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DELBURNE · L-1B FIELD GUIDE

Can an internal readiness certificate authorize the U.S. assignment?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. A company certificate may support a factual account but is not immigration permission. The actual role and applicable process remain necessary.

Separate technical readiness from authorization

Identify the intended work, site and supervision before relying on a start date. An employer’s certification cannot guarantee approval or cure an otherwise prohibited placement.

Preparation begins with an internal request for the documents that support the knowledge claim, and that request nearly always uncovers gaps: a protocol whose author has left, a validation report filed under an old system, a training record kept on paper. Build the calendar from present facts: the worker’s qualifying foreign-employment dates, evidence-completion milestones, chosen petition procedure, requested assignment start and existing periods in L status. What the timeline has to show is a continuous qualifying year abroad falling inside the relevant preceding three years measured against the proposed assignment, together with the knowledge the role requires at the point the person would start. An L-1B placement primarily at an unaffiliated worksite must remain principally controlled and supervised by the petitioner and provide a petitioner-specific product or service requiring specialized knowledge rather than labour for hire.