IN THIS GUIDE · Prove the year abroad, the corporate link and real management authority as three separate facts
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
The year abroad is measured from payroll, not memory
The qualifying year must be continuous, full-time, and with the Canadian entity or a related one, within the three years before the petition. Brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure do not interrupt that continuous year, but those periods do not count toward fulfilling it. Pull the payroll records, the T4 slips and the employment contract, and lay them on a calendar. If the manager was on a contractor arrangement for part of the period, or was paid by a different company in the group during a restructuring, that period needs its own explanation and may not count. A first review should produce a dated employment timeline showing employer, job title, location, and any absence. The payroll ledger and tax records usually settle a disputed period; a later letter recalling the dates is supporting context, not a replacement for them.
Ownership charts have to match the share registers
A qualifying relationship is a matter of ownership and control. When the Canadian company is owned by two families in unequal shares and the U.S. acquisition was made through a holding company one of them controls, the chart an accountant draws for tax may not show what immigration needs. Produce the share registers, the purchase agreement and any shareholder agreement, and identify who controls each entity. Both companies must be doing business — a U.S. entity that exists on paper while the deal closes does not yet support an ordinary L-1A petition.
Managerial duties are about what the person directs
Managerial capacity means managing the organization, a department, or a function through subordinate supervisors or professionals, with authority over hiring, firing and day-to-day operations. Executive capacity means directing the management of the organization and setting policy with wide discretion. A manager who will personally dispatch trucks, load pallets and handle customer calls because the U.S. site has four employees is doing the work, not managing it. Describe the staff she will supervise, the decisions she will own, and the percentage of time spent on each.
Time limits and the family's rights
L-1A is available for up to seven years in total. A spouse in L-2 status is employment-authorized incident to that status and does not need a separate permit to begin work; children in L-2 may study but may not work. Each family member needs relationship evidence — marriage and birth records — and their own valid passports. Plan the seven-year maximum at the outset. A later move into a specialized-knowledge role does not create a second assignment clock; that classification has a five-year maximum. The household calendar should show passport expiry and each dependant's twenty-first birthday beside the principal's authorized stay.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.