Read the general business expansion overview
A new-office plan should explain who performs the work before and after hiring. Empty boxes on a chart cannot be treated as evidence that an operating team already exists.
Separate the current arrangement from the first-year plan
Hypothetical example: the transferee will initially handle delivery while recruitment is underway. Describe the duties honestly and identify which hires will take over which tasks. New-office L-1A requires sufficient premises and an operation that supports the qualifying managerial or executive role within one year of approval. Its qualifying foreign year must specifically be managerial or executive; funding the business does not satisfy that employment test.
Use the individual’s completed foreign history
The general L requirement is normally one continuous full-time foreign year in the relevant preceding three years. Ordinary L cases can use managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge foreign employment, but that does not remove new-office L-1A’s stricter capacity condition. Exclude U.S. days from the foreign year while recognizing that brief trips need not break continuity. Show the real related-company ownership and ongoing regular business in the United States and at least one other country.
Recognize the operating stage and extension evidence
Less than one year of U.S. doing business is a new office, regardless of the registration date. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year. L-1B has its own specialized-knowledge requirements and needs sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the worker and begin business. Owners or major stockholders additionally need temporary U.S. service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. Preserve actual staffing and duties as they develop; neither a business plan nor an initial approval guarantees an extension.
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.