IN THIS GUIDE · Prove an affiliate relationship through family shareholders before an ag-input retailer transfers its general manager
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Establish affiliation through the shareholders, not the surname
Affiliates include two companies owned and controlled by the same group of individuals, each owning and controlling approximately the same share or proportion of each entity. The siblings' equal holdings in both companies can satisfy this, but the proof is documentary: the share registers of both companies, incorporation documents, the most recent annual filings in Saskatchewan and in the U.S. state, and any shareholder agreements. If one sibling holds sixty percent of one company and forty percent of the other, the proportions are not the same and the analysis changes. Where shares are held through holding companies or trusts, chart each link and provide the document at every step.
Show both companies are doing business and the year abroad is genuine
Both the Canadian retailer and the U.S. company must be actively providing goods or services throughout the L-1 period, evidenced by financial statements, tax filings, invoices and payroll. The operations director's year abroad is proven with pay records covering a continuous twelve months in the last three years, a signed description of the role, and evidence of managerial authority such as staffing decisions, budgets and supplier contracts he approved. Time he has already spent working in the United States for the affiliate does not count toward the year, though brief visits do not interrupt it.
Describe the U.S. general manager role in managerial terms
The petition must show the U.S. position is primarily managerial or executive: managing the organization or a department, supervising other supervisory or professional employees or managing an essential function, with authority over hiring, firing and daily operations, or directing the management of the company and setting its goals with wide latitude. Provide an organization chart of the U.S. company from payroll, showing branch managers, an agronomist and an office manager reporting to the general manager. A general manager who will mostly sell product or run a branch counter is not in a managerial role however senior the title.
Handle the practical terms and the limits
The U.S. company files Form I-129 with the L supplement and pays the fees on the USCIS schedule; the initial approval may be for up to three years for an established office, with extensions to a total of seven years in L-1A. The Canadian citizen transferee is admitted at a port of entry with the approval notice. His spouse is employment-authorized incident to L-2 status; children may study but not work. Agree the compensation, reporting line and intercompany charge in writing, consistent with the petition, and involve accountants on the tax consequences for both companies.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.