Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a Balgonie electrical contracting company with nine employees has won a maintenance contract for a U.S. customer's solar installations and wants its owner-manager to open a U.S. subsidiary. A new-office L-1A petition is approved for one year and requires secured premises, proof of the qualifying relationship, the transferee's continuous year abroad in the prior three in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity, and evidence that the U.S. office will support a managerial role within a year. An owner can be the transferee, but only if the Canadian company keeps operating without him.
Prove the subsidiary is real before the petition is filed
The U.S. company must be formed and majority-owned by the Canadian company, not by the owner personally, and its share ledger and state filings should show that. Physical premises must be secured: a signed lease for an office or shop, not a virtual address or a customer's yard. The file should include a business plan describing the first year: the maintenance contract, expected revenue, when technicians will be hired and how the U.S. operation will be capitalized. Financial capacity to pay the transferee and fund the office is shown with the Canadian company's statements and the initial capital transferred. Officers see many new-office petitions built on intention; this one should be built on a lease, a contract and a bank balance.
Show the owner will be a manager, not the only employee
Within the first year the U.S. office must grow to support a managerial or executive position, meaning the owner will be supervising supervisory or professional staff or managing an essential function at a senior level, rather than doing the electrical work himself. The plan should name the roles to be hired and when, and the extension petition at the end of the year will be judged on whether that happened. An owner who spends the year pulling wire on the customer's sites is a technician, and the extension will fail. Meanwhile the Canadian company must continue doing business with a manager in place; if the owner's departure leaves it dormant, the qualifying relationship collapses because both entities must be active throughout the L-1 period.
Document the year abroad and plan the extension from day one
The owner's employment with the Canadian company for at least one continuous year in the last three, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity, is documented with payroll records, corporate minutes and evidence of the decisions he made: hiring, bidding, financing. Owners sometimes take dividends rather than salary; a record of active management matters more than the label on the compensation. The initial petition on Form I-129 is filed by the U.S. subsidiary with the fees on the USCIS schedule. Set up the U.S. books, payroll and organization chart so that the one-year extension can show staff hired, contracts performed and the manager managing. L-1A is generally limited to seven years in total. His spouse is employment-authorized incident to L-2 status, which may let her run the U.S. office administration lawfully while the business grows. Children may study but not work.
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.