Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a Val-des-Monts managed-cybersecurity company that serves rural municipalities and clinics wants to send its co-founder and general manager to open a first U.S. office. Its staff already work remotely, so the founders assumed a virtual-office address would do. A new-office L-1A petition requires evidence that sufficient physical premises have been secured, a one-year approval, and proof by the extension stage that the office supports a managerial role. The lease, the staffing plan and the financial capacity to fund them are the documents that decide it.
What a new-office petition must show at filing
Where the beneficiary is coming to open or be employed in a new office, the regulation requires evidence that sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured; that the beneficiary has been employed abroad for one continuous year in the last three in an executive or managerial capacity; and that the intended U.S. operation, within one year of approval, will support an executive or managerial position, supported by the proposed nature of the office, its scope, organizational structure and financial goals, the size of the U.S. investment and the foreign entity’s ability to remunerate the beneficiary and begin doing business. A mailing-address subscription without usable physical space does not satisfy the premises requirement. Whether shared or dedicated space is sufficient depends on the nature, scope and staffing of the planned operation, so the petition should document the right to use the space and why that space is sufficient for this business.
Build the plan around the year
The initial approval is for one year, and the extension petition must show that the office is doing business and that the beneficiary is, in fact, functioning as a manager or executive rather than doing the technical work herself. The business plan filed with the initial petition should therefore describe the hiring sequence, such as two security analysts and an account manager within the first nine months, with the budget to pay them, so that at the extension stage the organizational chart matches the plan. Financial capacity is shown by the Canadian company’s statements, its transfer of start-up capital to the U.S. subsidiary, and contracts or letters of intent from prospective U.S. clients. The general manager’s continuous year is shown from Canadian payroll.
Corporate structure and the extension file
The U.S. entity must be a subsidiary, affiliate or branch of the Canadian company, so the Canadian company or its shareholders in the same proportions should own it, and the incorporation documents, stock ledger and bank account should exist before filing. At the extension stage, roughly ten months in, the file will need the lease still in force, U.S. payroll records for the staff hired, tax and licence filings, client contracts, financial statements and a position description showing the general manager directing a team. If the hiring fell short, the petition should explain why and show a credible corrected plan; extensions are refused when the office is a one-person operation performing the services. Her spouse holds L-2 and may work, and the total L-1A stay is capped at seven years.
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.