Read the general business expansion overview
A company may organize its initial U.S. activity around a customer engagement. The new-office assessment still needs the qualifying organization, the employee’s role and the resources required for the business itself.
Separate the customer engagement from the organization
Hypothetical example: a customer offers workspace for a project. Explain what premises the company has secured and how they support its actual activity. A customer contract does not itself establish a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship with the foreign organization.
Apply the role-specific launch conditions
L-1A requires the qualifying foreign managerial or executive year and support for the U.S. managerial or executive position within one year of approval, with sufficient premises. L-1B needs specialized-knowledge evidence, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and begin doing business. It does not universally require the L-1A management structure.
Use the real employment and business chronology
Generally document one continuous qualifying foreign year within the relevant preceding three years and continuing qualifying business in the United States and abroad. New-office treatment concerns less than one year of U.S. doing business and initial approval cannot exceed one year. Customer deadlines do not reset that history; an unaffiliated L-1B worksite also requires supervision and labor-for-hire analysis. The qualifying foreign employment must be full-time; U.S. days are excluded from that year, although brief visits do not automatically break continuity.
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.