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MONTRÉAL-EST · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

Does a high signing limit prove managerial capacity?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Assess the applicant’s actual responsibilities, discretion and primary work alongside the other L requirements.

Explain the authority behind the amount

Identify whether the applicant sets priorities, directs a function or merely processes decisions made elsewhere. A financial threshold can describe a limit without establishing the full nature of the role.

Explain whether the applicant now directs different work, loses relevant discretion or takes over routine tasks. Explain who performs execution work, what the applicant manages or directs and the authority actually exercised. The intended U.S. role must still qualify as managerial or executive, and the employee must be qualified to perform it. Separately prove a parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship, continuing foreign business and either active U.S. business or, for a new office, the ability to commence it, and one continuous qualifying year abroad within the previous three. Supervising two crews of operators through foremen, setting prices, signing contracts and controlling the budget are managerial functions; laying tile is not, even for the owner. What matters is whether the duties are primarily managerial or executive, which can also be satisfied by managing an essential function at a senior level rather than by supervising staff. The petition must show the function's importance and the transferee's authority over it.