Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: the owner of a Coaldale commercial-kitchen equipment service company has leased a unit in an American city and wants to transfer himself to run it. He has not incorporated the U.S. entity, and he intends to hold it personally rather than through the Canadian company. That single structural choice can decide the petition, and it is far cheaper to fix before filing than afterwards.
The qualifying relationship must exist on the day of filing
A transfer between companies requires a qualifying relationship — parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate — between the employer abroad and the U.S. entity. An entity that has not been incorporated has no relationship with anything. An entity owned personally by the same individual who owns the Canadian company may or may not qualify depending on how the ownership is arranged, and the analysis turns on the actual holdings rather than on the fact that one person is behind both. Get the incorporation done, issue the shares, record them, and keep the documents that show the chain. Intentions expressed in an email are not ownership.
A new office is approved for one year and examined again
Where the U.S. operation has been doing business for less than a year, the initial approval period is one year. That is a planning fact, not a formality: the first twelve months have to produce the evidence that supports continuing. The petition also has to show that sufficient physical premises have been secured and that the operation will be able to support the role within that first year. A lease already signed is helpful evidence here, provided the entity that signed it is the entity that will petition. Where the owner signed personally, expect to explain it or to correct it.
Be honest about what the owner will actually do in the first months
In a new operation the transferee often installs equipment, answers the telephone and drives to jobs, and a petition that describes pure executive work while the reality is hands-on invites a difficult question at extension. Describe the intended staffing plan with dates: who is hired, when, and which duties move off the owner's desk. Keep the qualifying year abroad documented with payroll from the Canadian company, and confirm that the Canadian company will continue doing business, because both entities have to remain active for the relationship to hold. Name the person who will run the Coaldale operation while the owner is away, since a Canadian company that quietly stops trading takes the relationship down with it. Total L-1A time is capped at seven years.
What else is on your mind?
Does being a business owner or director qualify me for L-1A?What employment history should an L-1 transfer review cover?What makes a new-office L-1A case different?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.