Read the general business expansion overview
A company planning a U.S. presence from Calixa-Lavallée may consider a shared office instead of a large dedicated lease. Assess whether secured premises are sufficient for the actual activity. Neither a prestigious address nor the largest available space automatically satisfies the new-office case. A first review should create a premises file, a corporate-relationship chart, foreign employment records, a credible first-year staffing plan and evidence of financial ability. The transferee generally needs one qualifying year abroad with the related organization during the preceding three years. An initial new-office L approval is limited to one year; the later record must show the business and role have developed as represented. Hypothetical example: a pneumatic-tube testing equipment manufacturer signs for a shared workshop with defined access hours and a separate storage bay. The decision is whether the actual rights support the proposed activity, not whether the address looks commercial; the agreement, floor plan and equipment schedule are the relevant records.
Describe the space that is really available
Identify the arrangement, access and facilities the business can actually use. Explain how it supports the proposed operation rather than describing shared facilities as exclusive premises. A mailing address alone should not be presented as a fully operating business. Read the agreement for the exact room, access hours, exclusive or shared use, visitor rights, storage, utilities and term. Match those rights to the work the company says will occur there. A vague membership confirmation cannot settle whether premises are sufficient for inventory, client meetings, production or the employee’s ordinary work.
Apply the right role-specific standard
A new-office L-1A case requires a qualifying foreign managerial or executive year and support for the U.S. managerial or executive position within one year of approval. For L-1B, examine specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and begin doing business. Do not impose the L-1A management standard on every specialized-knowledge case. Choose the L-1A or L-1B theory before writing the role description, because the evidence and first-year benchmark differ. For an L-1A plan, show how staff and structure will permit a managerial or executive role within the initial year. For L-1B, show why existing specialized knowledge is needed and how the operation can pay the employee and begin doing business.
Document operations on both sides
Generally show one continuous qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years and a qualifying corporate relationship. The organization must continue qualifying business in the United States and abroad. New-office treatment concerns less than one year of U.S. doing business, and its initial approval cannot exceed one year; changing the desk or lease does not itself restart that history. Keep foreign payroll and duty evidence separate from documents proving the related entities and the U.S. launch. Each record resolves a different condition. The first review should identify missing corporate authority, premises rights or budget support early enough to correct the real arrangement, rather than adding optimistic language to a filing.
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.