Date the changes in responsibilities
Identify when the applicant held each role and what they actually did. Payroll continuity can establish one part of the history but may not explain the capacity of employment. A promotion letter should be read with the underlying duty and organization evidence.
Apply the qualifying-period rules
Generally the applicant needs one continuous full-time foreign year within the relevant preceding three years. Under the ordinary L rule, the foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the requested U.S. L-1A role is assessed separately. Brief U.S. visits need not break continuity, but U.S. days do not count. Date the actual duties rather than assuming either that the current title applied throughout or that every ordinary case requires a managerial foreign year.
Describe the future US role
Establish primarily managerial or executive U.S. duties through actual authority and operational support. A function manager acts at a senior level over an essential function and manages rather than principally performs its work. First-line supervision of nonprofessional workers alone is insufficient. Explain who performs operations and how the role will actually function; a planned promotion or senior title is not the entire test.
Document the organizations
Show the actual parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship and regular, systematic and continuous business in the United States and at least one other country throughout the stay. A U.S. organization doing business for less than one year is a new office. L-1A then specifically requires a managerial or executive foreign qualifying year, sufficient premises and support for the qualifying role within one year of approval; initial approval is capped at one year. An owner or major stockholder also needs temporary U.S. service and a subsequent foreign assignment. Seniority cannot replace these entity and operating facts.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.