IN THIS GUIDE · Show that the Lac-Beauport manager directs people or a function, not just carries a title
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Describe the organization the manager would sit inside
Hypothetical example: a Lac-Beauport regional director at a Québec engineering consultancy is asked to run the firm's newly acquired U.S. subsidiary. The subsidiary has eleven staff, two of whom are engineers reporting to her. An organizational chart showing her position, the people below her, their own qualifications and who she reports to is the document that turns a title into a manager. Without it, the petition describes a senior engineer who also happens to supervise.
Count the managerial time honestly
The regulation asks whether duties are primarily managerial or executive. List the recurring tasks for a typical month and estimate the share spent hiring, evaluating, budgeting, setting direction or approving work, against the share spent producing deliverables. A manager of a small team who also carries a full client load may be closer to specialized knowledge, or to neither category. It is better to learn that in review than in a request for evidence.
Prove the corporate link with records, not a logo
Assemble the share register or articles for both entities and any purchase agreement that created the relationship. If the U.S. entity was recently bought, include closing documents showing ownership passed. Both companies must be active: current leases, payroll records and tax filings for each are the usual evidence. A group whose U.S. entity exists only as a registration cannot support a standard L-1A and may need a new-office petition instead.
Anticipate the spouse's and the calendar's questions
L-2 spouses are employment-authorized incident to status, which often matters more to a Lac-Beauport household than the principal's own paperwork. Children may study but not work. The seven-year maximum applies to time in L-1A, and periods spent in L-1B count toward it, so a transferee who already spent time in the United States should locate prior I-94 records before the group commits to a multi-year plan.
Managing people and managing a function are different claims
Organization charts should identify subordinate supervisors or professionals, while job descriptions, calendars and examples of decisions should show how the applicant allocates resources and directs functions. The decisive choice is whether the documented structure supports managing a function or personnel rather than permanent hands-on production. Before deciding to file, map every claimed supervisory responsibility to a dated delegation, organization chart, and the name of the person who carried out the underlying task. If vendors or contractors perform a function, identify who controls their work and who remains accountable for the component, because that evidence helps test whether the applicant truly directs management rather than personally performs the operation.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.