IN THIS GUIDE · Show how the foreign operation continues alongside the U.S. role
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Document real activity in the relevant countries
Hypothetical example: a manager transfers while the Canadian operation continues serving customers. Describe actual regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services in the United States and at least one other country. Registration, an address or a company name alone does not establish doing business.
Prove qualifying organizations and employment
Establish actual parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationships through ownership and control, and generally one continuous qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years. A Canadian business history must be tied to the actual transferee and organizations rather than a broad group story.
Explain who performs the remaining operational work
Describe the U.S. role’s primary managerial or executive duties and genuine support. A function manager primarily manages an essential function rather than personally performing it. Do not assume the applicant can be described as managing merely because they own or oversee businesses in two countries; no universal headcount settles the case. If the transferee owns or is a major stockholder of the company, provide evidence that U.S. services are temporary and that a subsequent assignment abroad is intended; continued Canadian registration alone does not establish this.
Support a new office under its actual conditions
For a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year, L-1A needs sufficient premises, qualifying foreign managerial or executive employment and capacity to support the intended U.S. role within one year of approval. Initial approval is limited to at most one year. Continuing foreign activity and the U.S. role each need relevant evidence.
Establish the qualifying foreign year and active organizations
The foreign employment generally must include one continuous full-time qualifying year within the relevant preceding three-year period, assessed on the individual facts. U.S. days do not count toward that foreign year; a trip should not automatically be treated as breaking continuity. The qualifying organization must do business in the United States and at least one other country during the relevant period, through regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services rather than registration alone. For an ordinary L petition, the qualifying foreign work may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the U.S. duties must meet the requested classification. New-office L-1A specifically requires managerial or executive foreign employment.
Explain authority in the proposed organization
Identify decisions, discretion and the applicant’s senior role in the function, together with who performs the underlying work. Use approval limits, delegation records, function budgets and examples of discretionary decisions to explain the proposed role. Identify authority over priorities, pricing policy, personnel or the relevant function, along with approvals retained elsewhere. Will the U.S. role be primarily managerial or executive, measured by what the person decides and who they direct rather than by the title on the organisation chart? A launch plan should identify premises, funded personnel, expected revenue, and the point at which the role becomes predominantly managerial. An organization chart, job descriptions, and current hiring authority help settle whether the applicant will manage rather than perform the core service. The first review should produce a dated employment timeline, a corporate relationship chart, and a duty map; L-1A status is generally subject to a seven-year maximum.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.