Read the general business expansion overview
A Sainte-Rose-du-Nord company should show how the actual team supports the proposed US role without moving overseas colleagues into a fictional local office chart. A first review should create a first-year operating timeline listing premises, budget, staffing dates, customer work, and the transferee’s duties at each stage. That timeline exposes whether remote support is real and whether the applicant will primarily manage, lead, or perform day-to-day production. Hypothetical example: An airport runway-friction testing company leases a small U.S. office while its foreign staff process reports remotely. The company must decide whether the planned hiring and authority support the proposed transferee’s qualifying role by the end of the first year.
Show the role supported by real resources
New-office treatment concerns US doing business under one year, not incorporation age alone. Sufficient premises are required. L-1A needs support for primarily managerial or executive work within one year; L-1B requires financial ability to pay and commence business. The initial period is limited to one year. Explain who actually performs operational tasks and distinguish collaboration from genuine reporting authority. The key decision is what resources will exist during the initial period, not what the company hopes to add eventually. Read the lease, bank records, budget, job descriptions, service contracts, and hiring plan together. For L-1A, distinguish routine delivery work from primarily managerial or executive duties; for L-1B, connect the funds and operating plan to commencing business. An attractive organization chart cannot replace evidence of actual support.
Trace qualifying service through actual duties
Establish the qualifying organizational relationship and regular, systematic, continuous US and foreign business. The continuous qualifying foreign year falls within the relevant three years, excluding US days without assuming each trip breaks continuity. General foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; new-office L-1A specifically requires foreign managerial or executive employment. An internal title change should be explained through the real duties and dates rather than automatically treated as the start or end of qualifying history. Verify the qualifying foreign employment before filing: one continuous year is required within the preceding three years, subject to the treatment of qualifying U.S. days. Then choose the classification matching the actual foreign and U.S. roles. L-1A has a seven-year maximum period and L-1B a five-year maximum period. These limits matter when deciding whether the launch plan is a genuine temporary transfer rather than an indefinite staffing solution.
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.