IN THIS GUIDE · Keep control of the specialist when the work is at a customer's site
Start with the L-1B eligibility and application overview
Whose knowledge is it
Hypothetical example: a Portugal Cove-St. Philip's company sells dissolved-oxygen and feed-monitoring systems for fish farms and has a U.S. affiliate under common ownership. One developer wrote the calibration firmware and the field-installation procedure and has trained the two other people who know it. Specialized knowledge means knowledge of the petitioner's product, service, research, equipment, techniques or management, or an advanced level of expertise in its processes, that is not commonly held in the industry. The developer's general embedded-systems skill is not specialized knowledge; the firmware, the calibration procedure and the installation method are.
The offsite rule
When the U.S. work is at a customer's site, L-1B is unavailable if the employee will be principally controlled and supervised by the customer, or if the placement is essentially an arrangement to provide labour for hire rather than work connected to the petitioner's specialized product. The petition should show that the affiliate assigns the work, sets the schedule, reviews the output and pays the developer, that the customer contract is for delivery of the petitioner's system, and that the developer's presence at the hatchery is to install and commission that system. A customer contract that reads like a staffing agreement undermines the file. Sequence technical evidence from general to specific: an overview of the product or process, the unusual features, the transferee's training and contributions, and the U.S. tasks that call on those features. Redact customer information thoughtfully, but leave enough context to show why the material is company-specific. A file that merely says the knowledge is proprietary asks the reviewer to take a conclusion on trust.
Prove the year and the relationship on paper
The developer needs one continuous year of employment with the Canadian company within the three years before the petition, and the Canadian and U.S. companies must be related as parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate with both active. For an affiliate under common ownership the file must show the same individuals holding each company in the same proportions. Payroll records, the employment contract, and version-control or project records showing the developer's authorship of the firmware are the documents that persuade.
Limits that shape the plan
L-1B status is capped at five years in total. An L-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status; L-2 children may study but not work and age out at 21. Fees are listed in the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055. If the developer's role in the United States becomes managerial, a change to L-1A may extend the ceiling to seven years but requires a separate petition with managerial duties, not a relabelling.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.