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.
Red Deer TN guide: disclose a Canadian business interest accurately
A Canadian business interest should be explained through the actual facts when assessing a U.S. professional offer. Foreign ownership is not a blanket TN disqualification, and TN is not general authorization for U.S. self-employment.
Hypothetical example: an applicant owns a Canadian company and has an offer from a separately owned U.S. employer. Identify ownership, any contracts between the businesses and who will direct the applicant’s work. Do not conceal a relevant interest or assume an ownership certificate alone decides the case.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Draw the actual business relationships
- Assess the professional offer independently
- Separate employment from other intended activity
Red Deer guide: separate residence, ownership and treaty nationality
Canadian permanent residence, business ownership and citizenship establish different facts. A business owner considering U.S. work or investment should not assume that one of those facts supplies the requirements attached to another.
Hypothetical example: a permanent resident owns a Canadian enterprise and receives a U.S. professional offer. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship as well as the listed profession and qualifications. Ownership of a Canadian company does not create Canadian citizenship, and a Canadian residence document does not resolve the TN requirement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify citizenship before selecting a route
- Review the actual business proposal separately
- Keep the individual process clear
Red Deer E-2 guide: compare funding power with operating control
The person contributing substantial money does not necessarily receive the rights needed to direct the enterprise. Read the actual governance and funding terms together when evaluating an E-2 proposal involving several owners.
Hypothetical example: an investor supplies significant capital, but another owner retains vetoes over hiring and operations. Identify voting, appointment and management provisions and explain how the business will actually be directed. Do not infer control from a contribution total or an informal description as a partner. The enterprise generally needs at least 50% relevant treaty-national ownership. The applicant’s development and direction can rest on at least 50% ownership or other qualifying operational control; a co-owner’s veto must be read against the actual rights.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- List the rights that govern real decisions
- Trace nationality and qualifying capital
- Assess the enterprise as a whole
Red Deer L-1 guide: distinguish an owner’s launch funding from the qualifying role
A co-owner may fund a U.S. launch and work in it, but those are separate parts of the evidence. Establish the qualifying organizations, foreign employment and actual L-1A or L-1B role rather than assuming ownership resolves the transfer requirements.
Hypothetical example: a co-owner has voting rights and will initially perform technical services at the new operation. Identify actual duties and support, as well as the company relationship and foreign employment. Ownership authority should not be used to relabel operational delivery as primarily managerial work. Generally one continuous full-time foreign year within the relevant preceding three years is needed. Under the ordinary L rule it may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; new-office L-1A specifically requires foreign managerial or executive employment. Brief U.S. trips need not break continuity, but their days do not count. An owner or major stockholder also needs temporary U.S. service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the owner as an applicant and worker
- Apply the role-specific launch requirements
- Prepare to document the real business
Red Deer guide: compare an affiliated transfer with negotiated investor control
An applicant’s ownership interest may be relevant to L-1 or E-2, but each pathway uses it differently. Compare the actual entity relationship, employment, role and investment rather than assuming an owner can choose either label interchangeably.
Hypothetical example: a co-owner may lead a related U.S. operation or invest in a different enterprise with other owners. Identify who employs the applicant and what rights and duties each proposal creates. Do not use the first arrangement’s corporate relationship to support an unrelated purchase. Generally one continuous full-time foreign year within the relevant preceding three years is needed. Under the ordinary L rule it may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; new-office L-1A specifically requires foreign managerial or executive employment. Brief U.S. trips need not break continuity, but their days do not count. An owner or major stockholder also needs temporary U.S. service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Define the two potential arrangements
- Use ownership evidence for the correct requirement
- Compare commitments and family needs
Red Deer family guide: separate business participation from dependent permission
A family business plan can assume work by a spouse or child that their immigration status does not authorize. Identify those activities expressly and review each person’s actual permission rather than relying on ownership or family relationships.
Hypothetical example: a principal owns part of an enterprise and expects a spouse to handle customer administration and an older child to assist during breaks. Record the work, location and intended status for each person. A family contribution to the business does not itself establish employment authorization.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- List every intended business role
- Apply the dependent distinctions accurately
- Check individual records and dates
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
Red Deer guide: distinguish enterprise capital from an official gift
A business owner comparing immigrant pathways should identify what the proposed payment legally represents. EB-5 investment capital and the official Gold Card gift framework involve different requirements, risks and obligations.
Hypothetical example: the owner proposes funding a U.S. expansion and also considers a corporate-funded Gold Card proposal. For EB-5, identify the actual capital at risk, lawful source and path, current applicable threshold and qualifying jobs under the relevant structure and method, generally ten jobs. An ordinary business contribution does not automatically satisfy the full framework. EB-5 requires management or policy-formulation participation, potentially through qualifying limited-partner rights. Contractual repayment rights and guaranteed rates of return are excluded from capital. An enterprise-only discretionary buyback has a statutory exception, but exercise requires petition withdrawal unless the applicable sustainment and other conditions have been fulfilled.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the commercial contribution precisely
- Verify the gift proposal independently
- Compare outcomes beyond payment capacity
- Distinguish capital, official gifts and residence stages