IN THIS GUIDE · A custom-harvesting operations manager who still spends half the season on a combine
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Managing crews is managerial; driving a combine is not
L-1A requires that the transferee's U.S. duties be primarily managerial or executive. Supervising crews, hiring and dismissing operators, setting the harvest route and controlling the equipment budget are managerial functions. Operating machinery is not, however skilled it is. The petition should not hide Kyle's field time; it should show that in the U.S. role the balance shifts, for example by hiring a lead operator so that Kyle's season is spent on contracts, dispatch and crew management. USCIS looks at what the person actually does, so a job description that describes a manager while the organization chart shows him as the only operator will fail on its own contradiction.
The affiliate relationship runs through the owners, not through the deal
For the U.S. outfit to be a qualifying organization it must be a parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate of the Canadian corporation. If Brennan and Tara buy it through the Canadian company, it is a subsidiary. If they buy it personally in the same proportions in which they own the Canadian company, it is an affiliate. If Brennan buys it alone while Tara holds half the Canadian corporation, the ownership no longer matches and the affiliate test may fail. The share structure of the purchase should be settled with the L-1 rule in front of the accountant, not discovered afterwards.
The year abroad must be continuous and within the last three years
Kyle has been on the Canadian payroll for five years, which is more than enough, but the record must show one continuous year within the three years before the petition. Seasonal layoffs are the trap: if the corporation lays crews off each winter and rehires them in spring, the payroll may show gaps that break continuity. Salaried managers who remain employed through the off-season are on safer ground. Pull the T4 slips, the pay stubs and the employment letter and check the dates before assuming the year is there.
Both companies must keep operating, and the U.S. side must be real
The Canadian corporation must continue doing business as an active employer after Kyle leaves, and the U.S. outfit must be an operating business with equipment, contracts and employees, not a shell created to hold his job. Because the purchase involves an existing company with a customer base, this is not a new-office case, and the initial approval may be for up to three years, with extensions up to a seven-year L-1A maximum. Kyle's spouse would be admitted in L-2 status with employment authorization incident to status, a practical difference from the TD category that County families sometimes overlook.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.