IN THIS GUIDE · Whether a fifty-fifty joint venture creates the qualifying relationship for an L-1A transfer
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Read the joint-venture agreement for control and veto
The definition of subsidiary includes an entity in which a parent owns, directly or indirectly, fifty percent of a fifty-fifty joint venture and has equal control and veto power. A joint venture in which the American partner holds the casting vote, appoints the majority of the board or controls hiring is not one the Canadian spa company controls, and the transfer fails at the threshold. The agreement should give the Canadian side equal representation, require both parties' consent for major decisions and provide no mechanism by which one side can override the other. Draft it with the immigration definition in front of the lawyers, and keep the signed version and the U.S. entity's formation documents together.
Managerial in substance, not merely in title
The general manager will run a spa with treatment staff, front-desk employees and a supervisor or two. Her role is managerial if she directs the operation and its supervisory staff, holds authority over hiring and firing, and exercises discretion over day-to-day decisions, rather than delivering treatments herself. Describe the organization as it will exist: who reports to her, what she decides, and what the treatment staff do that she does not. Managing an essential function of the spa is an alternative framing, but a working therapist with a manager's title is neither. Start with the U.S. organization chart as it will exist when the manager begins, then ask which employees or contractors carry out the operational work. A decision-maker should be able to see who handles scheduling, sales calls, purchasing, and hands-on service without assuming the transferee will do all of it. The best comparison pairs a detailed duty breakdown with the foreign and U.S. charts. An L-1A case weakens when a small operation gives the beneficiary senior-sounding authority but leaves no staffed layer through which that authority can be exercised.
New office: premises, capacity and the one-year approval
A spa that has not operated for a year is a new office. The petition must show a signed lease or ownership of the premises, the financial ability of the venture to start operations and pay the manager, and a business plan showing the spa will support the managerial role within a year. Approval is limited to one year; the extension will require evidence the spa is actually doing business and that her duties have become primarily managerial.
The year abroad and the family
The manager must have worked for the Harrison Hot Springs company continuously for one year within the three years before filing, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity; payroll records and a dated appointment letter establish it. L-1A is available for a maximum of seven years. Her spouse in L-2 status is employment-authorized incident to status; children may study but not work.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.