Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a Saint-Maurice trucking company wants to open a U.S. terminal and send its operations manager to run it. Because the U.S. entity has been doing business for one year or less, this is a new-office L-1A petition: approval is for one year, the company must show that premises are secured, and it must show that within a year the U.S. operation will support a managerial position. The manager still needs one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad in a managerial or executive capacity within the three years before filing, the entities must have a qualifying ownership relationship, and the Canadian company must remain actively doing business.
Secure the premises before the petition, not after
A new-office petition must show that sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured. For a terminal that means a signed lease or purchase agreement for a yard and office, with the address, the term and the permitted use, not a letter of intent. The lease should be in the U.S. entity's name, which means the entity must already be formed and registered, with its own bank account and employer identification. Include the corporate documents showing that the Canadian company owns or controls the U.S. entity. A yard rented month to month by the Canadian company, or a broker's promise of space, will draw a request for evidence and may not survive it.
Show that the terminal will support a manager within twelve months
For a new-office L-1A, the petitioner must show that the U.S. operation will, within one year, support an executive or managerial position. That is proved by a business plan with real numbers: the customers and lanes the terminal will serve, the drivers and dispatch staff to be hired and when, the equipment to be based there, the financing available, and the point at which the manager will be managing people and function rather than driving or dispatching himself. The plan should be consistent with the company's Canadian financial statements and with the lease. Explain frankly that the manager will do some hands-on work at the start, and show how that changes as staff arrive.
Plan the extension from the day of approval
The first approval lasts one year. To extend, the company must show that the U.S. operation has actually been doing business for that year, that it is staffed, and that the manager's duties are now primarily managerial. Set up the records from day one: payroll for U.S. hires, invoices to U.S. customers, the organisational chart as it develops, and the manager's own calendar showing the shift from operational to managerial work. The manager's L-1A time is capped at seven years in total. His spouse, if she joins him, is employment-authorized incident to L-2 status; his children may study but not work. Keep the family's plans aligned with the one-year horizon until the extension is approved.
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.