Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a boat-building firm in Inverness County plans a service yard in the United States to refit hulls it has already delivered. A new-office L-1 petition is approved for one year and requires evidence of secured physical premises and of the entity's capacity to support the proposed role within that year. For a yard needing water access, a travel lift and a lease, the premises evidence is the piece that most often is not ready. Hypothetical example: A solar-pump manufacturer intends to open an American service operation and transfer its operations executive before it has signed a lease. The decision is whether the proposed premises, staffing, and business plan can support a managerial or executive role within the first year. A new-office L-1 petition needs a qualifying corporate relationship, suitable physical premises, and a credible plan for the new operation. The transferee also needs the required continuous foreign employment during the relevant prior period.
Secure premises that fit the described operation
Sufficient physical premises must be secured, and for an operating business that means space the described work can actually be done in. A signed lease with a term and a rent, a plan or description of the space, and evidence of the deposit paid are the core. A letter of intent or a search still in progress is weaker. Where equipment must be installed, purchase orders or quotations show the operation is being built rather than described. Photographs of the site and any municipal or state permits required to operate belong in the file too. The reader must decide whether the premises fit the described business. Obtain the executed lease or ownership record, floor plan, permitted use, and any evidence relevant to equipment, customers, or employees. A mailbox or a space too small for the proposed operation may not support a plan that claims a staffed service centre.
Show the capacity to support the role in one year
For an L-1A new office, the petition should show how the entity will be able to support a primarily managerial or executive position by the end of the first year. That means a hiring plan with roles, timing and wages, capitalisation evidence showing the money to fund it, and a description of the work the yard will perform. Name who will supervise the operating staff. A plan that has the transferee personally building boats for twelve months describes a technician, and the extension request at the end of that year will be assessed against what actually happened. The reader must decide whether the one-year plan supports the stated role. Use a hiring timeline, revenue assumptions, contracts, budgets, and reporting chart to show who will perform routine work. The transfer cannot rely only on an executive title if the individual will personally deliver the ordinary services for most of the first year.
Fix the qualifying relationship and the year abroad
The two foundations are unchanged by the new-office setting. There must be a qualifying relationship between the Canadian company and the United States entity as parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate, proved by formation and ownership records rather than by assertion. The transferee must have one continuous year of qualifying employment with the foreign entity within the preceding three years, proved by payroll. Both entities must be doing business, which for the new entity is addressed by the new-office provisions and for the Canadian company means it continues to operate throughout. The reader must decide whether corporate and employment records are ready before the premises deadline. Keep ownership documents, formation records, foreign payroll evidence, and role descriptions in one indexed file. A qualifying relationship and a continuous foreign year are separate conditions; a signed lease does not repair either one.
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.