IN THIS GUIDE · Let the internal documentation prove the knowledge is the company's, not the industry's
Start with the L-1B eligibility and application overview
The document that decides specialized knowledge
Hypothetical example: a Torbay company that plans and executes maintenance for haul trucks and crushers at mine sites has developed, over eight years, its own condition-monitoring thresholds, failure-mode libraries and scheduling algorithms. One planner wrote most of the library and trains new planners on it. Specialized knowledge is knowledge of the petitioner's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management or other interests, or an advanced level of knowledge of its processes and procedures, that is not commonly held in the industry. The failure-mode library and the scheduling method are the petitioner's own; the planner's general trade background is not. The version-controlled library with the planner's name on the revisions is the document that decides it. Select a small number of operational records that were created before the transfer was considered. Revision histories, access controls, training completions and implementation reports are more persuasive than adjectives such as unique or indispensable. Redact customer-sensitive material only as needed while preserving dates, authorship and the feature that makes the material company-specific.
The year, the relationship and the subsidiary's need
The planner needs one continuous year of employment with the Torbay company within the three years before filing, in a specialized-knowledge, managerial or executive capacity. The U.S. company must be a subsidiary, parent, branch or affiliate, shown by ownership records. The petition should also explain why the subsidiary needs the planner rather than a local hire: a new contract at a U.S. mine that requires the methodology to be implemented and the local team trained is a concrete reason, and the customer contract is the document that proves it. The qualifying year is a separate test from specialized knowledge. Set out the payroll period, job duties during it and any U.S. travel in a chronology. The relationship evidence should independently establish that the Canadian employer and U.S. entity remain qualifying organizations when the petition is filed.
Placement at the mine site
If the planner will work at the customer's mine, the offsite rule applies: the placement is not permitted if the planner will be principally controlled and supervised by the mine operator, or if it is essentially labour for hire unconnected to the petitioner's specialized knowledge. The subsidiary must assign, supervise and pay the planner, and the customer contract should be for delivery of the maintenance program, not for a planner's hours. A statement of work naming the subsidiary's supervisor and the deliverables is the document that keeps the placement compliant. An offsite arrangement needs a project story that the contract supports. Identify the deliverables, the petitioner's supervisor, the method for approving work and the employee's access to the proprietary process. If the customer's manager assigns daily tasks as it would to its own employee, the placement needs reconsideration before filing.
Limits, dependants and fees
L-1B status is limited to five years in total. If the planner's role grows into managing the subsidiary's planning team, a change to L-1A can extend the limit to seven years, but only through a new petition showing primarily managerial duties. An L-2 spouse may work incident to status; L-2 children may study but not work and age out at 21. Fees are those in Form G-1055 for the petitioner's size and options. Count prior L time at the outset, not near the last extension. A future change to L-1A is not automatic merely because the employee becomes senior; it requires a new petition and proof that the U.S. duties have become primarily managerial or executive. Dependants' plans should be matched to that same calendar.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.