Read the general business expansion overview
A Candiac company arranging U.S. premises should connect the space to the proposed operation. The lease answers a premises question; it does not establish the employee’s foreign history or the managerial role the business must support. Hypothetical example: a commercial-dive equipment manufacturer leases a warehouse before choosing who will run the U.S. launch. The first review tests the foreign employee’s actual year of qualifying work, the corporate relationship and the one-year operating plan before treating the lease as the solution.
Identify the actual stage of operations
A new office has been doing business in the United States for less than one year. Explain what activity has started, what remains planned and the qualifying corporate connection. A registration date alone does not describe regular, systematic and continuous business. Use registrations, invoices, bank activity and service records to distinguish preparation from operations. The first decision is whether the office is genuinely new, because the one-year new-office framework does not simply extend to an established operation.
Match the premises and plan to the L-1A role
For a new-office L-1A, support sufficient premises, the qualifying continuous foreign managerial or executive year within the relevant three years, and an operation capable of supporting the qualifying U.S. role within one year of approval. The qualifying organization must continue business in the United States and abroad. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year. The transferee needs a continuous qualifying foreign year in the three years before the request. Build a month-by-month plan showing personnel, revenue activity and authority after approval; L-1A has a seven-year maximum stay even if the new office grows.
Assess specialized knowledge separately
For L-1B, document qualifying specialized knowledge, foreign employment and the actual assignment. New-office evidence includes sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and commence operations. A lease does not replace any of those requirements, and committing to rent does not guarantee approval. Identify the knowledge-dependent assignment and the evidence that the employee acquired it abroad. Financial projections should show ability to begin operations and pay the employee, while L-1B has a five-year maximum stay.
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.