Read the general business expansion overview
Opening an office in the United States does not relieve the qualifying organization abroad of the need to keep doing business. Where the day-to-day operations abroad are handled by an outsourced provider, describe what the company itself still does: what it sells, to whom, under whose contracts, and who makes the decisions. A registered address and a mail service do not answer that question.
Show the activity, not the mailing address
Doing business means the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services; the mere presence of an agent or an office is not enough. Gather contracts, invoices, tax filings and bank activity, dated and covering the relevant period. Hypothetical example: a Rosemère founder's Quebec company outsources fulfilment, bookkeeping and customer support to a third party while keeping the customer contracts, the pricing decisions and the supplier relationships in its own name. The file should make that division visible, naming which functions sit with the provider and which remain with the company itself.
Trace qualifying employment through the actual structure
One continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the relevant three-year period is required, subject to the individual's own timing. Qualifying operations abroad may continue through another qualifying entity in the group rather than necessarily the original employer, so the ownership chain and any reorganization need dated corporate records instead of a recent organizational chart explaining the past. Set out the applicant's real duties for that period, not the title, and identify which records exist, which must be requested, and which will have to be reconstructed from primary documents.
Prepare the expectations for the first year
Initial new-office approval is limited to one year, and sufficient physical premises must be secured. For L-1A, the operation must support a managerial or executive role within one year of approval; there is no fixed headcount, so describe the planned hires, the functions that would stay outsourced, and the duties that would remain with the applicant. If the plan instead relies on L-1B, specialized knowledge means special knowledge of the organization's interests and their application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge of its processes and procedures — not general familiarity with the company.
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.