Read the general pathway comparison overview
Hypothetical example: The owner of a Torbay commercial-diving and underwater-inspection company who wants to work in the United States can go two ways: form a U.S. subsidiary and transfer himself as its L-1A executive, or personally buy a U.S. diving contractor under E-2. The two routes have different clocks. L-1A needs a completed year with the Canadian company and a subsidiary with premises; E-2 needs funds irrevocably committed and control. Sequencing matters because one route can be started while the other's precondition is still running.
The two clocks
Hypothetical example: a Torbay diver who incorporated his inspection company nine months ago after years as an employee elsewhere, and who owns all of it, is approached by a U.S. marine-construction firm that wants his services on the Gulf Coast. For L-1A, his own company must have employed him for a continuous year in an executive or managerial capacity; nine months is not enough, and he must wait three more. For E-2, the clock is the time it takes to identify a U.S. diving contractor to buy, negotiate, trace his funds and commit them into escrow, which can run in parallel with the L-1A year. Neither route permits him to begin the Gulf Coast work as a visitor in the meantime.
What decides between them
L-1A keeps the business inside his existing company: the subsidiary is owned by the Torbay corporation, the Canadian operation continues, and the transfer is of him as executive. It is capped at seven years and requires the Canadian company to keep trading. E-2 puts his personal funds at risk in a business he owns directly, requires substantial and non-marginal investment and control, and is renewable without a fixed ceiling but leads nowhere toward permanent residence on its own. If his capital is modest and his company's revenue is strong, L-1A fits; if he has substantial personal funds and wants to own the U.S. operation outright, E-2 fits. Nationality matters only for E-2, which he satisfies as a Canadian.
A workable sequence
Use the remaining three months of the L-1A year to form the U.S. subsidiary, lease a small yard, register for payroll and begin U.S. customer discussions, so that when the year is complete the new-office petition can be filed with premises and a plan. If a suitable U.S. diving contractor to buy appears in the meantime, evaluate E-2 on its own terms, but do not commit the same funds to both routes. Whichever route is used, his spouse may work incident to status as an L-2 or E-2 dependant, and children may study but not work. Keep the Torbay company operating under a named manager in either case, because L-1A depends on it and an E-2 file benefits from a continuing Canadian business as evidence of the investor's experience.
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.