Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: A Torbay software company whose staff work from home across Newfoundland and Labrador and whose chief technology officer will open a U.S. subsidiary must still satisfy the physical-premises rule for a new-office L-1A: a registered agent's address or a virtual office is not enough. The petition is approved for one year and extended only if the office has developed. The officer needs one continuous year with the Canadian company, an executive or managerial role in the United States, a plan to hire and pay staff within the year, and a Canadian company that keeps operating.
Premises for a company that has none
Hypothetical example: a Torbay company of fourteen developers that sells scheduling software to health-care providers has never rented an office; everyone works remotely. It forms a U.S. subsidiary and wants its CTO to run it from a U.S. city where several customers are located. The new-office rule requires that sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured, so the subsidiary must lease actual space, sized to the staff it plans to hire, before filing. A twelve-month lease on a small suite is sufficient; a co-working membership without a dedicated space is usually not. The remote-first culture is not a problem for the Canadian side, but the U.S. subsidiary must show a place of business.
Executive or manager in a subsidiary that starts with one person
The CTO will initially be the subsidiary's only employee, which is permitted for a new office if the petition shows that within one year the subsidiary will support an executive or managerial position. The business plan must describe the roles to be hired, when, at what salaries, and how they will be funded, supported by the Canadian company's financial statements and a capitalization of the subsidiary. For an L-1A new-office petition, the CTO's qualifying year with the Torbay company must have been in an executive or managerial capacity; specialized-knowledge employment alone does not meet that particular rule. Payroll records, organization charts and duty evidence must show the qualifying capacity. At the one-year extension, USCIS will expect evidence of actual operations, staffing and the CTO's primarily executive or managerial duties.
The Canadian company, the ownership and the family
The Torbay company must continue as an operating business: its customers, payroll and the person who takes over the CTO's engineering leadership should be named in the petition. Ownership must be shown by the subsidiary's formation documents and the parent's share register; if the founders own the subsidiary personally rather than through the Canadian company, the relationship becomes affiliate and must be proved by identical proportions. The CTO's spouse may accompany in L-2 status with work authorization incident to status; children may study but not work and age out at 21. L-1A time is capped at seven years. Fees are those in Form G-1055 at filing, and premium processing is available.
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?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.