Read the general business expansion overview
A Metchosin company should explain actual first-year commitments rather than treat the parent’s total assets as a complete US operating plan. The decision most owner-founders miss is what happens to the Canadian company when they leave. Both entities must be doing business for the whole L-1 period, so the founder must decide who will run the Canadian operation, on what evidence, before the US petition is filed rather than after the move.
Identify real support
Describe premises, staffing and the applicant’s actual authority. L-1A requires primarily managerial or executive duties; first-line nonprofessional supervision does not qualify by title alone.
Address the new-office requirements
New-office L-1A needs sufficient premises and support for the qualifying role within one year. L-1B requires qualifying knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay and commence business. Initial approval is limited to one year.
Preserve the qualifying transfer record
Establish the relationship and continuous qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant three-year period, with continuing US and foreign business. Distinguish committed funding from an allocation still awaiting a decision.
Hypothetical example: the founder leaves and the Canadian side goes quiet
Hypothetical example: a Metchosin greenhouse-systems installer, owned and run by its founder with four staff, wants to open a US subsidiary with the founder as its L-1A manager. The founder has been employed by the company for years, but the one-year requirement is shown only if payroll and duty records establish continuous full-time employment abroad in managerial or executive capacity within the relevant three years; the parent-subsidiary relationship can be documented through share registers. What goes wrong is the Canadian company itself. If the founder moves, stops selling, lets staff go and keeps the company only as a shell, the qualifying organization is no longer doing business in Canada, and the L-1 basis collapses at extension. The petition should show who will manage Canadian installations after the transfer, a continuing customer and payroll record, and the founder’s own US duties as primarily managerial. As sole owner, the founder must also explain how the US entity, not the founder personally, is the petitioner and employer. Initial approval is for one year.
Sequence the two operations
Appoint and document the Canadian manager first, with an employment record and delegated authority. Then capitalize the US entity with funds actually transferred, secure premises, and write a first-year plan with hiring dates that leave the founder managing rather than installing. Keep the corporate relationship current in both jurisdictions. The seven-year L-1A limit runs from the first admission, and an extension after year one will be judged on whether both companies are visibly trading. A founder who prefers personal ownership and direction of the US business with committed personal funds may be looking at E-2 instead.
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.