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.
Prepare a TN file while final academic records are pending
A Russell applicant nearing graduation should identify the missing academic fact before ordering documents. Attendance, completion of coursework and conferral of a credential may be evidenced differently; the review must establish the qualification actually required by the listed profession.
Request accurate confirmation of what has been completed and the status of any remaining requirement. A general enrollment letter cannot be silently treated as proof of graduation. Preserve the actual dates and document names.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Ask a precise question of the institution
- Match the evidence to the job
- Update the employment plan if necessary
Do not confuse completing studies with acquiring citizenship
Education, Canadian permanent residence and citizenship are separate facts. A Russell resident who finishes a Canadian programme should identify which nationality they actually hold before assuming a new credential makes TN available.
TN principal eligibility requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship. Canadian permanent residence and a Canadian diploma do not supply it. A pending citizenship application remains a different process with its own outcome.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the nationality already held
- Compare another route only on its real requirements
- Prepare the household record accurately
Explain landlord incentives before totaling E-2 capital
A commercial lease can combine free rent, tenant-funded improvements and later reimbursement. For a Russell investor, those terms should be described according to who actually commits money and bears risk. A single incentive figure can hide materially different arrangements.
Identify which work the landlord performs and which the tenant funds. Track receipts, reimbursement conditions and ownership of the improvements. Do not count both a gross expenditure and the same reimbursement as separate applicant contributions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Reconcile the lease with the invoices
- Review the investment framework
- Plan for commercial conditions that remain open
Build a first-year staffing plan around the role you can substantiate
A new US office may be ready to rent space before it can support the proposed transferee. A Russell company should identify the operating work, the person performing it and the resources available, especially where a manager returns from an absence just before expansion.
Document the required qualifying continuous employment year within the relevant three-year period, including dates and locations that need counting-rule review. Prove the qualifying organizational relationship and continuing US and foreign business. Do not erase an absence or assume a payroll entry settles the analysis.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Establish the foreign-service record first
- Match the capacity evidence to L-1A or L-1B
- Use the plan to collect actual evidence
- Check the new-office eligibility behind the plan
Compare employer expansion with a personally financed tenant business
Suppose a Russell applicant can transfer through an existing employer or establish a separate venture with landlord assistance. The two proposals place different obligations on the applicant. Identify which business will employ them and which enterprise they would own and direct.
L-1 requires a qualifying corporate relationship, foreign employment and US managerial/executive or specialized-knowledge capacity. A third-party tenant business does not become part of the employer group because the applicant wants to work there. L-1 requires a continuous qualifying foreign year within the relevant three years and continuing U.S. and foreign business through the qualifying group.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Test the proposed transfer
- Test the investor proposal
- Account for obligations under both offers
Plan family work around actual permission rather than promised benefits
Employer reimbursement, leave arrangements and school calendars can shape a Russell household’s move. None of them grants immigration status. List what each person proposes to do, then establish the permission and evidence needed for that activity.
TD does not authorize work. Qualifying E and L spouses may work incident to the appropriate status with required evidence; dependent children do not receive that spouse permission. A pending application or unpaid arrangement should not be treated as automatic authorization.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Specify the intended employment
- Identify the immigrant entry sequence
- Keep costs and eligibility separate
Compare an installment investment with an employer-reimbursed gift
An EB-5 installment proposal and a Gold Card reimbursement promise may both defer some household spending, but they create different legal and financial obligations. A Russell applicant should identify which money is committed now and which support remains conditional.
Qualifying at-risk capital is generally US$1.05 million, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, with statutory adjustments starting January 1, 2027. At least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor and management or policy-formulation participation remain required. A supported process of investing is different from an unsubstantiated promise to pay. Contractual investor repayment rights and guaranteed rates of return are excluded from qualifying capital; an enterprise’s sole-discretion buyback exception has sustainment and other conditions.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Understand the EB-5 obligation
- Understand the gift budget
- Compare consequences if funding changes