Read the general pathway comparison overview
A Saint-Jean-Baptiste applicant may sign contracts for a business without owning or controlling it. Identify whether the actual facts support an employee transfer or investor authority instead of assuming the signature answers both. Hypothetical example: an acoustic bird-deterrent equipment maker transferring a procurement director who also expects to buy minority shares. A first review assembles the dated records, identifies which person can confirm each material fact, and separates completed evidence from an assumption. It then produces a concrete decision about sequencing: obtain the missing record, revise the proposed arrangement, or pause before making an irreversible commitment. L requires a continuous qualifying foreign year within the preceding three years; L-1A is generally capped at seven years and L-1B at five. E-2 requires qualifying control, capital committed in an irrevocable manner and exposed to commercial risk, and a real enterprise that is not marginal. The file should show not only the favourable fact, but also the document that fixes its date, source, and practical consequence.
Examine the employee’s L record
General L requires the qualifying continuous foreign year within the relevant three years in managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work, an independently qualifying U.S. role and a qualifying corporate relationship with required international business. Signature rights can be explained within that record but do not establish the complete employment history or role. The next review should preserve the dated source document, identify who can confirm it, and record the consequence if it remains incomplete; a label alone does not settle the point.
Examine the investor’s actual rights and commitment
For E-2, establish relevant treaty nationality and qualifying ownership, development and direction through actual control, and lawful substantial capital committed at risk in a real nonmarginal enterprise. Permission to execute someone else’s decision is not automatically investor control. Read the actual rights rather than inferring them from a signed document alone. The next review should preserve the dated source document, identify who can confirm it, and record the consequence if it remains incomplete; a label alone does not settle the point.
Connect additional requirements to the chosen proposal
A new-office L-1A case needs the specific foreign managerial or executive year, premises and first-year role evidence. Owners or major stockholders must also document temporary U.S. services and a subsequent foreign assignment. Bring the actual delegation and governance documents so the consultation can distinguish documented powers from assumptions. The next review should preserve the dated source document, identify who can confirm it, and record the consequence if it remains incomplete; a label alone does not settle the point.
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.