Read the general business expansion overview
A new-office L-1A petition from a smaller or family-owned company based in the Waterloo Region needs the same evidence of secured premises and a credible operating plan as a larger company would provide. Local business reputation does not substitute for documented U.S.-side planning and, later, actual results.
Describe the resources actually committed to the launch
Identify the specific premises, financial resources, and staffing sequence planned for the new U.S. office, regardless of the parent company's size. New-office treatment concerns a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year. Establish the continuous full-time qualifying foreign year within the relevant preceding three years; for new-office L-1A that year must be managerial or executive.
Record changes honestly as the plan develops
If hiring or services change from what was originally proposed, document the date and reason rather than adjusting the original account retroactively.
Prepare the extension from real first-year results
Gather evidence of what the office actually did during its first year, since the extension filing depends on documented operations rather than an updated version of the original forecast. L-1A must support the managerial or executive U.S. role within one year of approval. L-1B has its own specialized-knowledge, sufficient-premises and financial-ability-to-pay-and-commence standard; initial new-office approval is at most one year.
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?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.