IN THIS GUIDE · A Central Frontenac timber-frame builder's general manager can transfer only if the year abroad, the corporate link and the managerial role are each proven separately
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Sequence one: the year abroad, with the leave question answered
The general manager in this example took a parental leave for four months during the last three years. Whether the qualifying year is continuous depends on whether the employment relationship continued through the leave and whether the remaining employment supplies a full continuous year within the three-year window. Gather the employment agreement, payroll and leave records first, and identify the cleanest twelve-month period. Time spent working in the United States for the same company does not count toward the year, though it does not break it. Do not describe the year in the petition until the records have been read, because a date stated wrongly is difficult to withdraw.
Sequence two: the corporate relationship as the registry shows it
The Canadian company must own or control the New Hampshire subsidiary in a qualifying way, and the petition should show it with formation documents, share registers and the subsidiary's ownership ledger rather than with a description. If the family that owns the Ontario company set up the U.S. entity in their personal names, there is no parent-subsidiary link; the same individuals owning both companies may create an affiliate relationship, but only if the ownership and control proportions actually match and are documented. Fix the structure before filing, not after a request for evidence.
Sequence three: managerial in substance, on both sides
The general manager supervises a design lead, a production foreman and an office administrator in Ontario, each of whom supervises others, and sets pricing, hiring and scheduling. That is managerial capacity. In New Hampshire the subsidiary will start with two employees and subcontracted crews, so the petition must explain how the role remains primarily managerial rather than a manager who mostly sells and assembles. A new-office petition is approved for one year and the extension will be judged on whether the organization grew into the described structure. Write the year-one staffing plan so that it can be met. The critical decision is whether the first-year plan places the manager above a developing operation or inside it as the principal producer. Keep job descriptions, vendor contracts and hiring milestones that show who will perform the non-managerial work. If the plan depends on subcontractors, identify their scope and explain who retains operational control; an unsupported title does not establish managerial capacity.
What the spouse gains and the calendar limits
An L-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status and may work for any employer without a separate application, which is a material difference from TD and often changes which family member should lead. Children under 21 may study. L-1A status is limited to seven years in total, including time spent in L-1B. Plan the family's calendar to those limits from the start.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
- USCIS — L-1A intracompany transferee executive or manager
- USCIS Policy Manual — L-1 evidence (Vol. 2, Part L, Ch. 8)
- 8 CFR 214.2(l) — intracompany transferees
- 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(44) — managerial and executive capacity
- USCIS Policy Manual — employment authorization for certain spouses
- USCIS — fee schedule (G-1055)