IN THIS GUIDE · The qualifying year can be with any entity in the organisation
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Count the year across the whole organisation, abroad
Hypothetical example: a Conception Bay South industrial safety training company has an existing Texas subsidiary and wants to transfer its training operations director, who joined the Canadian company fourteen months ago after six years with the group's British affiliate. The qualifying year is measured against employment with a qualifying organisation outside the United States, so service with the British affiliate counts provided the corporate relationship existed at the relevant time. Document the group structure for the whole period, not just today.
Prove the relationship existed then, not only now
A relationship established after the employee's service abroad does not retroactively make that service qualifying. Assemble share registers and acquisition or incorporation documents showing when each entity became part of the group, and lay the employee's dates against them. If the British affiliate joined the group two years into the director's six years there, say so, and identify the qualifying period precisely. Precision here is stronger than a general assertion that everyone has always been part of the same company.
Managerial or executive is about authority, not seniority
The American role must be primarily managerial or executive. For a training operations director this means showing what the person directs: which programmes and instructors, what budget authority, who is hired and fired on their decision, what discretion exists over scheduling, pricing and accreditation. Provide the organisation chart with the subordinates' own roles described, since a manager who supervises other professionals or supervisors is in a very different position from one whose team performs routine work.
Both entities trading, and the seven-year ceiling
Both the foreign and the American entity must be doing business, meaning the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services, throughout the assignment rather than only at filing. L-1A status is capped at seven years in total, with previous time in L or H status counting toward it. A plan intended to run longer needs a separate strategy begun early, and it should be identified at the outset rather than in the final year when options narrow.
New office: premises, capacity and the one-year approval
For a new office, establish sufficient physical premises and an operation able to support a managerial or executive role within one year; initial approval is limited to one year. Managerial duties involve managing the organisation or a department, subdivision, function or component, supervising professional or supervisory staff, or managing an essential function at a senior level. For executive capacity, assess direction of the organization or a major component or function, goals and policies, wide discretionary latitude and only general higher-level supervision.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.