Read the general pathway comparison overview
Read the appointment resolution and investment agreement as two different proposals. Identify the duties the company assigns and the rights and funds the investor personally commits before choosing a route.
Ask what changed when the officer was appointed
Hypothetical example: a board grants a title while the person continues delivering services. For L-1A, the actual U.S. work must be primarily managerial or executive; L-1B instead concerns specialized-knowledge duties. Show the qualifying company relationship and continuing international business as well as the individual’s history. Under the ordinary L rule, one continuous full-time year abroad in the relevant preceding three years may be in managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge employment. Brief U.S. trips need not break continuity, but their days do not count toward that year. A board resolution cannot create a completed employment period.
Read the investor’s rights independently of the appointment
E-2 requires treaty nationality, with at least 50% relevant treaty-national enterprise ownership. Developing and directing the business can be established through at least 50% ownership or other qualifying operational control. Identify the actual voting and operating rights rather than assuming the officer title supplies them. Lawful substantial capital must be committed at risk in a real enterprise. Nonmarginality concerns capacity beyond a minimal living for the investor and family or a significant economic contribution; future capacity generally must be realizable within five years after normal operations begin.
Keep each proposal’s resources attached to its enterprise
Set the employment proposal beside the acquisition documents and identify which business owns the staff, customer agreements and funds being discussed. A resource belonging to one cannot simply be attributed to the other. If an agreement is still being negotiated, record which right is unsettled and who can confirm it. Explain the actual intended U.S. activity before relying on immigration permission; neither a corporate appointment nor a purchase signature alone authorizes that work.
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: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.