IN THIS GUIDE · Document the proposed management responsibility after a business acquisition
Meet the transfer and new-office conditions
The organizations must have a qualifying relationship and meet the doing-business requirements. The foreign work generally must include one continuous qualifying year within the relevant three-year period, with the timing assessed for the individual's case. For a new office, evidence includes sufficient physical premises and a plan capable of supporting a managerial or executive position within one year. Initial new-office approval is limited to a maximum of one year; the business forecast does not extend that period. For an existing operation, identify the evidence of ongoing business activity as well as ownership. For a new office, distinguish the current premises and staffing facts from a forecast.
Use the transaction that actually closed
Distinguish a signed proposal from completed ownership changes. Supply the records showing which organizations exist and how they are related at the relevant time. If closing remains conditional, identify that openly. A press release about an acquisition is not a replacement for the corporate documents needed to assess the relationship. Put the purchase agreement, closing records, registers, and current ownership chart in chronological order. The reviewer needs to see precisely when control changed.
Describe authority within the acquired operation
Explain which decisions the employee would make and which responsibilities remain with existing personnel. Include reporting lines and retained management arrangements. Do not assume a senior title in the Canadian business describes the proposed U.S. role accurately after the acquisition. List direct reports, layers of supervision, budget authority, and decisions reserved to owners. A title without that operational detail rarely resolves the managerial question.
Preserve the employment record through the change
Keep historical employer names, dates and duties intact. Ask the company to explain a reorganization or payroll transition using the underlying records. A current organization chart is useful context but cannot independently document employment that took place before it existed. Use payroll, tax, employment, and organizational records to establish the qualifying year. A title change should be explained rather than treated as a gap-free continuation.
Track integration without rewriting history
Business integration can change duties, personnel and operating plans. Retain dated versions and have relevant changes assessed. Avoid altering old records so every stage appears to match today's structure. The immigration plan needs the real chronology even when the commercial transition was complicated. Keep a dated change log for integration decisions. It lets the company update a filing honestly without recasting earlier plans as completed facts.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
