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.
Macdonald TN guide: annotate the offer with the work it describes
Read the actual offer as a starting point for evidence, not as a certification of TN eligibility. Annotate what each responsibility involves and which records establish the applicant’s qualifications.
Hypothetical example: an offer mentions professional advice, account development and implementation. Explain the actual work and deliverables rather than selecting only the phrase that resembles a listed profession. The employer’s preferred title does not determine whether the real temporary activity fits the TN listing.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Use a concrete task beside each broad phrase
- Support the exact qualification
- Record unresolved contract questions honestly
Macdonald guide: check the nationality assumption in an employer promise
An employer may promise support for a Canadian resident without establishing which U.S. classification fits that person. Confirm actual citizenship before building a route around contract language.
Hypothetical example: a Canadian permanent resident receives an offer referring generally to Canadian professionals. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship, not Canadian permanent residence alone. Identify the passport citizenship and actual professional work rather than treating the employer’s phrase as the legal test.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate residence from the eligibility asserted
- Assess another route without assuming it is a substitute
- Confirm the process for the actual applicant
Macdonald E-2 guide: identify the effect of each purchase condition
A business purchase may contain financing, inspection and immigration-related conditions. Review what each does to the actual investment rather than treating the signature or deposit label as the whole capital analysis.
Hypothetical example: funds are placed in escrow while the parties wait for an immigration outcome. Provide the real release and refund terms for assessment. A qualifying visa-contingent escrow can matter; do not assume every conditional arrangement qualifies or that every purchase must already close before review.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe what has actually been committed
- Separate price, financing and qualifying capital
- Read control and operations beyond closing
Macdonald L guide: distinguish launch commitments from existing operations
A launch agreement can describe genuine future resources without showing that they already exist. For a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year, assess the applicable new-office requirements using accurate stages and evidence.
Hypothetical example: a group signs customer and staffing agreements with later performance dates. Identify actual regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services rather than treating incorporation alone as doing business. Establish the qualifying corporate relationship and generally one continuous full-time qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Date the facts behind the launch
- Match resources to the proposed A or B role
- Retain evidence of what actually happens
Macdonald guide: compare the conditions in a transfer and a purchase
A transfer contract and a purchase agreement can offer different ways to participate in a business. Compare what each arrangement actually establishes and which immigration conditions remain unsupported.
Hypothetical example: an employee is offered a related-company transfer while also considering an independent acquisition. L-1 needs qualifying organizations, the required foreign employment and the qualifying U.S. role. Signing the acquisition does not create a past qualifying year or a related-company employment record.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Begin with the foreign employment already completed
- Identify what control and capital the purchase provides
- Compare unresolved conditions rather than appealing labels
Macdonald family guide: separate relocation benefits from immigration permission
An employer or seller may describe a family move in commercial terms. Translate that promise into each person’s actual intended activities and immigration questions before assuming the household can work or study as planned.
Read the relocation agreement line by line. School funding concerns an expense; a phrase about the spouse joining the business concerns a possible activity that needs its own description. Record who would work or study, where and when, with the real relationship and age. Ask the benefit administrator what the promise covers without treating that answer as an immigration determination. Paying for an activity and authorizing the person to perform it are different matters.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Translate benefits into actual proposed activities
- Apply the relevant dependent distinctions
- Check what happens when commercial support ends
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
Macdonald guide: test the immigration promises in a funding proposal
Compare an EB-5 offering and a Gold Card funding commitment by identifying which statements concern money and which concern a government decision. Neither private agreement can guarantee the individual immigration outcome.
Hypothetical example: an offering projects both capital return and job creation by a target date. Review lawful source and path, actual capital at risk and the applicable qualifying-job method, requiring at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor. A forecast is not a guaranteed return or a substitute for the project’s relevant evidence.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Read the EB-5 risk and job claims together
- Use the official gift terms instead of a private guarantee
- Keep later conditions visible
- Match each immigration promise to an actual decision record