Read the general business expansion overview
A Magog company should explain a recent promotion without assigning the new title to earlier years of different work. Before incorporating anything in the United States, the company must decide who will own the new entity on paper, because that single choice creates or destroys the qualifying relationship. An owner who takes the U.S. shares personally, however sensible for tax or banking, may leave the Canadian company with nothing to transfer its employee to.
Establish the qualifying service
A continuous qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant three-year period is required under the applicable rules. Use the actual responsibilities and dates rather than backdating authority.
Support the proposed US role
L-1A requires primarily managerial or executive duties with actual operational support; first-line nonprofessional supervision does not qualify by title alone. L-1B requires the actual special or advanced company knowledge, not just system access.
Complete the first-year business evidence
Establish the qualifying relationship and continuing US and foreign business. A new office needs sufficient premises; L-1A must support the qualifying role within one year, while L-1B needs financial ability to pay and commence business. Initial approval is limited to one year.
Draw the ownership chart before the incorporation papers
Hypothetical example: a Magog cider and maple producer wants to send its production director to set up a U.S. bottling and distribution arm in Vermont. The founder, who owns the Québec company, is advised by a U.S. bank to hold the Vermont company in her own name so the account opens faster. Six months later the L-1 petition fails on relationship: the Vermont company is owned by an individual, the Québec company is owned by the same individual, and yet the two are not parent and subsidiary because neither owns the other. They may still qualify as affiliates, but only if the same owner controls both in the same way, which now has to be proven through her personal shareholdings rather than a simple subsidiary chart. The clean structure is for the Québec company itself to own the Vermont company, so that the transfer runs within one group. The founder must decide this before the first share certificate is printed; unwinding it afterwards means transferring shares, restating the bank file and explaining the change to an adjudicator.
What the corporate documents must prove, and what the director must
Once the structure is right, the file needs the share register or certificates of both companies, the Vermont formation documents and an organizational chart showing the chain of ownership and control. The Québec company must show it continues to do business, selling cider and syrup regularly, not merely holding shares. The production director must separately show one continuous year of employment abroad within the last three in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity; a founder’s relative who helped at harvest without payroll does not satisfy that year. For a new-office L-1A specifically, the year abroad must itself have been managerial or executive, and the Vermont plan must support such a role within twelve months.
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.