Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a trucking company from Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel that has used a U.S. partner's yard for years decides to open its own terminal and send its operations manager to run it. Because the U.S. entity has not been doing business for a year, this is a new-office petition: secured premises, a plan showing a managerial role within twelve months, proof of ownership and the manager's own qualifying year abroad. Approval is for one year; the extension turns on what the terminal has done.
Create the entity and secure the yard before filing
Register the U.S. subsidiary, obtain its own operating authority and tax registrations, open a bank account and capitalize it with a documented transfer from the Canadian parent. Sign a lease for a yard and office suited to a carrier: parking for tractors and trailers, a small shop or an arrangement with a local mechanic, and an office for dispatch. The lease and photographs of the premises are the physical-premises evidence the regulation requires. Ownership is proved by the subsidiary's share register naming the Canadian company and by the parent's own corporate records. Existing freight contracts with U.S. shippers are useful to show the terminal will have revenue, but they do not create the corporate relationship.
Write a staffing plan that makes the manager a manager
In a new office the manager may dispatch loads and handle paperwork herself at first, but the petition must show that within a year she will primarily manage: a hired dispatcher, a mechanic or maintenance contractor, an office administrator and a base of drivers or contracted owner-operators, with dates and salaries. Include a financial projection tied to freight contracts and rates, and an org chart as it will look at month twelve. Her own record needs one continuous year abroad within the last three in a managerial or executive capacity, documented through Canadian payroll, duty statements and the parent's org chart, with any time spent in the United States for the company excluded from the count.
Run the first year for the extension
The extension petition after one year must show the terminal is doing business: freight invoices, driver settlements and payroll, fuel and maintenance records, tax filings, the lease still in force and the staff hired as planned, together with evidence that the manager's duties are now primarily managerial. Keep a monthly file from the first week so the extension is assembled rather than reconstructed. If freight volumes fall short or the planned dispatcher is never hired, the extension can fail even though the manager's record is sound; the terminal's performance is the evidence. The L-2 spouse may work during the year, which helps a family whose income depends on a start-up. Total L-1A time is limited to seven years from the first admission.
What else is on your mind?
Does being a business owner or director qualify me for L-1A?What employment history should an L-1 transfer review cover?What makes a new-office L-1A case different?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.