IN THIS GUIDE · Distinguish a board appointment from the executive job being proposed
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Identify the capacity in which each activity occurs
Hypothetical example: a person attends board meetings and would also direct a U.S. operating team. Explain which decisions belong to the board collectively and which the individual would make in the proposed job. Do not present every board power as the applicant’s personal executive authority. A board minute should be read with the delegation schedule, budget limits and personnel evidence, not treated as a complete duty description on its own.
Describe the actual executive work
Explain responsibilities, discretion and the organization supporting the proposed role. Include routine duties and any limits on authority. An executive title or board resolution can be relevant evidence but does not replace analysis of the work the applicant would primarily perform. Identify the decisions that only the applicant may make and the records that show those decisions were exercised in the foreign role.
Establish employment rather than assuming it from office
Prepare dated evidence of the applicant’s actual foreign employment and duties for the relevant qualifying-period review. Ownership, a board seat and employment are different facts. Have their significance assessed instead of assuming that holding office proves the continuous employment requirement. Place payroll, organization charts and reporting documents on the same dates as the foreign role; an undated title list cannot resolve a timing gap.
Separate governance from the qualifying entity relationship
Identify the Canadian and U.S. legal entities and their ownership or control relationship. Common directors do not by themselves explain every corporate requirement. If a new office is proposed, review support for the qualifying role within one year and distinguish plans from operations already established. For a new office, compare the first-year staffing plan with the proposed role and identify who will perform production-level work while the operation grows.
Prove the qualifying relationship and one continuous year abroad
The qualifying foreign year must be continuous within the relevant three years; US days do not count, although trips do not automatically break it. Identify who performs operational tasks and what the applicant primarily manages or directs. Prove a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship and continuing US and foreign business. US doing business for less than a year requires sufficient new-office premises and support for the qualifying role within a year, with initial approval limited to one year. The category is capped at seven years, and the review should say early whether the intended role is truly managerial or is a hands-on position wearing a management title.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.