IN THIS GUIDE · Show the managerial or executive authority the Québec City role would actually carry
Tie the historical role to the qualifying entities
Generally, the record must show one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the three years before the petition. Set out the employing entities, dates and duties, including any prior U.S. work, and let counsel assess the timing after any reorganization. A consistent-sounding résumé narrative does not resolve that legal analysis on its own. L-1A status is subject to a seven-year maximum. Use dated payroll, contracts, and position records to establish the prior role before describing the proposed one. A title change shortly before filing is less useful than records showing what decisions the employee routinely made.
Describe authority through actual decisions, not job titles
Identify the decisions the applicant would control, their authority over staff or an essential function, and who performs the day-to-day operating work. Hypothetical example: a Québec City employee holds a director title but personally delivers most client engagements. The proposed U.S. role needs a factual review of what the person will actually do, since the title alone does not establish that the work will be primarily managerial or executive. A chart should identify who carries out operational tasks and how the proposed transferee will manage people, a function, or a level of management. This prevents a petition from confusing experienced individual contribution with executive control.
Establish the corporate relationship with records, not branding
The Québec and U.S. organizations must have a qualifying relationship, such as parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. Gather the effective ownership documents and explain any intermediate holding entities or recent changes. A shared logo or a commercial partnership is not the same as the legal relationship the category requires, and the entities' actual business activity also needs to be shown. Match ownership documents to the legal entities named in payroll and contracts, then explain any acquisition, reorganization, or common ownership plainly. A shared brand or a commercial alliance does not itself establish the required corporate relationship.
Treat a new U.S. office as a genuine operating proposal
For an L-1A new office, the evidence must show secured premises and an operation capable of supporting the qualifying role within one year of approval. Initial new-office approval is limited to that first year. Describe staffing, financing and the assignment honestly, and keep the actual business record for the extension review; a forecast should describe what the company expects, not something already accomplished. For a new office, the decision is whether the premises, capitalization, business plan, and hiring timetable support a managerial or executive role after the first year. The petition must show a real operating plan rather than a future intention with no executable evidence.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.