Read the general pathway comparison overview
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade farm-supply retailer selling feed, fencing and crop inputs is run day-to-day by the founder's daughter, who has managed it for four years. A comparable store in a U.S. farm county is for sale. If the Canadian company buys it, she can be transferred as its manager under L-1A. If she buys it personally, she can apply for E-2 as the investor. The target is the same; the buyer changes everything about ownership, capital, duration and what she must prove. This guide compares the two on the facts that actually differ.
If the company buys: L-1A through the qualifying relationship
When the Canadian retailer acquires a majority of the U.S. store, the two become parent and subsidiary, and she can be transferred as a manager. She must have worked for the Canadian company for one continuous year within the last three in a managerial capacity, which her four years as general manager supports, and the U.S. role must be primarily managerial: supervising the store's staff through a floor manager, setting purchasing and pricing, controlling the budget. The purchase money is the company's, so her personal funds and source of capital are not examined. L-1A allows up to seven years, and an L-2 spouse is employment-authorized. The store is an existing business, so the new-office limits do not apply, but both companies must keep operating.
If she buys: E-2 through her own investment
If she purchases the store personally, the questions change to her Canadian citizenship, ownership of at least half the U.S. entity, the lawful source of her funds, whether the amount is substantial relative to the store's cost, and whether the business will be nonmarginal. Her management experience helps only as evidence she can develop and direct. The funds must be committed before the consular application, by closing or by an escrow that releases on visa issuance. Canadians need the E-2 visa itself, and each admission is for two years, renewable while the business continues, with no fixed maximum but also no direct path to permanent residence. Her spouse would be employment-authorized incident to E-2 status.
The mixed case and the long-term question
A hybrid is possible: the Canadian company could itself be the E-2 investor if it is at least half owned by Canadian citizens, and she could be its E-2 executive or essential employee, or the company could hold 51 percent and she 49 percent with an L-1A transfer. Each structure must match the corporate documents actually signed, not a version drafted for the visa. The deciding long-term question is where the family wants to be in ten years: L-1A ends at seven years but can connect to a permanent-residence petition for multinational managers, while E-2 continues as long as the business does and stops there. Decide the buyer after answering that, and only then draft the purchase agreement.
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?How should an owner compare L-1 and E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.