Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Rebuild the duty map after the staffing reduction
Begin with the departed positions and identify who now performs their tasks. Keep the old organization chart as history, then prepare the current allocation. L-1A requires primarily managerial or executive US duties; the earlier size of the team is not the test. First-line supervision of nonprofessional workers does not qualify by title, and work now performed personally should not remain described as delegated.
Separate the qualifying employment period from today’s staffing
Establish the actual corporate relationship and a continuous full-time qualifying foreign year within the relevant three years. US days do not add to that year, although qualifying brief visits do not automatically break continuity. General L-1A foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the proposed US capacity must still qualify independently. New-office L-1A specifically requires the foreign managerial or executive year.
Explain how the smaller organization continues to operate
Use current contracts, delivery records and genuine outside support where relevant to show regular, systematic and continuous business in the US and another country. Neither lower payroll alone nor a maintained corporate registration answers the operating question. Describe the effect of the staffing change without fabricating continued employment or treating hoped-for replacements as present staff.
Reassess the US support available at the relevant stage
Date actual US doing business: less than one year invokes the new-office framework. That proposal needs sufficient premises and support for the managerial or executive role within one year, with initial approval limited to one year. Identify which operational tasks the US resources will cover and any gap caused by the reduction. A savings forecast cannot substitute for evidence that the proposed role will be supported.
Identify what the employer means by branch
The regulation treats a manager as someone who manages the organization, a department or an essential function, supervises other supervisory, professional or managerial employees or manages a function, and has authority over hiring, firing and day-to-day operations. The petition must show a qualifying relationship of parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate between the Canadian employer and the American entity, and that relationship has to exist when the filing is made rather than being expected shortly. Identify the organization or major component directed, the goals and policies the applicant establishes and the discretion exercised. US days do not count toward the foreign year, though brief trips need not interrupt continuity. Identifying risks, writing reports or being consulted on difficult cases does not by itself establish management of an essential function or a qualifying managerial or executive role. Managing a function means running an essential activity of the organization at a senior level without necessarily supervising anyone. Executive capacity means directing the management of the organization and exercising wide latitude in discretionary decision-making. For an owner or major stockholder, include evidence of temporary U.S. services and a subsequent foreign assignment.
Address a newly established operation
Explain whether the applicant directs people or a function, sets priorities and exercises relevant discretion, or mainly coordinates work decided by others. The managerial classification carries a seven-year maximum, a newly established operation is normally approved for a first year with evidence of premises and capacity, and continuation depends on what the operation actually becomes. The review should end with a role map showing decisions reserved to the transferee, the personnel or function that carry out routine work, and the evidence that the US and foreign entities have the required relationship. Look at the subsidiary's staff list: if there are installers and a service coordinator to supervise, and the transferee will plan work, hire, set pricing and manage the customer relationships, the role is managerial.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.