Read the general business expansion overview
A new US function may rely on staff elsewhere in the company group. The file should explain what that support actually delivers, which decisions the proposed manager controls and whether the US role will meet the relevant requirements.
Establish the operation’s actual age
New-office treatment concerns a US organization doing business for less than one year. Identify regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services, not just registration or internal planning. Retain actual contracts, delivery and billing evidence so the business chronology can be assessed.
Show how shared services support the qualifying role
For L-1A, sufficient premises must be secured, the continuous full-time foreign year within the relevant three years must be managerial or executive, and the US operation must support a managerial or executive role within one year. Identify the people who perform underlying tasks and the transferee’s senior authority. A central-service charge without evidence of support does not establish that the applicant primarily manages rather than performs the function. US days are excluded from the foreign-year count, although brief visits do not automatically interrupt continuity. Ordinary L-1A may also rely on qualifying foreign specialized-knowledge employment; that does not remove the new-office managerial or executive foreign-year condition.
Track the plan against actual delivery
Initial new-office approval cannot exceed one year. Retain the qualifying corporate relationship and continuing US and foreign business evidence, along with staffing, finances and actual duties. Address temporary US services and the subsequent assignment abroad for an owner or major stockholder. An extension needs its own support; a forecast is not proof that every promised resource materialized. For an L-1B new office, establish qualifying specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and commence business; the initial approval likewise cannot exceed one year.
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: 2026-09-08. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.