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.
Cartier TN guide: identify who can verify the offered work
Build the TN document set around people and records that can establish the actual offer, listed profession and applicant qualifications. A polished summary is useful only when its factual basis can be checked.
Hypothetical example: a recruiter describes a technical role, while the hiring supervisor will decide daily assignments. Ask the supervisor to confirm the duties, employment arrangement and expected work. Identify who can answer questions about compensation and duration. Do not ask a recruiter to certify facts outside their knowledge.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assign an evidence owner
- Match each claim to its record
- Resolve inconsistencies before relying on the letter
Cartier guide: separate residence records from U.S. eligibility evidence
Canadian permanent residence establishes a Canadian status; it does not by itself establish TN citizenship eligibility or entitlement to another U.S. route. Identify which document proves each relevant fact before selecting a pathway.
Hypothetical example: an applicant supplies a Canadian permanent resident card and an employer transfer memo. The first concerns Canadian status; the second describes a possible assignment. Neither establishes every U.S. requirement. Record actual citizenship, passport details, foreign employment dates and the proposed U.S. activity separately.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Create separate identity and employment files
- Ask the right person for each missing fact
- Review each person’s route and present permission
Cartier E-2 guide: audit the funding spreadsheet against its records
A funding spreadsheet organizes an E-2 proposal, but the underlying ownership, source, transfer and commitment records determine what its entries mean. Review the actual transaction rather than treating a total as qualifying capital.
Hypothetical example: an accountant lists a personal loan as investment funding. Locate the loan agreement, disbursement, transfers and intended business use. Identify any collateral. Personally secured or unsecured borrowing may qualify under the applicable rules; debt secured by enterprise assets does not count as the investor’s qualifying investment. Mixing personal collateral with enterprise assets does not make that debt qualifying investment capital.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Test one line from origin to use
- Separate committed funds from expectations
- Reconcile funding with the whole enterprise
Cartier L-1 new-office guide: identify who can support the launch evidence
A new-office file combines corporate, employment, premises and operating evidence. Assign a responsible source to each category so the proposed U.S. operation can be assessed against the correct L-1A or L-1B requirements.
Hypothetical example: a newly hired adviser writes a launch plan but did not supervise the applicant abroad. Obtain foreign-role evidence from records and people with relevant knowledge. Identify the qualifying corporate relationship and actual foreign business activity. A projection should be labelled as a projection, with its basis explained.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Distinguish observed facts from projections
- Use the correct role-specific launch test
- Prepare records that can later show what happened
Cartier guide: test L-1 and E-2 recommendations against their factual basis
Two advisers may suggest different routes because they are relying on different facts. Compare the proposed U.S. activity and the evidence supporting each route before treating either recommendation as a workable plan.
Hypothetical example: HR assumes the applicant will transfer within a qualifying group, while a business broker assumes the applicant will buy and direct an independent enterprise. Record who will employ the applicant, who owns the entities and what the applicant will actually do. These are materially different proposals, not interchangeable labels.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Write down what each recommendation assumes
- Request the records that could confirm the assumptions
- Compare consequences after the facts align
Cartier family guide: verify each person’s intended activity and status
The principal applicant’s employer may know the assignment but not every family member’s plans. Build the family review from individual documents and activities instead of assuming a relocation summary establishes everyone’s permission.
Hypothetical example: a relocation form says the spouse is “accompanying,” but the spouse plans to continue paid remote work while physically in the United States. Record that activity expressly. Identify each child’s age and study plans. An administrative label does not decide whether the contemplated activity is permitted.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Ask each person what they intend to do
- Match the answer to the actual classification
- Verify dates using individual records
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
Cartier guide: separate EB-5 project evidence from Gold Card program terms
An EB-5 project presentation and a Gold Card summary address different frameworks. Identify the authoritative basis for each claim before comparing financial commitments or possible immigration outcomes.
Hypothetical example: an intermediary calls both options an investment. EB-5 involves qualifying capital at risk and applicable job-creation requirements. The official Gold Card framework uses a gift and applicable program obligations. Do not infer enterprise ownership, repayment or investment returns from a marketing label used for the gift route.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify what the payment legally represents
- Check the evidence within each framework
- Keep financial and immigration outcomes distinct
- Record the authority behind the comparison sheet