Read the general business expansion overview
A Saint-David-de-Falardeau company should describe what a customer tour or pilot demonstration actually involves when preparing a new US office transfer. A first review should produce a launch chronology showing premises, funding, payroll, customers, the transferee’s role, and the foreign employment history. Hypothetical example: A maker of automated mushroom-harvesting equipment leases a small US workshop but has no signed operating budget or support plan for the proposed manager. The company must decide whether its records support a viable new-office L-1A case within one year, or whether it should postpone the transfer. The controlling records are the lease, financial plan, corporate documents, foreign payroll, and job evidence, not incorporation alone. The person generally needs one continuous qualifying foreign year in the preceding three years.
Connect the launch plan with the appropriate capacity
US doing business under one year, rather than incorporation age alone, determines new-office treatment. Sufficient premises are required; L-1A needs support for a primarily managerial or executive role within one year, while L-1B requires financial ability to pay and commence business. The initial period is limited to one year. Explain genuine customer-facing duties or pilot knowledge rather than treating every launch activity as automatically qualifying. Determine whether the US operation has been doing business for less than one year and build the evidence around its actual stage. For L-1A, the plan must show sufficient premises and support for a primarily managerial or executive position within one year; L-1B needs premises and financial ability to pay the worker and begin operations. Sequence the review from premises and funding to the staffing plan and proposed duties. A launch event, customer tour, or demonstration cannot substitute for the required operating foundation.
Preserve the qualifying foreign history and ongoing business
The organizations need the qualifying relationship and regular, systematic, continuous US and foreign business. Establish the continuous qualifying foreign year in the relevant three years, excluding US days without automatically breaking continuity. General foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; new-office L-1A specifically requires foreign managerial or executive employment. A scheduled demonstration does not waive these conditions or authorize work while the case is pending. Reconcile the foreign employer’s payroll, role descriptions, travel, and organizational records before asserting the qualifying year. L-1A is generally capped at seven years and L-1B at five years, so the company should also identify the requested classification and available period before promising a long assignment. Confirm the qualifying relationship and continuous business evidence on both sides of the border. If the proposed role changes from management to hands-on production, reassess the case rather than treating the original title as controlling.
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.