IN THIS GUIDE · An owner transferring himself must show the U.S. company employs him, not the other way round
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Show the affiliate is already a company, not a project
The U.S. affiliate has existed for two years, so the petition is for an existing operation rather than a new office. That is helpful only if the affiliate looks like a business: a lease, payroll for its surveyors and administrative staff, tax filings, insurance, client contracts and revenue. Assemble those first, because an affiliate that has been dormant since the purchase is treated as a new office, with a one-year approval and different evidence. Then attach the ownership documents on both sides so the officer can trace that the same person owns a controlling share of each. A first review should compare the affiliate’s bank activity, payroll and contracts with the corporate chart. That prevents a legal ownership link from being presented as proof of actual operations.
Draw the U.S. chart with the owner at the top and real roles beneath
Executive capacity means directing the management of the organization or a major function, setting goals and policies, exercising wide discretion and answering only to the board or owners. That is easy to assert for an owner and hard to prove if the affiliate has three employees who all report to him and he also performs surveys. The petition should show the affiliate's operations lead, its administrative function and its surveyors, and it should state what share of his time goes to strategy, contracts, hiring and finance rather than fieldwork. Make the chart operational by naming who makes routine decisions, who performs revenue-producing work and which work is delegated. Titles without that allocation are rarely the most useful evidence.
Establish that the affiliate controls the employment
Because he owns both companies, document that the U.S. affiliate is a bona fide legal entity doing business as an employer and that its corporate records authorize his role. Include the affiliate's board resolution appointing him president, an employment agreement setting his duties and salary, and evidence that his U.S. services are temporary and that he will be transferred to an assignment abroad when they end. The Canadian consultancy must keep operating after he leaves, with a named manager running it, because both entities must remain active for the qualifying relationship to continue. Board minutes and payroll should be consistent about the office, salary and reporting line. If either company cannot support the transfer, the paperwork should explain the actual arrangement rather than assume ownership solves it.
Order the steps around the qualifying year and the family
His years running the Paradise company satisfy the one-year requirement, but time already spent in the United States managing the affiliate does not count toward it and should be listed accurately. File Form I-129 with the fee-schedule amounts, request premium processing if the affiliate's clients need him quickly, and apply for admission at a port of entry with the approval notice. His spouse would be work-authorized as an L-2, and L-1A status can run up to seven years, which is long enough to consider whether an employment-based immigrant route through the same company should follow. Track time in L classification from the first admission, including extensions. The seven-year limit can affect staffing plans even where the original petition is strong.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.