Read the general business expansion overview
A résumé may summarize several positions under a recent title. A new-office L-1A assessment needs the actual qualifying foreign managerial or executive period, not a rewritten history. A first review should produce a dated foreign-employment timeline, corporate-relationship chart, premises record, and first-year operating plan. The reader must decide whether the evidence supports a genuine managerial or executive foreign year and a U.S. operation that can support the claimed role, rather than merely a new registration and an impressive title.
Separate the individual’s genuine roles and dates
Identify real duties and locations for each material period. Under the general L rule, qualifying foreign employment may be managerial, executive or involve specialized knowledge, but the new-office L-1A foreign-year requirement is specifically managerial or executive. Do not apply the broader rule to bypass that condition. Hypothetical example: a wholesale bakery’s production-planning director is promoted shortly before a proposed transfer, but earlier records show the person primarily scheduling ovens and purchasing ingredients. Payroll, reporting lines, delegated authority, and daily duties settle the foreign-capacity question. Decide whether the managerial or executive period is actually long enough before preparing a new-office filing.
Assess the actual launch framework
A new office concerns less than one year of U.S. doing business. L-1A needs sufficient premises and an operation supporting the qualifying role within one year of approval, with initial approval limited to one year. Registration alone does not establish the operating history. After confirming the related entities, examine the foreign doing business, actual premises, financing, hiring plan, and service or sales plan as one operating picture. The individual generally needs one continuous qualifying year abroad during the three years before the relevant filing, and the U.S. operation must be positioned to support the claimed L-1A capacity within its initial one-year approval period.
Retain the remaining group and capacity evidence
The qualifying relationship and continuing U.S. and foreign business remain necessary. New-office L-1B has distinct knowledge, foreign-employment, premises and financial-ability requirements. Owners or major stockholders also need the applicable temporary-service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. A concise résumé cannot substitute for those conditions. Keep the available period of stay in view: L-1A is capped at seven years, while L-1B is capped at five years. The practical decision is whether the organization can document a managerial or executive launch and later growth, or whether the facts instead describe an employee who will principally perform the operation’s ordinary work.
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: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.