Read the general pathway comparison overview
Hypothetical example: the projects manager of a Paradise electrical contractor is offered an L-1A transfer to open the company's U.S. office, and is also tempted to leave and buy a small U.S. electrical contractor himself under E-2. L-1A keeps him an employee: the petition is the company's and the corporate relationship and his qualifying year do the work. E-2 makes him the owner: his citizenship, his capital at risk and his control do the work, and the status lasts while the business qualifies. The choice is between whose company it is and whose risk it is.
Read the L-1A offer as an employee would
In the hypothetical above, the L-1A route costs him no investment capital. The Paradise company forms and owns the qualifying U.S. subsidiary, both entities must remain active, and he must document one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the prior three years. The new office must have secured premises and the capacity to support a primarily managerial or executive role within its first year. Its initial approval cannot exceed one year, and later extensions remain subject to the seven-year L-1A maximum. His spouse is work-authorized incident to L-2 status. If the company sells the subsidiary, ceases the qualifying operations or dismisses him, the family's L basis ends. L-1A authorizes work for the qualifying organization, not an unrelated side business. A separate employer-sponsored immigrant route may follow.
Read the E-2 purchase as an owner would
Under E-2 he would use his own lawful funds to buy and control at least half of a U.S. electrical contractor whose treaty nationality is Canadian. Before applying, he must irrevocably commit capital that is genuinely at risk and substantial relative to the total cost, show that the enterprise is real, operating and more than marginal, and establish that he will develop and direct it. His Canadian citizenship supplies the investor nationality. E-2 can be renewed while the business and every condition continue, but it offers no direct path to permanent residence. His spouse would be work-authorized incident to E-2 status. If the business struggles, so does his status. Resigning from the Paradise company closes the proposed L-1A route, which would require a new qualifying year before a later transfer.
Decide in the order that keeps both doors open longest
He should not resign until he has chosen, because resignation closes the L-1A door immediately while the E-2 door stays open only if he has the capital and a business to buy. If he leans toward E-2, he can conduct due diligence, arrange financing on personal assets and negotiate a purchase with escrow conditioned on the visa while still employed, and resign only after the visa is issued. If he leans toward L-1A, he should ask the company to put the transfer, salary, one-year plan and what happens on extension in writing before he commits his family to a move. The household should also weigh the spouse's plans, the children's ages against the 21-year limit, and whether permanent residence is a goal, since L-1A more naturally leads there through an employer.
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.