Read the general business expansion overview
A new-office proposal may rely on outside providers as well as employees. Describe the actual services and resources supporting the transferee without assuming outsourcing itself establishes the role.
Use the supplier agreement to map retained duties
Read the fulfilment provider’s actual scope and mark tasks it will not perform. Put customer operations, escalation decisions and remaining delivery work beside the applicant’s proposed duties. An unsigned estimate is not an executed support arrangement, and even a signed narrow contract does not prove comprehensive support.
Connect outsourced capacity to the requested classification
A new-office L-1A proposal needs sufficient premises, a qualifying foreign managerial or executive year and an operation capable of supporting the U.S. managerial or executive role within one year after approval. Explain how the purchased services contribute to that structure rather than counting the provider’s entire workforce as the applicant’s staff. For L-1B, document specialized knowledge and sufficient premises plus the financial ability to commence business and pay the transferee. Outside services do not substitute for those findings or impose L-1A’s management standard on L-1B.
Keep the vendor’s start date out of the foreign-year calculation
Use the applicant’s full-time employment and travel records to establish the continuous qualifying foreign year in the relevant three-year period. U.S. visit days are not credited, though brief visits need not interrupt continuity. Separately document the qualifying organizations’ business in both countries. A U.S. operation doing business for under a year receives new-office treatment, with initial approval capped at one year; changing providers does not reset its operating history.
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.