Reconstruct the employment relationship
Identify the actual employer, terms and duties during each period. Do not assume every consulting engagement equals qualifying employment or that a commercial label answers the whole question. Apply the relevant rules to the real arrangement. A title is not the decision point. Identify who performs the operational work, which staff or essential function the transferee manages, and what authority is exercised. Payroll, reporting records, and contemporaneous role materials are stronger than a chart designed only for the petition.
Establish the transfer and role
Establish the qualifying corporate relationship and generally one continuous full-time year of qualifying foreign employment within the relevant preceding three years. Under the ordinary L rule, that foreign role may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the proposed US L-1A role must itself be primarily managerial or executive. Brief US trips need not break continuity, but their days do not count toward the foreign year. Show who performs the underlying operational work. Keep the relationship evidence separate from the employment evidence. Ownership records may prove that organizations are related, but they do not by themselves prove a qualifying managerial or executive position. The analysis should identify both links and every change in the organization’s structure.
Check the US office framework
An organization doing business in the United States for less than one year falls within the new-office definition. L-1A requires sufficient premises, the required foreign managerial or executive employment, and evidence that the operation will support a qualifying managerial or executive role within one year of petition approval. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year. Registration alone does not establish regular business activity. For a new office, use a one-year operating plan tied to actual premises, funding, staffing, and management needs. The initial approval has a one-year limit. The next review will examine what the business actually became, so unsupported promises should be identified before filing.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.