Can the North Frontenac manager start in Michigan the week after closing?

Not in the managerial role. Until the petition is approved he may attend closing, meet staff and review the business as a visitor, but he may not run the operation.

Cover the gap between closing and approval

The commercial calendar and the immigration calendar are independent, and closing does not create work permission. The sensible structures are to retain the seller under a short transition agreement, to promote an existing supervisor with clear written authority, or to appoint an interim manager already authorized to work in the United States. The transferee can make short visits for meetings, inspections and negotiations without performing productive work, and should carry evidence of his continuing Ontario employment and a return date. Premium processing can shorten the wait for a decision, for a fee, but it does not shorten the time needed to assemble the corporate evidence, which is usually the real constraint. Begin the ownership documentation before closing, since it is far easier to create the paper trail as the transaction happens than to reconstruct it afterwards.

Hypothetical example: a commercial-roofing supplier buys a warehouse two weeks before its busy season and wants its Canadian general manager present immediately. The first review creates a transition chart naming the person authorized to make decisions during the pending period. Closing papers, a signed interim-management agreement and the petition sequence resolve the operational question. If no authorized interim exists, the buyer must negotiate a longer seller transition or change the commercial timetable. The seven-year L-1A maximum also belongs on the long-range calendar, so a temporary assignment is not casually treated as an indefinite relocation.