IN THIS GUIDE · Which records prove a manager's transfer into a small U.S. warehouse subsidiary
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Draw the ownership chain with dates and percentages
Hypothetical example: the U.S. subsidiary was incorporated by the Canadian company's holding entity, not by the operating company that employs the manager. That is still workable if the chain is documented: shareholder registers, incorporation records and a chart showing that the same ultimate owner controls both the foreign employer and the U.S. entity. Ask the corporate lawyer for the register extracts rather than describing the structure from memory. Trace ownership from each entity to the ultimate owners and retain formation records, share registers, and any operating agreement. A chart without supporting records does not prove that the required relationship exists on the filing date.
Assemble the qualifying year from payroll, not from a letter
The manager has worked for the Canadian company for six years. Obtain pay records and a position history covering at least one continuous year within the past three, showing managerial duties during that year. A period spent working in the United States for the same group does not count toward the year abroad, so identify any earlier U.S. assignments and exclude them from the calculation. Separate managing people or an essential function from personally performing the organization's routine output. A weekly calendar, staff list, and examples of budget or personnel decisions can show where the transferee's time will actually go.
Describe the U.S. role by the people and functions managed
The U.S. warehouse has eleven employees, including two shift supervisors. Describe whom the manager will supervise, whom they will hire and discipline, what budget they control and which decisions require no higher approval. Managerial duties must be primary; a manager who mostly drives a forklift because the site is short-staffed is not primarily managing. Include the organizational chart for the U.S. site before and after the transfer. For a small operation, explain who will perform the underlying services after the transfer. A plan that leaves the proposed manager doing dispatch, warehouse picking, and customer support full time may not establish a managerial position.
Confirm both companies are doing business
Provide evidence that the Canadian company continues to operate after the transfer, such as recent invoices and payroll, and that the U.S. subsidiary is providing goods or services, such as customer contracts and a lease. An entity that exists only on paper does not satisfy the requirement, and the foreign company must keep operating for the whole period the manager is in the United States. Record prior time in L classification before choosing an extension strategy. A seven-year L-1A ceiling differs from the generally five-year L-1B ceiling, and time outside the country may affect a recapture calculation when it is documented.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.