Read the general business expansion overview
A Killarney company planning a U.S. office should connect the proposed manager’s financial authority with the work of the operation. A budget can support the explanation without proving managerial capacity by itself.
Describe the decisions delegated to the applicant
Identify the organization or essential function managed, the matters reserved for higher approval and the staff or resources performing ordinary work. Explain the applicant’s discretion within genuine limits. Neither unlimited autonomy nor a particular headcount is a universal requirement; the actual role must be primarily managerial or executive.
Apply the new-office foreign-role and development conditions
For a qualifying U.S. organization doing business for less than one year, L-1A needs a continuous full-time qualifying managerial or executive foreign year within the relevant three years, sufficient premises and support for the U.S. role within one year of approval. Ordinary L-1A may also use qualifying specialized-knowledge foreign employment; that broader rule does not remove the new-office condition. Initial new-office approval is at most one year. U.S. days do not count toward that year, although qualifying brief trips need not interrupt continuity.
Complete the international and alternative-capacity evidence
The qualifying entities must have the appropriate corporate relationship and continue U.S. and foreign business. An L-1B new-office proposal instead requires qualifying knowledge, premises and financial ability to pay and commence business. Owners or major stockholders need the appropriate temporary U.S. services and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. A larger budget cannot replace these conditions or extend the authorized period.
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.