Read the general pathway comparison overview
A Terrasse-Vaudreuil applicant may be allowed to use a group’s office or equipment. Identify the actual employment or investor rights rather than treating access to resources as control of the enterprise. A first review should use two columns: organizations, foreign employment, and assignment on one side; nationality, ownership, funds, and operating control on the other. Hypothetical example: a coral-nursery logistics company lets an employee use a U.S. warehouse and then offers a minority investment. The decision is whether facts support transfer, investor control, both, or neither.
Identify the L employee’s own qualifying record
General L requires the continuous qualifying foreign year within the relevant three years in managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work and an independently qualifying U.S. role, supported by the qualifying relationship and required international business. Resource access does not establish the person’s work history or managerial authority. For L-1, verify the organizational relationship and the employee's continuous qualifying foreign year in the preceding three before assessing the U.S. role. L-1A has a cumulative seven-year maximum, while L-1B has a five-year maximum; earlier L time matters.
Identify the investor’s actual decision rights
E-2 requires relevant treaty nationality, qualifying ownership and control to develop and direct, and lawful substantial capital committed at risk in a real nonmarginal business. Permission to use another company’s assets is not automatically ownership or investor control. Explain the underlying agreement and the actual transaction. For E-2, follow nationality, ownership, and lawful funds to the operating enterprise, then test whether loss is genuinely possible. Qualifying control must leave the investor responsible for developing and directing a nonmarginal business; a permission letter proves none of those points alone.
Keep the documents matched to the condition
For each agreement, identify the parties, effective date, rights granted and limits. Access to equipment may support a practical operating plan while leaving employment history and corporate ownership unanswered. A premises agreement should explain the actual permitted use; a financing document should explain the actual capital commitment. For a new-office L-1A proposal, retain the specific qualifying foreign managerial or executive year, sufficient premises and evidence supporting the U.S. role within one year. Owners or major stockholders also need temporary-services and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. The purpose of the register is to expose which requirement remains unsupported, not to treat one agreement as proof of the entire case. Choose only after the missing proof is visible. A relationship document may assist L-1, while a purchase agreement and bank trail may matter to E-2; neither substitutes for the other route's threshold conditions.
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.