Read the general business expansion overview
A U.S. warehouse may hold goods before it begins fulfilling orders, or it may already perform regular services. Describe what actually happens there and when it began. The label “warehouse” and the lease date cannot by themselves determine whether the operation qualifies as a new office. A first review should make a dated operations timeline beside the entity chart, foreign-employment records, premises documents, and first-year staffing plan. The decision is whether the operation is a new office and whether the applicant meets its role requirement. L-1 requires a qualifying relationship and a continuous qualifying year abroad in the prior three years. L-1A new offices need premises and a one-year managerial or executive plan; L-1A and L-1B time is generally limited to seven and five years.
Distinguish storage from operating activity
Collect dated receiving logs, customer orders, shipping records, service contracts and invoices. Identify whose goods are held and which entity provides any service. Hypothetical example: a company leases space in January, stores its own equipment in February and begins fulfilling customer orders in May. Preserve those separate dates and ask when regular, systematic provision of goods or services began on the actual facts.
Connect the site to the qualifying organization
Document the corporate relationship between the U.S. operation and the relevant foreign entities, together with the applicant’s qualifying foreign employment. Show which qualifying operations continue abroad through that structure. A mailing address or ownership chart does not establish business activity, while a warehouse record alone does not establish the applicant’s managerial or specialized-knowledge qualifications. Keep each evidentiary question connected to the entity it concerns.
Explain the proposed first-year role
For an L-1A new-office case, show sufficient physical premises and how the operation will support a managerial or executive position within one year. Initial new-office approval is limited to a maximum of one year, without a universal staffing number. Describe who receives goods, handles orders, supervises staff and makes business decisions. If the applicant initially performs operational tasks, show them honestly and explain the supported transition rather than replacing them with a managerial title. Hypothetical example: a solar-sail repair company leases a U.S. bay and sends its foreign service manager before technicians are hired. The review compares the lease, permitted use, hiring budget, commitments, and foreign duties. The decision is whether premises and the plan support management or the applicant would mainly do repair work.
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.