IN THIS GUIDE · Prove the qualifying relationship with the closing documents after a cross-border acquisition
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
The stock ledger proves the relationship the petition asserts
L-1 requires that the U.S. employer be the parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the foreign employer where the beneficiary worked her qualifying year. After a share purchase, the U.S. company is a subsidiary if the Canadian company owns more than half of it, or owns half and controls it. USCIS will want the executed purchase agreement, proof that consideration was paid, the amended stock ledger showing the Canadian company as holder, and the corporate resolutions authorizing the purchase. A letter of intent, a press release or a bank confirmation of a wire is not enough on its own. If the shares were bought by a holding company rather than the operating company, the chart must show the whole chain, because the qualifying relationship is traced through ownership and control, not through common management. The first review should end with one ownership chart that identifies every holder, percentage and control right on the filing date. That chart, read with the stock ledger and governing documents, settles whether the relationship is qualifying. A later internal reallocation of shares can require a fresh analysis, so the petition should not rely on a structure merely expected after filing.
Both companies must remain active businesses
The Canadian company must continue doing business throughout the transfer, and the acquired U.S. company must be an operating enterprise providing goods or services, not a shell that exists to hold assets. Evidence for the Canadian side includes recent financial statements, payroll records, customer contracts and a description of who will manage the crews in the operations manager’s absence. For the U.S. side it includes the acquired company’s tax returns, payroll, licences, slip-rental or service contracts and lease. Where a post-closing reorganization is planned, the petition should describe the structure as it will exist when she starts, and the documents should be consistent with that description rather than with an earlier version of the deal. The decision is whether the companies are doing business, not simply whether they remain incorporated. Current invoices, bank activity and payroll are stronger than a future revenue forecast. If the Canadian company will subcontract its former work after the transfer, identify the person with authority to direct that work; an unexplained hollowing-out of the foreign operation can undermine the petition.
Managerial capacity in a small acquired company
L-1A requires that the U.S. role be primarily managerial or executive. For the acquired marina-services company that means she will manage the business or a department of it through subordinate supervisors or professional staff, set budgets and hiring, and have discretion over day-to-day operations, rather than working alongside the crew as the most experienced technician. The petition should include an organizational chart of the U.S. company with names, titles and duties, her position description with percentages of time, and the same for her Canadian role during the qualifying year. Small companies can support a managerial position, but the documents must show that the subordinate structure and the discretionary authority are real. The useful decision is whether her time will be spent directing people and functions rather than performing the company’s core service herself. Time percentages, subordinate job descriptions and delegated technical duties settle that point. A title alone fails where daily records show hands-on crew work, while a small staff can still support management when its layers and authority are documented.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.