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. Clements TN guide: update the employer account after a transaction
A sale can change the employing entity or actual duties while leaving a familiar title in place. Explain the genuine resulting arrangement rather than assuming a pre-sale letter answers every question.
Hypothetical example: a buyer keeps an engineering title but changes the responsibilities. Identify real deliverables and the profession claimed. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship and temporary listed professional work; brand or title continuity does not establish that the proposed activity remains the same.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Compare the actual activity
- Preserve the personal qualification record
- Explain the resulting parties and permission
St. Clements guide: a company acquisition does not change the worker’s citizenship
An employer’s ownership can change without changing the applicant’s actual nationality. Keep company transaction facts and personal eligibility separate when assessing a U.S. opportunity.
Hypothetical example: a Canadian permanent resident’s employer is acquired by a U.S. group. TN still requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship; Canadian permanent residence alone does not establish it. The buyer’s nationality does not become the employee’s citizenship.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the individual status accurately
- Assess the actual company-transfer possibility
- Review the process for the resulting proposal
St. Clements E-2 guide: understand the seller’s role after closing
Seller support and buyer control should be described through the actual transaction terms. Assess how the investor will develop and direct the enterprise without drawing a universal conclusion from the seller remaining involved.
Read the transition agreement beside the share and voting documents. For each retained approval, identify its subject, duration and effect on the buyer’s ability to develop and direct the U.S. enterprise. A seller remaining as a trainer is different from retaining the business decisions the buyer expects to make. Confirm qualifying treaty nationality for the applicant and enterprise, generally at least 50% ownership by nationals of the relevant treaty country; a familiar seller or brand does not establish that nationality.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Mark decisions the seller can still make
- Separate the acquisition price from training and financing terms
- Test the operation when transition support ends
St. Clements L guide: distinguish an ownership change from a new office
A newly purchased business is not automatically a new office simply because the buyer is new. Identify the actual U.S. organization, its activity and the relevant qualifying transfer.
Hypothetical example: a group acquires an operation and plans to transfer a manager or specialist. Assess actual qualifying ownership or control and generally one continuous full-time qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years. New-office rules concern a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year; registration or a sale date alone does not resolve actual business activity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the organization and chronology
- Apply the relevant role-specific standard
- Use accurate post-transaction evidence
St. Clements guide: distinguish a group acquisition from an individual investment
A business sale can be part of a company-transfer proposal or a personal investor proposal. Identify the actual parties and funding rather than assuming the same transaction establishes both routes.
Hypothetical example: a group buys a U.S. operation while an employee separately considers a personal acquisition. L-1 requires qualifying organizations, the relevant foreign employment and a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role. A commercial purchase should not automatically be treated as proof of every transfer condition.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the actual employment relationship
- Identify the individual investor’s rights and capital
- Assess the resulting activities and family plan
St. Clements family guide: reassess household assumptions during a business sale
A buyer may offer different work or relocation terms to the household. Identify actual activities and individual immigration records rather than assuming commercial continuity determines family permission.
Keep the pre-sale family plan beside the buyer’s written terms. If the spouse receives a new business role, identify its tasks, location and intended start rather than assuming it continues the prior activity unchanged. Update actual relationships, ages and status bases where relevant. A buyer can promise benefits or work without granting immigration authorization. Ask which terms are confirmed and who supplied them so a transaction announcement does not become unsupported evidence for the entire household.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Record the buyer’s actual proposal to the household
- Preserve the dependent distinctions
- Keep immigration dates separate from the closing calendar
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
St. Clements guide: separate acquisition employment from a government gift proposal
Buying a staffed business and receiving corporate Gold Card sponsorship involve different evidence. Identify the actual investment or sponsor arrangement instead of treating an acquisition as automatic residence eligibility.
Hypothetical example: a seller points to existing staff as proof of eligibility. Establish the employment baseline, qualifying capital at risk and lawful source and path. EB-5 requires at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor under the applicable method. Qualifying troubled-business preservation needs its own evidence; ordinary existing payroll is not a universal substitute for job creation.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assess the actual EB-5 business and jobs
- Assess the actual official gift arrangement
- Keep later requirements and changes distinct
- Separate the purchase closing from the applicant’s residence file