IN THIS GUIDE · Distinguish a proposed management structure from the organization that exists
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Describe decisions and the people carrying them out
L-1A U.S. duties must be primarily managerial or executive. A function manager acts at a senior level over an essential function and manages it rather than principally doing its work. First-line supervision of nonprofessional workers alone is insufficient. Hypothetical example: a chart shows a delivery team that is still being recruited. Distinguish present support from the future structure and explain what the applicant would actually do in the meantime.
Establish the foreign year from completed work
Generally, the employee needs a continuous full-time year abroad within the relevant preceding three years. Under the ordinary L rule, the foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge, although the requested U.S. L-1A role must qualify in management or executive capacity. Brief U.S. visits need not interrupt continuity, but their days are excluded from the foreign year. Corporate age cannot substitute for the person’s employment.
Verify the related organizations and ongoing business
The entities must have the actual parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship, supported by ownership and control. They must provide goods or services regularly, systematically and continuously in the United States and at least one other country throughout the relevant stay. For an owner or major stockholder, also address temporary U.S. services and a subsequent foreign assignment; ownership alone does not establish that evidence.
Test a new operation against the specific launch rule
Less than one year of U.S. doing business triggers the new-office framework. L-1A then specifically requires the foreign year in managerial or executive employment, sufficient premises and an operation capable of supporting the qualifying role within one year of approval. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year. The extension record must explain actual operations and staffing, including departures from the original hiring plan.
Managerial or executive duties, not general operational involvement
Identify the applicant’s decisions and the personnel or function managed, then show who handles the underlying operational work. An L-1A transferee to an established US operation may be granted up to three years initially, with extensions to a maximum of seven years in that classification. Executive capacity means directing the management of the organization or a major component, setting goals and policies, exercising wide latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receiving only general supervision from higher-level executives, the board or shareholders. A petition listing strategic responsibilities while the same person quotes jobs, supervises no one and personally performs the service invites the conclusion that the proposed role is not primarily managerial or executive. In a service operation the honest question is what proportion of the day is spent directing staff or functions and exercising discretion, and what proportion is spent doing the technical work personally. A service-delivery director who sets staffing levels, approves client contracts, hires and disciplines engineers and controls the operating budget is managing an organization or function at a senior level. Look at the subsidiary's staff list: if there are installers and a service coordinator to supervise, and the transferee will plan work, hire, set pricing and manage the customer relationships, the role is managerial. Organization charts should identify subordinate supervisors or professionals, while job descriptions, calendars and examples of decisions should show how the applicant allocates resources and directs functions.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.