Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: an agri-services company near Stirling-Rawdon decides to open its first American location and asks whether to register a branch of the Ontario corporation or incorporate a US subsidiary. Both can support an intracompany petition, since a branch and a subsidiary are each capable of being the qualifying entity, but they differ in liability, tax and in what the petition has to prove. The choice belongs with the accountant and the corporate lawyer, informed by what the immigration filing will need. Hypothetical example: a specialty-packaging company has signed a letter of intent for warehouse space but has not yet executed the lease. The decision is whether to commit to premises before filing or delay the transfer until the physical location is secured. A new-office L-1 petition needs a real business location and a credible plan for a managerial or executive role within one year; the transferee also needs the required qualifying foreign employment.
How each structure proves the relationship
A subsidiary is a separate company owned by the Canadian corporation, and the relationship is proved by share certificates, the register and the incorporation documents, which is usually the simplest evidence to produce. A branch is the same legal entity operating in another country, so the relationship is inherent but must still be evidenced through registration in the state, tax accounts and the corporate records showing the branch exists as an operating establishment rather than a name. Neither is inherently stronger; the subsidiary tends to produce tidier paperwork, while the branch avoids forming a company. Choose branch or subsidiary with corporate and tax advice, then create an evidence checklist for that chosen form. The key record is not the label but the document establishing ownership or branch registration. Keep accounts and contracts separate enough to show the U.S. operation’s activity clearly from its first transaction.
What a new office must show either way
Where the American operation is new, the petition must establish that sufficient physical premises have been secured, that the transferee has one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the preceding three years, and that the operation will support a managerial or executive position within one year. Approval in a new-office case is for one year rather than three. Premises means a real, identified space appropriate to the business, evidenced by a lease, which is why the property search usually has to conclude before the filing rather than after the transferee arrives. The first-year business plan should state who will perform production, sales, administration and management as hiring occurs. A plan that leaves the transferee doing every operational job indefinitely does not support the proposed managerial or executive role. Use budgets, job postings and signed customer work to test whether the staffing plan is real.
Plan the first year toward the extension
The extension is where new-office cases are decided in substance. From the first month, keep what it will require: payroll for each employee hired, the lease and utilities, invoices issued, bank statements, tax registrations and an organizational chart updated as the operation grows. Both structures generate this evidence, though a branch's financial records may be entangled with the Canadian company's and should be kept separable from the outset. If the first year departs from the business plan, record the reasons contemporaneously, because a documented change of circumstances is a different thing from an unexplained shortfall. Hypothetical example: a specialty-coatings company loses its first proposed site after filing and leases another facility. The decision is whether the changed location or business facts require disclosure before adjudication. Preserve the cancelled and replacement agreements, update the plan honestly, and never assume a new address is a trivial change in a new-office case.
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.