Read the general pathway comparison overview
A Strait Shores applicant who owns shares and works for the business should prepare two accounts: how the proposed employment transfer qualifies, and how an investor would develop and direct the enterprise. A distribution or share certificate cannot answer both.
Describe the transfer as an employment arrangement
Identify the foreign employer, the U.S. organization and the qualifying parent, subsidiary, affiliate or branch connection. Establish the required qualifying foreign employment and the actual managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work proposed. Use work records to show service instead of assuming that being an owner proves employment. If the applicant’s authority or duties are unclear, a larger investment does not resolve that L-1 evidence gap.
Describe the investment as a set of enforceable rights and commitments
For E-2, trace the enterprise’s treaty nationality: at least half must be owned by nationals of the relevant treaty country, and the applicant needs the appropriate treaty nationality. Then explain development and direction through the actual ownership or operational-control arrangement. A minority stake is neither an automatic disqualification nor sufficient by itself. Show lawful funds committed in a substantial at-risk investment and a real nonmarginal business. Reading the rights matters more than comparing the applicant’s percentage with someone else’s case.
Choose the evidence gaps that must be resolved before proceeding
Write down which unanswered question belongs to which proposal: missing foreign-employment records for L-1, for example, or unsettled management rights for E-2. Confirm the actual employer, enterprise and activities before relying on a permission tied to that arrangement. E-2 also requires intent to depart when E status ends. Neither category provides unrestricted authority to work in a second venture just because the applicant owns part of it.
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?How should an owner compare L-1 and E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.