Read the general business expansion overview
A new US office may be ready to rent space before it can support the proposed transferee. A Russell company should identify the operating work, the person performing it and the resources available, especially where a manager returns from an absence just before expansion.
Establish the foreign-service record first
Document the required qualifying continuous employment year within the relevant three-year period, including dates and locations that need counting-rule review. Prove the qualifying organizational relationship and continuing US and foreign business. Do not erase an absence or assume a payroll entry settles the analysis.
Match the capacity evidence to L-1A or L-1B
A new-office L-1A plan must support a primarily managerial or executive role within one year, with sufficient premises and actual operating support. A new-office L-1B case needs the qualifying knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and commence business. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year.
Use the plan to collect actual evidence
Keep contracts, staffing, financial and operational records during the year. At extension, an earlier forecast is not a substitute for the real business. Record material changes rather than forcing the evidence to match an opening plan that no longer describes operations.
Check the new-office eligibility behind the plan
A U.S. organization doing business for less than one year is a new office. Establish the qualifying corporate relationship and continuous foreign year within the relevant three years. New-office L-1A specifically needs foreign managerial or executive service, sufficient premises and support for the U.S. managerial or executive role within one year of approval; initial approval is at most one year. The qualifying group must continue business abroad as well as establish U.S. operations. The foreign year must be full-time; brief U.S. visits need not break continuity but their days do not count toward it. For L-1B new offices, show qualifying specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the worker and commence business; initial approval cannot exceed one year.
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.