Read the general business expansion overview
A business may plan several transfers to a new U.S. operation. Describe actual individual duties and genuine resources instead of assigning the entire organization’s support to each applicant without explanation.
Establish the real office stage and related group
A new office has less than one year of U.S. doing business, not merely a new set of employees. The entities must have a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship and maintain regular, systematic and continuous business in the United States and at least one other country during the stay. A group transfer plan does not prove those facts by itself.
Apply managerial conditions to the actual individuals
New-office L-1A requires each applicant’s continuous full-time foreign year specifically managerial or executive within the relevant preceding three years. Sufficient premises and support for the qualifying U.S. role within one year of approval are required. The duties must primarily be managerial or executive; first-line supervision of nonprofessionals alone is insufficient. Owners or major stockholders also need temporary U.S. service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. Describe genuine shared or separate authority accurately.
Retain the specialist and foreign-time requirements
L-1B needs the individual’s actual specialized knowledge, with new-office premises and financial ability to pay the worker and begin business. The ordinary foreign-year rule permits managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work; U.S. days do not count though brief visits need not break continuity. Initial new-office approval is capped at one year. One employee’s qualifying history or decision cannot replace another’s.
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.