Read the general business expansion overview
For a Nairn and Hyman founder, important client relationships may continue after a US expansion. Explain which contacts are executive decisions and who handles routine fulfilment before treating the new role as primarily managerial or executive.
Establish the operation’s real chronology
A new office means the US organization has been doing business for less than one year, not simply that its legal name changed. Show the qualifying corporate relationship and regular, systematic and continuous US and foreign business. Establish a continuous full-time foreign year within the relevant three years, excluding US days without automatically treating brief visits as a break.
Apply the narrower foreign-role condition
New-office L-1A requires that foreign year to be managerial or executive. Ordinary L-1A may also use qualifying specialized-knowledge employment abroad, but not as a substitute for that new-office condition. Secure sufficient premises and demonstrate support for the US managerial or executive role within one year of approval. Identify who performs quoting, order processing and customer follow-up.
Track the actual support after approval
Initial new-office approval is no more than one year. An L-1B new office requires qualifying knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay and commence business. Keep actual staffing and customer responsibilities current rather than assuming a planned handover happened. Owners or major stockholders also need the applicable evidence of temporary US services and a subsequent foreign assignment.
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.