Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: Gerhard owns a seed-cleaning and conditioning company in Lethbridge County and wants to open a first U.S. depot himself, as the L-1A manager of a newly formed subsidiary. New-office petitions are approved for one year on evidence that premises are secured and that the business can support a managerial role within that year. The risk for an owner-manager is that USCIS sees a self-petitioning sole worker rather than a manager, so the plan must show who else will do the cleaning and loading.
The owner can be the transferee, but the petitioner must still be an employer
An owner of the foreign company can be transferred as an L-1A manager or executive provided the U.S. subsidiary petitions as his employer and the corporate relationship is genuine: the Canadian company must own or control the U.S. entity, and both must continue to operate. Gerhard must prove one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the last three years. Payroll can prove that, but USCIS also considers tax records, documentation of other compensation, organizational charts and similar evidence; dividends alone do not establish the duties or full-time employment. The petition must show that the U.S. depot will employ him in a primarily managerial capacity within a year, which for a one-person start-up means a concrete hiring plan, not a statement of intent.
Premises, capacity and a staffing plan are the new-office evidence
For a new office, the regulation requires evidence that sufficient physical premises have been secured, that the beneficiary has the qualifying year abroad, and that the proposed U.S. operation will support a managerial or executive position within one year of approval, with information on the size of the U.S. investment, the financial ability of the foreign company to pay the beneficiary and begin business, and the organizational structure of the foreign entity. A signed lease for a depot yard and shed, the Canadian company's financial statements, a capitalization plan for the subsidiary, and an organization chart showing a plant operator, a loader driver and an administrator to be hired in the first year meet that description. Equipment quotes and grower supply commitments add credibility.
The first-year extension is decided on what actually happened
At the end of the year the subsidiary must apply to extend, and USCIS looks for evidence that the U.S. entity is doing business, that the staff in the plan were hired, and that Gerhard's role is in fact managerial. An owner who spent the year running the cleaner himself because hiring slipped will find the extension denied. The plan should therefore front-load the hires, keep payroll records from the first month, and document Gerhard's management activity in minutes, contracts and supervision records. His wife would hold L-2 status with employment authorization incident to status; his children may study until 21. After the first year, extensions run in increments up to the seven-year L-1A maximum, and Form I-129 fees are set out in the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055.
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.