfer while an individual explores buying an unrelated business. Keep the related-company assignment distinct from the acquisition. L requires qualifying organizations, foreign employment and an eligible managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe who would act in each proposal
- Identify the investor’s own conditions
- Preserve incompatible alternatives as alternatives
Wilmot family guide: distinguish a principal, payer and accompanying relative
The person supplying money, the person applying as principal and the relatives intending to accompany may differ. Identify each role accurately before calculating household costs or assuming work permission.
Hypothetical example: relatives help finance an enterprise while only one household member plans to operate it. Funding participation does not automatically make each contributor a principal applicant or qualifying dependent. Record citizenship, relationships, ages and intended activities.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Name each person’s intended immigration role
- Assess the actual dependent status
- Check immigrant family eligibility separately
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
Wilmot guide: employment evidence and a corporate gift describe different obligations
A business may discuss hiring alongside an employer-funded residence proposal. Identify which route is actually being considered: EB-5 qualifying job creation and Corporate Gold Card sponsorship are not interchangeable requirements.
Hypothetical example: a presentation lists successive employees, investors and accompanying relatives together. EB-5 requires an accurate qualifying-job account under the applicable direct or regional-center framework, generally ten jobs per investor. Payroll turnover does not automatically create additional positions, and derivatives are not separate investors simply by accompanying.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the EB-5 investor and relevant jobs
- Identify the Gold Card sponsor and principal
- Keep commercial and immigration outcomes separate
- Distinguish capital, official gifts and residence stages