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.
St. Andrews TN guide: prepare separate professional records for two adults
Two working adults may need different principal assessments. Keep each offer and qualification attached to the person whose proposed work it describes rather than treating the household as one professional case.
Hypothetical example: both spouses have U.S. professional opportunities with different duties. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship and qualifying temporary listed work for each proposed principal. One spouse’s profession or employer letter does not establish the other’s independent eligibility.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe each actual offer
- Apply credentials individually
- Identify the actual status basis for each adult
St. Andrews guide: check citizenship separately for each adult
Spouses can have different citizenships and Canadian statuses. A household plan should use each adult’s actual documents rather than assuming both have the same U.S. route because they live together in Canada.
Hypothetical example: one spouse is a Canadian citizen and the other a Canadian permanent resident with a different citizenship. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship; permanent residence alone does not establish it. One spouse’s citizenship does not transfer to the other.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the actual nationality of each person
- Distinguish principal and derivative possibilities
- Review each person’s process and intended work
St. Andrews E-2 guide: identify investor rights and spouse permission
A shared purchase plan should explain the actual investor and each adult’s role. Business ownership, qualifying principal eligibility and derivative spouse employment permission are related but different questions.
Hypothetical example: two adults fund an acquisition but the agreements assign voting authority differently. Identify who will develop and direct the enterprise and the actual treaty nationality of applicant and enterprise, generally including at least 50% ownership by nationals of the relevant treaty country. A household understanding should not replace the signed rights.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Read the ownership and decision rights
- Trace genuine capital and business evidence
- Assess each adult’s activity on its actual basis
St. Andrews L guide: do not combine two adults into one qualifying role
A household may intend to help launch a U.S. operation together. The actual transferee’s qualifying employment and proposed role must still be established separately from the spouse’s support.
Hypothetical example: one spouse manages a foreign business while the other has unrelated specialist experience. Establish the actual qualifying organizations and generally one continuous full-time qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years for the transferee. New-office rules concern a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year; a family plan or registration alone does not establish real business activity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the transferee and qualifying history
- Support the actual A or B launch role
- Coordinate the spouse plan and later evidence
St. Andrews guide: compare which adult would be the principal
A household may have a potential company transferee and a different potential investor. Assess the actual person and evidence for each alternative instead of combining both adults’ strengths into one principal case.
Hypothetical example: one adult has qualifying group employment while the spouse considers buying a business. L-1 needs qualifying organizations, the relevant foreign employment and managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work for the transferee. The other adult’s career does not fill a missing qualifying period.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the individual transfer proposal
- Identify the actual investor proposal
- Compare the other adult’s actual work basis
St. Andrews family guide: distinguish two principal cases from a derivative plan
Two adults who want to work may rely on different immigration bases. Write down each person’s actual intended activity and proposed status before assuming one application covers the whole household.
Where one spouse has a professional offer and the other considers managing a purchased business, identify the actual proposed applicant under each route. Attach the correct person’s citizenship, qualification, employment or investment records instead of combining both adults’ strengths. A shared budget does not merge their eligibility. Distinguish an independent principal proposal from accompanying as a spouse, and record what the other adult actually intends to do under either arrangement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Prepare a separate evidence file for each possible principal
- Apply work and study rules person by person
- Match each adult’s case stage to the intended household move
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
St. Andrews guide: identify principals and family members before comparing totals
A household may contain an investor, an eligible spouse and other adults with separate plans. Identify the actual application structure before comparing an EB-5 project budget with Gold Card funding.
Hypothetical example: an investor and adult relative both contribute to a broader family plan. Review actual principal cases, lawful source and path, capital at risk and the applicable job method, requiring at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor. A combined invoice does not automatically establish every independent investor’s requirements or make a relative an eligible derivative.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify whose EB-5 contribution is being assessed
- Apply the official gift terms to the actual people
- Coordinate without assuming common permission
- Assign principal and family obligations before totaling the household