Read the general business expansion overview
For a Beloeil company preparing a U.S. expansion, the date keys are collected may be easy to document. It does not alone establish when the organization began doing business or whether it qualifies for new-office treatment. Explain the commercial activity as well as the premises. The first review should create two timelines: the U.S. entity’s actual doing-business history and the transferee’s employment history with the qualifying organization. New-office treatment turns on the U.S. organization having done business for less than one year, not merely the date on a lease. Hypothetical example: a manufacturer of acoustic camera housings opened an online sales channel months before leasing a workshop. Customer invoices and service records, rather than the key handover, identify when regular business began. The company must decide whether the filing is truly a new-office case.
Build an operating timeline
Show when the U.S. organization began regular, systematic provision of goods or services. A registered entity or an agent’s presence is not by itself doing business. New-office classification concerns an organization doing business in the United States for less than one year; do not reset the timeline simply because a new warehouse is leased. Collect dated invoices, contracts, payroll, service delivery and tax records before choosing the start date. Doing business means regular, systematic provision of goods or services; formation papers alone do not settle it. This record also prevents a company from treating a later expansion as if it created a new office from scratch.
Connect premises with the proposed role
Explain why the secured space is sufficient for the actual activity. For a new-office L-1A case, show how the operation will support a qualifying managerial or executive position within one year after approval. A plan that leaves the transferee mainly doing routine fulfillment needs honest analysis, not a managerial title pasted onto it. If the proposed case is L-1B, assess qualifying specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and begin doing business; do not substitute the L-1A managerial-role standard. For L-1A, compare the business plan, budget, hiring sequence and actual duties to the requirement that the operation support a managerial or executive role within one year. For L-1B, separately test specialized knowledge, premises and financial ability to pay the employee and commence business. The reader must choose the standard that matches the category, not blend them.
Keep the foreign operation and year in view
The qualifying organization must continue doing business in the United States and at least one other country. New-office L-1A requires one continuous qualifying foreign year in a managerial or executive capacity, within the relevant preceding three years. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year; another period requires evidence of the business and qualifying role actually developed. Confirm the qualifying corporate relationship and document one continuous qualifying year of foreign employment within the preceding three years. Track any earlier L time because L-1A is capped at seven years and L-1B at five years. At extension, the evidence must show the business and the qualifying U.S. role actually developed, not merely that the original plan was attractive.
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.