The share register or capitalization table, the shareholders' agreement, the articles or constating documents, any option or vesting agreement, board minutes appointing officers, and your employment agreement. Together these show who controls the company and who controls your position within it.
The paperwork that answers who employs whom
Applicants often supply an offer letter and a pay scale, which describe the job but say nothing about control. The corporate documents are what answer the question actually being asked. Where the U.S.
entity is newly formed, some of these may not yet exist in final form, which is an argument for raising the issue during formation rather than after. Ask the company's corporate counsel for a current capitalization table rather than relying on a recollection of what was promised, since intended and executed arrangements frequently differ. Keep the documents together with the immigration file so that the same version is used throughout, and have a licensed adviser confirm what should be presented and how.
Hypothetical example: Leila is joining a theatre-rigging manufacturer whose founder proposes a small option grant. She should first assemble a current cap table, the option plan, board approvals, articles, any investor agreement and her employment contract, all dated to the same transaction. The cap table answers who owns the company; the governing agreements answer who controls it.
She should obtain executed versions before the support letter is drafted, because a letter that omits a veto or removal right creates a credibility problem. A recurrent document error is treating an unsigned term sheet as the final arrangement. Keep evidence of citizenship, profession and qualifications in the same indexed file.