Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a West Kelowna winery wants to open a US subsidiary to import and distribute its wines, staffed initially by its export manager. There is no US operation yet, so the petition is a new-office L-1A, approved for one year at most and judged on whether the company has secured premises, has the financial capacity to start, and can support a managerial role within the year. The order in which the winery signs leases, forms the entity and applies for licences determines whether those three showings exist on the filing date.
Form the entity and secure the premises before filing
A new-office petition must show that the US entity exists and that sufficient physical premises have been secured. For an import business that means a formed subsidiary owned by the winery, with its share register showing the parent-subsidiary link, and a signed lease for office and storage space suitable for the business described, which for wine may include bonded or temperature-controlled storage or a contract with a licensed warehouse. A lease signed the week before filing is acceptable; an intention to lease is not. The winery should also confirm the Canadian parent will keep operating throughout, since both entities must be doing business for the L-1 relationship to hold.
Show the money and the licences the first year needs
The petition must demonstrate the financial ability to remunerate the transferee and commence business. A capitalization statement, bank records for the subsidiary, and a budget for the first year covering salary, rent, licensing and initial inventory address that. Wine import and distribution requires federal and state alcohol permits; the winery should show that it has applied for or obtained them, or at least that the plan and budget account for them, since an officer will ask how the business can commence without them. The export manager's own record must show one continuous year of employment with the winery in the last three, in a managerial or executive capacity, which her Canadian job description and payroll establish.
Describe the year that will justify the extension
An initial new-office approval is limited to one year. At extension the winery will need to show the subsidiary is doing business and that the export manager's role has become primarily managerial, with subordinates or a managed function. The first-year plan should therefore set out concrete hiring, such as a sales representative and a logistics coordinator, the distributor agreements it aims to sign, and the milestones that will exist as evidence twelve months later. A plan that leaves the manager as the sole employee importing and selling wine personally will struggle at extension, because there is nothing to manage. Writing the plan as a list of evidence to be produced keeps the first year honest and the extension achievable within the seven-year L-1A ceiling.
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.