Read the general pathway comparison overview
Owning a business can raise either an intracompany-transfer question or a treaty-investment question, but the ownership fact does not answer both. A useful comparison starts with the company relationship and intended duties on one side, and the actual investment and control on the other.
Describe the transfer that would actually exist
Identify the related foreign and US entities and the qualifying continuous foreign employment year within the relevant three-year period. L-1A needs a primarily managerial or executive US role; L-1B needs qualifying specialized knowledge. Ongoing qualifying business in the United States and another country matters. If the buyer has no qualifying foreign employment history, a newly signed acquisition agreement does not supply it retrospectively. That foreign year must be full-time; exclude US days while not treating brief visits as automatic interruptions of continuity.
Describe the acquisition without borrowing the transfer evidence
For E-2, identify treaty nationality, qualifying enterprise ownership, development and direction, and lawful substantial capital committed at risk in a real nonmarginal business. Break out any seller note and its collateral. A strong management résumé does not turn enterprise-asset-secured debt into qualifying investment, just as a large purchase price does not prove the L corporate and employment conditions. At least 50% of the enterprise must have the relevant treaty-country national ownership. E-2 has no universal investment minimum and requires intent to depart when E status ends; Canadian citizens generally need an E visa.
Write a decision record, not a combined label
Use one column for facts established by documents and another for unresolved requirements under each route. Add new-office conditions if the US organization has been doing business for less than one year. For an L owner or major stockholder, address temporary US services and the subsequent foreign assignment. Do not combine a partly supported transfer with a partly supported investment and describe the result as an established category.
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: 2026-09-08. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.